Will

Dear querist,

Will is valid in case witness are living and ready to give statement in front competent authority that this Will was made in presence of them and your father was fully aware of facts of WILL.

Regards

Deepak Joshi & Associates

Djaa.legal@gmail.com

Mb/whatsapp +919456777600

Will is not Valid.

The WILL may be valid.

Has your counsel examined the WILL and appraised that WILL is valid/not valid?

Which personal law applies in your case?

Are you all Hindu?

The property is in which state?

Is testator (father as in query) alive?

Are all legal heirs e.g. brother as in query, other than beneficiary willing to sign NOC in favor of beneficiary?

Has the WILL been submitted to the O/o Authority under whose jurisdiction property falls?

Confirm!

Succession opens on date of death; by inheritance or by testamentary succession (by valid WILL).

In case of Hindu male dying without disposing her estate/property in her life time by a valid/registered deed the 1st right is of ClassI legal heirs i.e Mother (if alive as on date of death), Wife (if alive as on date of death), sons, daughters……

IT is mandatory to probate the WILL in the areas of Bombay, Calcutta, and Madras. IT is not mandatory to probate the WILL in other areas.

IT is not mandatory to register the WILL. The WILL should just be valid.

Unregistered WILL can be acted upon. The last valid WILL prevails.

Until duly acted upon without any cloud on WILL the WILL is mere piece of paper and does not confer ownership on beneficiary. The authority shall not transfer the property until WILL is duly acted upon.

The authority under whose jurisdiction property falls has a set procedure for such matters if the WILL has surfaced; Testate Succession…….and the prescribed forms, procedure, process is available in O/o Authority and even on website. Certified copies of the WILL, death certificate, legal heir certificate/affidavit (per local procedure/precedence) are basic requirements. The authority may ask for NOC from legal heirs (other than beneficiary) and/or to release newspaper advt and/or may write to legal heirs to submit their objections if any within set time.

If there is NO contest to the WILL by any legal heir then authority shall act upon the WILL without any cloud on it and transfer the ownership in the name of beneficiary.

If WILL is contested it lands up in probate court of pecuniary jurisdiction. The court shall decide on validity of WILL.

The legal heirs may also consider perspective of registered family settlement after the WILL and register it.
 

Check locally and comply with procedure. Thereafter concerned official in the O/o Authority e.g; Patwari, shall act upon the matter and transfer the ownership by inheritance/probate in the name of legal heirs in mutations records.

Thereafter obtain copy of updated mutation records.

 If WILL is not submitted to be acted upon then it becomes matter of succession per personal law that applies.

Although it is wrong since the WILL exists.

Check locally and comply with procedure.

Mother and anyone else can agitate if said brother resorts to any harassment, inconvenience, abuse, violence and lodge complaint with police (Sr. Citizen cell), Authority as in Rules framed by the state under Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007, DV Act…

If brother is staying in the house being legal heir then he cannot be evicted….

Until or unless the WILL is duly acted upon without any cloud on IT  or WILL is probated by probate court.

He has a right to consent to the WILL or contest the WILL.

You may take help for any matter from, elders of your family, competent and experienced well wishers, seasoned PIP’s, helpgroups, community leaders, NGO’s, experienced colleagues, associations, religious scholars/leaders, influential persons, Employee’s/Trade union leaders, help groups for spouses (Husband/wife)  etc and  find a very able LOCAL counsel specializing in concerned filed of law e.g; Testamentary Succession/civil  matters as in your case, and well versed with LOCAL applicable rules, precedence, latest judgments etc …. and worth his/her salt, can advise you after examining all case related docs, inputs,  evidences on record.

Obtain proper legal opinion in writing!

Avoid acting on your own on hearsay.

One should not fall for IT’s and entities loitering at online portals to allure unsuspecting querists. There are many threads on such instances at LCI also.

Online discussions are not substitute to in person discussions with a very able counsel of unshakable repute and integrity specializing in concerned field of law.

There are such very able counsels at each location.

Check for such counsels at LOCAL; Civil Courts, HC, SC,..

You can also try for FREE legal Aid from Legal aid center (DLSA) that is usually within LOCAL courts complex..preferably from a very able counsel specializing in Testamentary Succession/civil matters.

Your counsels  may opine that you can appear on 1st date, and obtain copies of petition etc to reply later ….and inform the court that you shall be engaging a counsel and appear thru your counsel….Or your counsel can appear and obtain copies of petition etc and reply later or your new counsel can appear for you.

Your counsels can advise after examining all docs/record/inputs pertaining to your matter and help you. You can also search threads on similar query in SEARCH option ON left Hand side of threads in Forum/Experts section. Having learnt a lesson, remember to consult beforehand for your matters or any matter about which you are not properly informed.

The FEE of all LOCAL counsels at all LOCATIONS is not high/unreasonable as mis-believed by many.

Many counsels even at State Capital/Metro towns  do not demand unreasonable high FEE.

IT is rather at online portals that unsuspecting querists are mislead as per many publications, by IT’s and Entities that pose as some Lawyer (actually LIAR) and flaunt/advertise firms that are not Law Firms (Actually LIAR’s Firms) to believe that LOCAL counsels are not knowledgeable..are incompetent.

In Reality the LOCAL counsels win cases in LOCAL courts at all LOCATIONS.

You can go thru/search the cases contested by any Lawyer at court website.