India: Wills/ Intestacy/ Estate Planning

The governance problem in the growing succession battles begins in the boardroom of a high-performing subsidiary or the private office of a family-run holding company.

Wealth and succession planning in India is often shaped by personal law regimes that determine how property devolves upon death. For Muslim families, inheritance is governed primarily by the principles of Islamic law, as recognised under the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act, 1937.

India's wealthiest families spend decades constructing empires of equity, real estate, and operating businesses. Yet many reach the point of succession without a valid Will. In such cases, statutory succession rules apply, with the state administering the distribution of assets according to prescribed criteria—such as religious law, familial relationship, and fixed shares, rather than individual intent, commercial considerations, or legacy planning.

The Indian Succession Act, 1925 has long governed the law relating to wills, probate, and succession in India.

Narendra Dingankar – Partner, shares the latest insights on The Repealing and Amending Act, 2025, and its key amendments to the Indian Succession Act, General Clauses Act, and Civil Procedure Code.

Property transactions in Mumbai involve strict legal and procedural requirements. Whether ownership changes through sale, gift, inheritance or family settlement...

What happens when there's no will? In this episode of Legal Podcasts powered by IndiaLaw LLP, host Riddhi Agarwal sits down with Darshana Velani to decode the basics of intestate succession in India.

Equality is India's most celebrated yet one of the most broken constitutional promises. In a case before the Rajasthan High Court – Manni Devi v. Rama Devi & Ors., the Court reviewed a provision of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 ("HSA")...

The Hon'ble Supreme Court of India, in its judgment dated 17 July 2025 in Gurdial Singh (Deceased) through LR v. Jagir Kaur (Deceased) and Another, declared a will invalid due to suspicious circumstances surrounding its execution.