Non-resident Indians face lot of problems when it comes to accessing their inherited moveable assets in India. Stringent policies of banks regarding releasing the funds of deceased persons leave legal heirs in disarray as they are not fully acquainted with the laws and procedures to access these assets. A succession certificate is now mandatory for accessing any type of movable assets whether they maybe funds locked up in bank accounts or investments held in the form of equites, Government bonds, mutual funds, or any such financial instruments or these maybe funds held in post offices in India.

Succession Certificate is a document which is issued by the court for claiming movable assets by the successors of the deceased person. It establishes the legitimacy of the heirs and gives them the authority to access the assets. It is issued by the appropriate civil courts in India under the relevant laws of inheritance on an application filed by the beneficiaries in a court of applicable jurisdiction for issuance of such a succession certificate.

Obtaining a Succession Certificate in India:

• The beneficiary must file a petition to procure a certificate in a court of law.
• The certificate may be issued by a District judge under whose jurisdiction the movable assets in question are located, or by a judge under whose authority the deceased lived.
• The petition must specify the name of the beneficiary, his/her relationship with deceased, names of all other Class 1 Legal heirs.
• The death certificate of the deceased person whose assets are being asked for by the legal heirs must be attached to the petition.
• The court will then notify the parties concerned and provide a time frame within which anyone might object. If no objection is raised, then the court issues a succession certificate to the beneficiary.
• In the event of multiple beneficiaries, a joint certificate is issued.

NRI Legal Services provides a comprehensive service for the Indian diaspora overseas to obtain such succession certificates so that they can access the hard-earned money invested by their parents into movable assets. We deliver this end to end service without the need for our clients having to travel to India.