After a death, the family is told they need “the certificate” before assets can be released. There are three separate instruments, issued by different authorities, doing genuinely different jobs - and which one is needed depends on facts nobody usually asks about first.
- Legal heir certificate. Issued by the revenue authorities, typically within weeks. It establishes who the heirs are - the relationship, nothing more. Sufficient for pension transfers, provident fund claims, utility transfers and similar administrative purposes. It does not authorise anyone to collect the deceased’s financial assets.
- Succession certificate. Issued by a civil court under the Indian Succession Act, and a matter of months rather than weeks. It authorises the holder to collect debts and securities - bank balances, shares, deposits - owed to the deceased. It applies where the person died without a will.
- Probate. The court’s certification of a will and of the executor’s authority under it. It only arises where there is a will, which is precisely why it is not an alternative to a succession certificate but a different track entirely.
Start From the Facts, Not From Whoever Named an Instrument
The pattern that costs families time is starting with whichever instrument someone at a counter named, rather than with the two questions that actually determine the answer: was there a will, and what kind of asset is being claimed. A legal heir certificate obtained quickly is useless for releasing a demat holding. A succession certificate pursued for months is the wrong instrument if a valid will exists.
Probate is now optional rather than mandatory following the deletion of Section 213 of the Indian Succession Act, which changes when it is worth pursuing at all - but not the underlying point that these three instruments answer three different questions, and only one of them is likely to be the right question in a given estate.
Ask two questions before applying for anything: was there a will, and what kind of asset is being claimed. A legal heir certificate obtained in weeks will not release a demat holding, and a succession certificate pursued for months is the wrong track entirely if a valid will exists.
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