Claiming a deceased parent's Indian assets — succession certificate, legal heir certificate and the tax side

The single biggest source of confusion is treating a legal heir certificate and a succession certificate as the same thing. They are not, and asking for the wrong one wastes weeks.

A legal heir certificate is, at its core, a statement of who the surviving heirs are. It is commonly used for things like transferring a pension, claiming provident fund or gratuity, or establishing the family tree for routine transfers. A succession certificate is a court order under the Indian Succession Act that specifically authorises the named heir to collect the deceased's debts and movable securities — bank balances, fixed deposits, shares, bonds. Because it carries the court's authority to receive securities, it is the document banks and company registrars usually insist on for that money.

There is also a third route — a probated will or letters of administration — which applies where the deceased left a will (covered on the will page). The institution holding the asset effectively decides which document it will accept, so the practical first step is always to ask each bank and registrar, in writing, exactly what they require for the specific asset.

A succession certificate is obtained by petitioning the district court that has jurisdiction over where the deceased ordinarily lived or where the assets are. The petition sets out the deceased's details, the date of death, the heirs, and a schedule of the debts and securities the certificate is being sought for. The court ordinarily publishes a notice inviting objections, and once that period passes without a sustained challenge, it grants the certificate — often after a court fee calculated as a percentage of the value of the assets covered.

We deliberately won't put a number of weeks or months on this. Timelines vary widely by state, by court workload, and by whether anyone contests, and any specific figure would be a guess. What is consistent is the shape: petition, notice period, grant.

For an NRI, the practical wrinkle is presence. Much of this is handled through a lawyer in India under a power of attorney, so you are not forced to fly back for every hearing. The drafting of the petition, the court appearances and the certificate itself are legal work, done by an advocate — not something a chartered accountant signs. Where we fit is alongside this: valuing the assets so the schedule and court fee are right, and handling the tax steps that run in parallel.

When a person dies, their income tax does not simply switch off. Income arose in their name up to the date of death — salary, interest, rent, dividends — and a final return for that year usually has to be filed. The law makes the heir the legal representative of the deceased (Section 159), responsible for that return, but only out of the assets that came to them — an heir is not personally on the hook beyond the estate.

Before any of this can be filed, you have to be registered as the legal representative on the income tax portal, which the department approves against proof of death and of your status as heir (this is where the legal heir or succession certificate is used). Only then can the deceased's PAN be operated to file the return, claim any refund due to them, or respond to a notice in their name.

There is a clean dividing line worth holding onto. Up to the date of death, the income is the deceased's and goes on their final return. After the date of death, income earned on the inherited assets — interest on a deposit now yours, dividends on shares now yours — is your income and goes on your own return. Getting that split right is what stops the same income being taxed twice or missed entirely.

Arjun, an NRI in Australia, is the only son and heir of his late father in Nagpur. His father left fixed deposits at two banks and a modest holding of listed shares, and no will. Arjun assumed he could just send a death certificate and have the money transferred. Both banks refused, and one specifically asked for a succession certificate before releasing the deposits and the shares.

An advocate in India, acting under a power of attorney from Arjun, petitions the district court for a succession certificate listing the deposits and the shareholding. While that runs its course, Arjun's chartered accountant values the assets so the petition schedule and the court fee are correct, registers Arjun as his father's legal representative on the income tax portal, and prepares his father's final return — the interest credited up to the date of death is his father's income, filed under his father's PAN. Once the certificate is granted, the banks release the deposits and the registrar transfers the shares into Arjun's name. From that point, any interest or dividend is Arjun's own income, on his own return; and if he later sells the inherited shares, the cost and holding period carry over from his father.

The three documents are not interchangeable, and which one you need is decided by the asset, not by preference. Use this as the starting map.

A succession certificate is for the deceased's debts and movable securities — bank balances, fixed deposits, shares, bonds — where there is no will. A legal heir certificate is the lighter document for pension, gratuity, provident fund and other government or employer dues, and for routine transfers. A probated will or letters of administration is the route where the person left a will — the will, once certified by the court, is what the institution acts on, and a succession certificate is not needed for what the will covers.

One caveat: the institution holding the asset has the final say on what it will accept, and some ask for more than the law strictly requires. So before you commit to a route, get each bank, registrar and office to put its requirement in writing for the specific asset. Note too that none of these covers immovable property — a flat or land transfers on its own title route, not on a succession certificate.

The petition for a succession certificate is filed in the district court where your parent ordinarily lived, or where the assets are (Section 372, Indian Succession Act). It sets out the death, the heirs, and a schedule of the debts and securities you are claiming.

The step that surprises people is the public notice. The court publishes a notice in a newspaper inviting anyone with a claim to object, and keeps a window open for them to come forward. If no one objects, or any objection is cleared, the court grants the certificate. That notice period is built in — it is why the process is never instant, even when the family is in full agreement.

The good part for an NRI: you usually do not have to be in India for this. You sign a power of attorney in favour of someone in India — typically attested at the Indian embassy or consulate where you live — and your advocate runs the petition, the notice and the hearings on your behalf. The drafting and the court appearances are legal work, done by the lawyer; our part runs alongside, valuing the schedule and handling the tax steps.

A succession certificate is not a flat-fee document. The court fee is charged as a percentage of the value of the debts and securities the certificate covers (Court Fees Act, 1870), paid in judicial stamps. So the bigger the estate the certificate is sought for, the higher the fee.

The percentage varies by state, and many states cap the fee at a maximum amount. We won't print a single rate, because it differs from state to state and the figure changes — quoting one number would mislead you. What is constant is the method: the value of the assets listed drives the fee.

This is exactly why the asset valuation is not a side task. The schedule has to value each deposit, holding and balance as on the date of death, because that value is what the fee is struck on — and the same valued schedule feeds the deceased's final tax return. We build that costed schedule so the fee is right and the advocate files on accurate numbers, rather than the fee being guessed and corrected later.

A granted certificate is a means, not the money itself. You take it to each institution to release what it holds: banks pay out the balances and fixed deposits, and for shares and mutual funds the company's registrar or the fund house re-registers the holdings into the heir's name — a step called transmission, covered in detail on the shares and mutual fund transmission page. Each institution wants its own certified copy of the certificate plus your own KYC, and as an NRI the proceeds and securities have to land in an account that matches your status — typically an NRO account, and for shares an NRO demat.

Getting the money out of India is the last link. Inherited money sits in your NRO account, and an NRI can repatriate up to USD 1 million per financial year out of NRO without RBI approval — a limit that pools all your NRO outward remittances for the year, so a large inheritance may move over more than one year. For remittances above ₹5 lakh, the bank needs a chartered accountant's Form 15CB plus your Form 15CA declaration confirming the funds are tax-clean. The full repatriation route — NRO, the USD 1 million limit and the 15CA/15CB pair — is set out on the repatriating inheritance money page. So the chain is: get the certificate, use it to release and transmit the assets into your NRO accounts, then remit under the USD 1 million route.