What happens to property if someone dies without a will?
Simple answer
It goes to the legal heirs under the person's personal law. For a Hindu man, the 'Class I' heirs, mainly his widow, sons, daughters and mother, inherit first in equal shares. Other relatives inherit only if there is no Class I heir.
Real-life examples
Ramesh, a Hindu, died without a will, leaving his wife, a son, a daughter, his mother and his father. His wife, son, daughter and mother get one-fourth each. His father is a Class II heir, so he gets nothing from Ramesh's own property.
Lakshmi inherited a house from her father and died without children or a will. That house goes to her father's heirs, such as her mother, brothers and sisters, not to her husband.
Joseph, a Christian in Chennai, died without a will, leaving his wife and two children. Under the Indian Succession Act, his wife gets one-third and the two children share the other two-thirds equally.
What should you do?
- 1Get the death certificate from the municipal or panchayat office.
- 2List all legal heirs and get a legal heir certificate from the tehsil or revenue office, or as your state provides.
- 3For bank deposits, shares and other money owed to the deceased, the institution may ask for a succession certificate from the District Judge.
- 4For land or a house, apply for mutation (name transfer) in the revenue or municipal records with the heirs' documents.
- 5If heirs disagree, try a written family settlement; otherwise talk to a lawyer about a partition suit. Free legal aid: NALSA 15100.
Exceptions & limits
- If there is a valid will, the will decides who gets the property, not these rules.
- A nominee in a bank account or shares usually only receives the money and holds it for the legal heirs. Insurance has special rules for close-family nominees.
- Muslims follow Muslim personal law with fixed shares (a daughter generally gets half a son's share). Scheduled Tribes usually follow their customs unless the Centre applies Hindu law.
Official legal reference
Hindu Succession Act, 1956 — Sections 8, 9, 10 and Schedule
Hindu man dying without a will: Class I heirs inherit first; the widow, each son, each daughter and the mother take one share each.
Hindu Succession Act, 1956 — Sections 15, 16
Hindu woman dying without a will: children and husband first; property from her parents goes to her father's heirs if she has no children.
Indian Succession Act, 1925 — Sections 31–56
Rules for Christians, Parsis and others dying without a will; for example, a Christian widow gets one-third where there are descendants.
Indian Succession Act, 1925 — Section 372
How to apply to the District Judge for a succession certificate to collect the deceased person's debts and securities.
Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act, 1937 — Section 2
Succession among Muslims, including when there is no will, is decided by Muslim personal law (Shariat).
Where to get help
NALSA Free Legal Aid
Free lawyer and legal advice for eligible people through Legal Services Authorities.
Source & status
- Applies to
- Varies by state
- Personal law decides the shares, but legal heir certificates, mutation and farm land rules differ by state. Goa has its own succession law.
- Law in force since
- 17 Jun 1956
- Legal review
- Draft — awaiting lawyer review
Educational information, not legal advice for your case. Exact facts and the law that applies matter — speak to a lawyer before acting.