A Family Member Has Died in India. You Are Abroad. Here Is What Happens to Their Assets.

Your father or mother has died in India. You are in Dubai, London, New York, or Sydney. In India, they left behind a bank account with savings, a flat, shares in a demat account, a fixed deposit, a plot of land. Nobody told you that claiming any of this — even the bank account — requires a formal legal process that can take months. Nobody told you that the process differs depending on whether they left a will, what religion they were, which assets they held, and where those assets are located. Nobody told you that the bank will not release funds simply because you are the child, or because your name appears as a nominee on the account.

Indian succession law is not a single statute. It is a layered structure — personal laws based on religion, a separate law for those outside personal law frameworks, different courts, different documents for movable versus immovable property, and FEMA sitting on top for the NRI dimension. This article untangles each layer, precisely and practically, from the perspective of someone sitting abroad trying to deal with assets left behind in India.

What Governs Succession in India — The Personal Law Framework

The first mistake most NRIs make is assuming there is one inheritance law for India. There is not. Succession depends entirely on the religion of the deceased at the time of death. The starting question for any NRI heir is always: what was the religion of the deceased, and under which law was their marriage solemnised?¹

Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, Sikhs — Hindu Succession Act, 1956

If your parent or spouse was Hindu, Buddhist, Jain, or Sikh and died without a valid will — intestate — the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 applies.² The Act establishes a hierarchy of heirs and rules for calculating shares.

Section 8 provides that property of a Hindu male dying intestate devolves first upon Class I heirs listed in the Schedule. Section 9 establishes that all Class I heirs inherit simultaneously — there is no priority between a son in India and a daughter in London. Section 10 governs distribution: the widow takes one share; each son and daughter takes one share; and the children of a predeceased child take one collective share that their parent would have taken. Class I heirs include the widow, sons, daughters, mother, and certain grandchildren and great-grandchildren through predeceased children.²

The 2005 amendment to the Act made daughters coparceners in joint family property on the same footing as sons. The Supreme Court in Vineeta Sharma v. Rakesh Sharma (2020) 9 SCC 1 confirmed that a daughter becomes a coparcener by birth with equal rights and liabilities as a son, irrespective of whether the father was alive on the date of the amendment.³ For NRI daughters who have been told by family members that they have no share in ancestral property, this judgment is decisive.

Agricultural land is a separate complication. While the Hindu Succession Act applies in principle, several states maintain separate land laws that restrict who can own or transfer agricultural land and may still reflect older tenancy and family notions. NRIs are generally barred from purchasing agricultural land but can inherit it; subsequent holding and transfer may be constrained by state law and FEMA, covered separately below.²

Muslims — Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act, 1937

If the deceased was Muslim, intestate succession is governed by Muslim personal law as applied through the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act, 1937.⁴ Section 2 of the Act provides that in all questions of intestate succession where the parties are Muslims, the rule of decision shall be Muslim personal law.

A critical constraint for wills: a Muslim cannot bequeath more than one-third of the estate by will to non-heirs without the consent of the other heirs — at least two-thirds must pass under the fixed Shariat shares. Under classical Sunni inheritance rules, shares are mathematically fixed. A son typically receives double the share of a daughter when inheriting together. The wife receives one-eighth if there are children and one-quarter if there are none. A sole daughter can take one-half, while two or more daughters share two-thirds.⁴

For an NRI Muslim heir in London inheriting from a Muslim parent in India, your share in the two-thirds portion is determined by these rules. The will, if any, operates only over the remaining one-third and cannot rewrite the Shariat shares without the consent of all heirs.

Christians, Parsis, Jews — Indian Succession Act, 1925

For Indian Christians, Parsis, and Jews, both intestate and testamentary succession are governed by the Indian Succession Act, 1925.⁵ Part V covers wills and codicils. Part IX covers probate and letters of administration. Part X covers succession certificates for debts and securities.

Section 5 of the Act lays down private international law rules: succession to immovable property in India is always governed by Indian law regardless of where the deceased was domiciled, while succession to movable property is in principle governed by the law of the country of the deceased’s domicile at death.⁵ For an NRI Christian parent domiciled in the UK but owning a flat in Mumbai and bank accounts in India and Dubai, this can produce a split outcome — the flat devolves under Indian rules, while movable assets are theoretically governed by the law of domicile, though Indian banks and depositories will in practice insist on the Indian succession certificate machinery regardless.

In certain areas — historically the Presidency towns of Mumbai, Kolkata, and Chennai and the territories under their jurisdiction — probate is mandatory to establish rights under a will for Christians and for many wills executed in those territories.⁵ Outside those areas, probate is often not legally mandatory for Hindus but is increasingly demanded by banks and sub-registrars as a matter of risk management.

Interfaith Marriages and the Special Marriage Act, 1954

If the deceased married under the Special Marriage Act, 1954, succession may be pulled out of personal law entirely and placed under the Indian Succession Act, 1925.⁶ Section 21 of the Special Marriage Act provides that, subject to certain exceptions, succession to the property of persons whose marriage is solemnised under the Act is regulated by the Indian Succession Act. Courts have clarified that this can even apply to Muslims marrying under the Special Marriage Act, freeing them from the one-third testamentary cap.

For an NRI: if your Hindu parents married under the Hindu Marriage Act, intestate succession will follow the Hindu Succession Act. If they married under the Special Marriage Act, intestate succession may instead follow Chapter II of the Indian Succession Act, 1925. In disputed-religion or conversion situations, courts look to the facts — the declared religion and the law under which the marriage was solemnised — to decide which personal law governs.

The Three Key Documents — and When You Need Each

Most of the practical confusion for NRIs comes from not knowing which document is required for which asset. Three documents dominate the process, and they are not interchangeable.

Succession Certificate

A succession certificate is a court order under Part X of the Indian Succession Act, 1925, Sections 370 to 390, that authorises the holder to collect debts and securities owed to the deceased.⁵ It covers bank accounts, fixed deposits, provident fund dues, shares and debentures in demat accounts, bonds, and similar movable financial assets. It does not cover immovable property — land and buildings follow a separate track entirely.

The petition is filed in the District Court of the place where the deceased ordinarily resided at the time of death, or where any part of the property is situated if there was no fixed residence. The court issues notice to other heirs and publishes a public notice — in practice around 45 days — inviting objections. If no valid objection is filed and the court is satisfied about your prima facie title, it grants the certificate specifying the debts and securities covered. The usual timeline in uncontested matters is three to eight months; contested cases take longer. Court fees can be substantial depending on the state.

As an NRI, you do not have to be in India personally to file or pursue the petition. A properly executed Power of Attorney holder and your advocate can handle this entirely on your behalf. Documents executed abroad must be notarised and apostilled under the Hague Apostille Convention — to which India acceded in 2005 — or attested by the Indian Consulate, then adjudicated and registered in India where required.⁷

The crucial practical point about nomination: nomination is not a substitute for succession. Courts and regulators have consistently held that a nominee on a bank account or insurance policy is merely a trustee or receiver for the legal heirs, not the absolute owner — the underlying succession rights of the heirs remain governed by the relevant succession law.⁸ Banks sometimes insist on a succession certificate even where there is a nominee, especially for larger balances or where multiple heirs exist, to protect themselves against competing claims.

Probate and Letters of Administration

Probate is the process by which a court certifies that a will is valid and that the executor is authorised to administer the estate.⁵ Under the Indian Succession Act, this is dealt with in Part IX. Where there is a will but no named executor, or where the named executor is unable or unwilling to act, the court grants Letters of Administration with the will annexed.

When probate is required: for wills of Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, or Sikhs executed in or relating to immovable property in the former Presidency towns, probate is compulsory under Section 57 read with Section 213 of the Indian Succession Act. For Indian Christians in many contexts, rights under a will cannot be established in court without probate. Outside those territories, probate may not be strictly mandatory for Hindu wills, but banks, companies, and sub-registrars often insist on it before mutating property or transferring substantial assets to beneficiaries named in the will.

Foreign wills and foreign probates present a specific challenge for NRIs. A will executed abroad that covers Indian assets is valid in India if it complies with the execution requirements of the Indian Succession Act or of the place where it was signed. Section 63 of the Act sets out execution requirements and Indian courts recognise foreign wills under private international law principles. If a foreign court has already granted probate, an ancillary grant can be obtained in India under Section 228 of the Act — the Indian court grants letters of administration with a copy of the authenticated foreign will annexed, enabling administration of Indian assets.⁵ In practice, High Courts often process ancillary probate applications without requiring the executor’s physical presence if a PoA holder is authorised and the foreign probate and will are duly authenticated.

Timelines for probate range from three to twelve months or more, depending on objections, valuation issues, and court workload. When a will is contested, the timeline becomes unpredictable.

Legal Heir Certificate — What It Can and Cannot Do

A legal heir certificate, also called a surviving member or family member certificate in different states, is issued by revenue authorities — typically the Tehsildar — and identifies the legal heirs of the deceased for limited administrative purposes.⁹ It is an administrative document, not a judicial order.

It is sufficient for claims relating to pension and gratuity, provident fund dues, employment-related benefits, transfer of utility connections, and certain local memberships. It is not sufficient for bank accounts with significant balances, shares and securities, fixed deposits, or any immovable property transfer. Banks and financial institutions are increasingly unwilling to rely on a legal heir certificate for substantial sums — they require a succession certificate, probate, or letters of administration.

NRIs regularly confuse a legal heir certificate with a succession certificate. They are entirely different instruments. The former is administrative and limited; the latter is a judicial order with specific statutory consequences under Part X of the Indian Succession Act. Presenting a legal heir certificate to a bank holding a substantial balance and expecting funds to be released is one of the most common and costly mistakes in NRI inheritance matters.

Immovable Property — A Separate Track

A succession certificate has no effect whatsoever on land and buildings. Immovable property follows its own legal track, and the process differs depending on whether a will exists.

If there is a will dealing with immovable property, the first step where probate is compulsory is to obtain probate or letters of administration with the will annexed. Based on the probated will, heirs or legatees execute transfer deeds, release deeds, or deeds of assent, which are then registered before the Sub-Registrar under the Registration Act, 1908.¹⁰ The revenue records — khata, mutation — are then updated in favour of the beneficiaries. Mutation changes the record of possession and liability for land revenue but does not by itself create marketable title; a registered deed is still required for any later transfer.

If there is no will — the intestate position — Class I heirs under the Hindu Succession Act take the property by operation of law, but in practice they must formalise their position. The typical routes are a declaration of heirship before a civil court or a tehsildar-level heirship declaration, combined with registered relinquishment deeds from heirs who wish to give up their share in favour of others. Where some heirs wish to give up their share — siblings giving up their share to the one who lives in or manages the property — they execute a relinquishment deed that must be registered under Section 17 of the Registration Act, 1908 if it concerns immovable property. Stamp duty consequences vary by state.¹⁰

For flats in housing societies, the Supreme Court in Indrani Wahi v. Registrar of Cooperative Societies (2016) 6 SCC 440 clarified that while a cooperative society must transfer membership and shares to a valid nominee, the nominee holds them subject to the succession rights of legal heirs.¹¹ Nomination enables the society to safely transfer membership to one person, but it is not a substitute for inheritance. Societies will ultimately require either a family arrangement confirmed by all heirs or a court order before the final records reflect the actual beneficiaries.

Agricultural land carries additional restrictions under state laws alongside FEMA. NRIs cannot purchase agricultural land but can inherit it. After inheritance, the NRI can typically retain the land, but sale is usually restricted to resident Indians and may require compliance with state land ceiling laws and FEMA rules. A sale to another NRI is often prohibited.

The NRI-Specific Complication — FEMA and Repatriation

Even after establishing succession rights and obtaining the right court orders, an NRI heir encounters a second legal layer: FEMA and RBI regulations governing what can be held in India and what can be taken out of India. Most succession articles fail to address this, leaving NRIs with the right documents but unable to move money.

Inheriting Immovable Property as an NRI

FEMA broadly permits an NRI or Person of Indian Origin to inherit any immovable property in India — residential, commercial, and even agricultural or plantation property — without prior RBI approval, provided the deceased acquired the property in compliance with the law of the time.¹² The RBI Master Direction on Acquisition and Transfer of Immovable Property confirms this. The bar on purchasing agricultural land does not extend to inheritance, although subsequent sale is typically allowed only to resident Indians.

Repatriating Sale Proceeds of Inherited Property

When an NRI sells inherited immovable property in India, repatriation of the sale proceeds is governed by FEMA and the RBI’s remittance of assets regulations.¹² For non-agricultural property — residential or commercial — NRIs are generally permitted to repatriate sale proceeds up to USD 1 million per financial year, per person, out of the balance in an NRO account, subject to payment of applicable taxes and the bank’s satisfaction that documentation is in order.

This USD 1 million facility covers remittance of assets including NRO account balances and sale proceeds acquired by way of inheritance. For agricultural land, plantation property, or farmhouses, repatriation usually requires RBI approval or compliance with tighter conditions; many banks will not process repatriation of such proceeds under the general facility without specific clearance.

The documentation the bank will require includes a chartered accountant’s certificate in Form 15CB and your declaration in Form 15CA confirming that applicable taxes have been paid, along with documentary proof of inheritance and the sale deed. TDS on property sale by an NRI is typically 20 to 30 percent on capital gains unless reduced under a Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement. Funds must move through regular banking channels — from the buyer to your NRO account, then from NRO to overseas accounts. Any attempt to shortcut this through informal channels carries serious legal and tax risk.

Inheriting Bank Account Balances and Financial Assets

Resident savings accounts of the deceased will ordinarily be closed after succession formalities and the balances transferred to the heirs’ appropriate accounts — for an NRI this is typically a Non-Resident Ordinary (NRO) account.¹² From the NRO account, inherited funds can be repatriated under the same USD 1 million per financial year facility, subject to tax clearance and Form 15CB certification. Demat accounts and mutual funds can be transmitted to the NRI heir’s NRO or NRE investment accounts or redeemed, depending on product rules and FEMA-compliant account structures.

Will versus No Will — Why It Makes All the Difference

From an NRI’s perspective, the single biggest variable determining effort, delay, and potential conflict is whether the deceased left a clear, valid will that covers Indian assets.

With a valid, properly executed will, the executor has standing to approach the court for probate where necessary and to approach banks and registrars as the estate representative. Distribution is predetermined, which limits intra-family disputes about shares — particularly important where children are scattered across countries with different expectations. Many institutions cooperate more quickly once they see a probated will or a clear will plus no-objections from other heirs. Foreign wills can be recognised in India through ancillary probate, though this adds complexity; a separate Indian will for Indian assets often simplifies enforcement significantly.

Without a will, shares are determined by personal law and must often be formally established before courts or revenue authorities. All primary heirs are required parties for succession certificate applications, letters of administration, or release deeds — any one objecting heir can slow the entire process to a standstill. Banks and depositories routinely insist on a succession certificate or letters of administration for significant sums before releasing funds, even when the family is in practical agreement. Joint family property, agricultural land, and conflicts of law across multiple jurisdictions make intestate cases significantly more complicated when heirs live abroad.

The most actionable preventive step any parent in India with NRI children can take is to execute a registered will, update nominees on every bank, demat, and insurance account, and ensure the children know exactly where the original documents are kept. This single step eliminates more succession litigation than any other measure.

The PoA Route — How NRIs Manage This Without Constant Travel

As an NRI in Dubai, London, or New York, attending every court hearing and registration appointment is not realistic. In most cases, you will work through a trusted Power of Attorney holder in India — typically a family member or a professional.

A PoA holder can file and pursue a succession certificate petition through local counsel, attend most routine court hearings where personal testimony is not required, receive certified copies of court orders, sign and register sale deeds and relinquishment deeds for immovable property if specifically authorised, submit mutation and revenue applications, appear before tehsildars and housing societies, and deal with banks — submitting claim forms and receiving credits into your NRO account.¹³

Requirements for a valid PoA executed abroad are strict. The PoA must be signed before a notary public or Indian Consulate, notarised and apostilled under the Hague Apostille Convention or given consular attestation. Once received in India, it must be adjudicated for stamp duty. If it authorises dealing with immovable property, it must be registered at the Sub-Registrar under Section 17 of the Registration Act, 1908.¹⁰ The PoA must be specific — it should expressly authorise filing particular petitions, appearance in specified courts, execution and registration of particular kinds of deeds, and operation of bank accounts.

The limits of a PoA are equally important. The Supreme Court in Janki Vashdeo Bhojwani v. IndusInd Bank (2005) 2 SCC 217 held that while a PoA holder can depose about acts done by them personally under the PoA, they cannot stand in as a witness for the principal on matters requiring personal testimony and cross-examination.¹⁴ A PoA holder cannot give evidence about facts that are purely within your personal knowledge. Some courts still insist on the original petitioner’s presence at least once — for the final hearing of a succession certificate, for example — though many courts are now willing to dispense with this requirement when satisfied that the PoA is genuine and circumstances justify the waiver.

Banks sometimes refuse to act on foreign PoAs, citing internal compliance policies, even where the law permits them to. In such cases, escalation to the bank’s Principal Nodal Officer, and if necessary to the RBI Ombudsman, is the correct route.

What to Do First — A Practical Sequence

In the days and weeks after a death in India while you are abroad, the legal tasks can feel overwhelming. The following sequence is practical and NRI-specific.

The first step is to confirm and register the death. Ensure the death is registered with the local municipal authority in India and obtain certified copies of the death certificate. If death occurred outside India, ensure it is registered with the Indian embassy or consulate and transmitted to the appropriate registrar in India.

The second step is to locate the will — or confirm that there is none. Ask close family members and long-time advisers. Check whether a registered will exists by searching at the Sub-Registrar’s office where the deceased resided or where property is located. If there is a will, obtain a copy immediately. If not, proceed on the assumption of intestacy.

The third step is to compile a complete inventory of assets and liabilities. List bank accounts branch-wise, fixed deposits, lockers, demat account holdings through NSDL or CDSL, mutual funds, insurance policies, provident fund and pension accounts, vehicles, and all immovable properties with khata and survey numbers. Obtain fresh statements from each institution. Under RBI guidelines on deceased accounts, banks are expected to assist legitimate claimants in identifying balances once basic proof of death and identity is provided.

The fourth step is to identify every legal heir under the applicable personal law. For Hindus, start with the Class I heirs in the Hindu Succession Act Schedule. For Muslims, map the Qur’anic sharers and residuaries. For Christians and Parsis, follow the relevant chapter of the Indian Succession Act. This list determines who must be joined in court proceedings or who must provide no-objection affidavits.

The fifth step is to match each asset to the correct document. Movable financial assets — bank accounts, fixed deposits, demat shares, bonds — generally require a succession certificate. Immovable property with a will requires probate and then transfer deeds. Immovable property without a will requires a heirship declaration or letters of administration, then registered relinquishment deeds and mutation. Government dues, pension, and provident fund often require only a legal heir certificate.

The sixth step is to engage a local advocate in the district where the assets are situated. For succession certificates, the relevant court is the District Court where the deceased ordinarily resided or where property is situated. For probate or letters of administration, jurisdiction may lie with a City Civil Court or the High Court on its original side, depending on asset value and local procedural rules.

The seventh step is to execute a fresh PoA from abroad immediately. In consultation with your advocate, draft a PoA that covers court proceedings, dealings with specific properties, and banking transactions. Sign it before a notary or Indian Consulate, have it apostilled or consulate-attested, courier it to India, and ensure it is adjudicated and registered where necessary.

The eighth step — before any repatriation — is to confirm FEMA compliance and tax implications. Before selling property or repatriating large sums, obtain Indian tax advice. Understand the USD 1 million remittance facility, DTAA relief available under the relevant treaty, and the Form 15CA/15CB documentation requirements.

The ninth step is to file income tax returns for the deceased for the year of death and any pending prior years. Legal heirs are responsible for this obligation, and banks may insist on tax clearance certificates before processing larger remittances.

When the Bank Will Not Release Funds Even With All Documents

Many NRIs reach a point where, even after securing every certificate and probate, an Indian bank simply will not release funds. Common reasons include insisting on a succession certificate despite a valid nominee and no apparent dispute, demanding no-objection letters from all legal heirs even after a court order has been obtained, requiring probate of a Hindu will in a state where probate is not legally mandatory, or rejecting a foreign PoA on the basis of internal compliance policies.

The legal position has been significantly clarified. In 2025, the RBI issued the Reserve Bank of India (Settlement of Claims in respect of Deceased Customers of Banks) Directions, 2025, consolidating and standardising procedures for settlement of claims relating to deposits, lockers, and safe-custody articles.¹⁵ Where there is a valid nominee or survivorship clause, banks are expected to settle claims on the strength of simple documentation — a claim form, death certificate, and KYC — and are not supposed to insist on succession certificates, probate, or indemnity bonds solely because balances are large. Where there is no nominee and balances fall below specified thresholds, banks must follow a simplified procedure and cannot force heirs into court for succession certificates purely as a matter of routine. Banks must settle eligible claims within defined timeframes and compensate for undue delays.

If you are facing unreasonable resistance, write formally to the branch and to the bank’s Principal Nodal Officer, attaching copies of the legal documents and pointing to the RBI Directions and the bank’s own deceased-claim policy, which banks are required to publish on their websites. If there is no satisfactory response within the statutory timeframe, file a complaint under the Reserve Bank — Integrated Ombudsman Scheme, 2021, through the RBI’s central complaints management portal.¹⁵ The Ombudsman process is designed as a relatively quick, low-cost route, and banks treat its awards seriously. In clear cases of illegality or arbitrary conduct, a writ petition before the appropriate High Court seeking directions to the bank is the last resort.

Key Cases to Know

Several Supreme Court decisions directly shape NRI inheritance practice. Understanding them helps you push back when institutions tell you that something “cannot be done.”

Vineeta Sharma v. Rakesh Sharma (2020) 9 SCC 1 settled that daughters are coparceners by birth under the 2005 amendment to the Hindu Succession Act with equal rights as sons, irrespective of the father’s date of death.³ This ruling is particularly important for NRI daughters who have been told by family that they have no share in ancestral property.

Sarbati Devi v. Usha Devi (1984) 1 SCC 424 held that a nominee under the Insurance Act is not the beneficial owner of policy proceeds; nomination does not override the succession rights of legal heirs.⁸ This principle has informed later rulings on banking and securities nominations.

Indrani Wahi v. Registrar of Cooperative Societies (2016) 6 SCC 440 held that while a cooperative society must transfer membership and shares to a valid nominee, the nominee holds them subject to the succession rights of legal heirs.¹¹ Nomination is a method of safe transfer to one point, not a substitute for inheritance.

Shyama Devi v. Manju Shukla (1994) Supp (3) SCC 389 underscores that succession certificates obtained without proper notice to all heirs or on defective proceedings can be revoked, preserving the substantive rights of legal heirs. Courts have consistently treated the succession certificate process as one that must give all heirs a genuine opportunity to be heard.

Janki Vashdeo Bhojwani v. IndusInd Bank (2005) 2 SCC 217 confirmed that a PoA holder cannot depose in place of the principal on matters requiring personal knowledge — they can testify only about acts they have themselves performed under the PoA.¹⁴

These decisions collectively reinforce three principles that every NRI heir must understand: daughters’ equality in Hindu coparcenary property; nomination as custodianship rather than ownership; and the limits of procedural shortcuts that exclude real heirs from the process.

Closing

The loss of a parent or spouse in India while you are living abroad creates a legal and administrative challenge that runs alongside grief. The Indian succession system was built for people who live close to the court, who can attend hearings on short notice, who can sign documents across a table — not for children flying in from Dubai between workweeks or spouses in New York trying to coordinate time zones with a district court clerk.

Every step the law requires — a petition, a court appearance, a registered deed, a bank meeting — is a step you must either take in person with an international flight or delegate carefully through a PoA. None of this is impossible. But none of it happens automatically, and very little of it happens quickly.

The gap between what many NRIs expect — that being the obvious heir should be enough — and what Indian law requires — documented proof, court orders, FEMA compliance — is where months of delay, preventable tax costs, and family conflict arise. Start early, map the right documents to the right assets, and work with counsel who understands both succession law and foreign exchange regulations. You cannot remove grief from the process. You can reduce the legal chaos that so often follows it.

The author is a law student at Law Centre-1, Faculty of Law, University of Delhi. This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. For advice on a specific matter, engage a qualified advocate in the jurisdiction where the assets are located.