Court
Handled by Advocate N. J. Parmar, B.A., LL.B., more than thirty-five years at the Bar. Court practice and notaryship run together: under section 3 of the Notaries Act, 1952 read with Rule 3 of the Notaries Rules, 1956, notaries are appointed from among advocates of long standing, and the application is routed through the court where the advocate practises.
Which petition, and when
- Succession certificate — sections 370 to 390 of the Indian Succession Act, 1925, where a person died without a will. Authorises collection of debts and securities — deposits, shares, provident fund, insurance. It does not deal with immovable property. More →
- Probate — certification of a will and the executor's authority to act on it
- Letters of administration — where there is no will, or no executor able and willing to act
- Heirship declarations, where who the heirs are is itself disputed
Section 213 of the Indian Succession Act, 1925 was omitted by the Repealing and Amending Act, 2025, assented on 20 December 2025. It never applied in Vadodara in any event. The amendment is recent and untested in court, and accrued rights and pending proceedings are saved — and institutions may still ask for probate under their own practice, which is their prerogative rather than a legal requirement.
Try the cheaper route first
Court petitions carry ad valorem court fees and take months. Before starting one, establish what the institution holding the asset actually requires in writing. A great many modest claims are released against an indemnity bond from the receiving heir together with no-objection declarations from the others — faster and very much cheaper.
And for immovable property, the route is the revenue record rather than the court: pedhinama, varsai mutation, and where the heirs are dividing or consolidating, a registered partition or relinquishment deed. Pedhinama →
Where a claim is time-barred, where the document relied on was never registered and therefore cannot be received in evidence of the transaction under section 49 of the Registration Act, 1908, or where the realistic recovery is less than the cost of recovering it — you will be told at the first meeting, not after money has been spent. A settlement reached quickly is very often worth more than a decree obtained slowly.
What to bring
- Death certificate
- The original will and codicils, if any
- Details of all heirs with identity documents
- A schedule of the assets concerned
- The institution's requirement letter, in writing