Wills & Succession
વસિયતનામું · વારસાઈWhat happens to property after a death — and the paperwork families discover was never done.
8 detailed pages in this section
Will — વસિયતનામુંવસિયતનામું
One of the cheapest documents to make and the most expensive to get wrong. What the law requires is short — and it is not what most people are told.
Registration optionalCodicil — Amending a Willકોડિસિલ
A short supplementary document that amends a will without rewriting it — and which must be executed with exactly the same care.
Registration optionalPedhinama — પેઢીનામુંપેઢીનામું / પેઢી આંબો
The family-tree record that underpins almost everything that follows a death in Gujarat — and the affidavit that has to accompany the application.
e-StampNotaryVarsai / Legal Heir Certificateવારસાઈ પ્રમાણપત્ર
The revenue certificate naming a deceased person\u2019s heirs — and an honest account of what it will and will not get you.
e-StampNotarySuccession Certificateવારસાઈ પ્રમાણપત્ર (કોર્ટ)
A District Court grant authorising you to collect a deceased person\u2019s debts and securities. It does not deal with immovable property.
CourtProbate & Letters of Administrationપ્રોબેટ
Court certification of a will, or appointment of an administrator where there is none. Recently, and significantly, no longer compelled by statute.
CourtFamily Tree — વંશાવળીવંશાવળી / પેઢી આંબો
Establishing the family line on record. In Gujarat this is normally done through a pedhinama, and the affidavit behind it is where the work sits.
e-StampNotaryNomination & Transmissionનામાંકન
Getting an asset out of a deceased person\u2019s name and into the right hands — and understanding that a nominee is not an owner.
e-StampNotaryFull list — 17 document types
Every entry marked with what it actually needs. If what you were asked for is not here, call 94267 80195.
Wills & Codicils · 6
| Document | When you need it | Needs |
|---|---|---|
| Will / Testament વસિયતનામું (also વીલ) | A person's written direction as to how their property shall devolve on death; takes effect only on death and is revocable at any time until then. Requires the testator's signature and attestation by two or more witnesses (s.63, Indian Succession Act, 1925). No stamp duty is payable on a Will. Registration is optional (s.18(e), Registration Act) but makes the Will considerably easier to prove. | Registration optional |
| Codicil કોડિસિલ | A short supplementary document amending a Will without rewriting it — changing an executor, adding a legatee, altering one bequest. Same execution formalities as the Will. No stamp duty. Register it if the Will was registered. | Registration optional |
| Joint / Mutual Will સંયુક્ત વસિયતનામું | Spouses making a Will together, often leaving to each other then to children. | Registration optional |
| Revocation of Will વસિયતનામું રદ | Formally cancelling an earlier Will. | Registration optional |
| Living Will / Advance Medical Directive | Directions about medical treatment if you become incapable of deciding. Follow the Supreme Court's prescribed procedure (Common Cause, as modified in 2023). | Notary |
| Probate / Letters of Administration application પ્રોબેટ | Court certification of a Will (probate), or appointment of an administrator where there is no Will or executor. Section 213 of the Indian Succession Act, 1925 — the statutory bar on an executor or legatee establishing a right without probate — was omitted by the Repealing and Amending Act, 2025, assented 20 December 2025, so that bar is gone. The amendment is recent and untested, and accrued rights and pending proceedings are saved. Section 213 never applied in Vadodara in any event. Probate remains available and useful where a Will is likely to be contested. | Court |
Pedhinama, Varsai & Heirship · 11
| Document | When you need it | Needs |
|---|---|---|
| PEDHINAMA પેઢીનામું (also પેઢી આંબો — literally "family tree") | A pedigree / family-tree record setting out, generation by generation, all persons related by blood to a deceased person, so that the full set of heirs is on record. In practice — this is Revenue Department administrative procedure rather than statute, and it varies between talukas — the Talati-cum-Mantri prepares and verifies the family-tree particulars and records the varsai entry in the village record, while the Mamlatdar (rural) or zonal officer (urban) issues the varsai / legal heir certificate. The family-tree enquiry is anchored to where the deceased ordinarily resided; a land-record mutation is made where the property is situated. You will typically need a formal application, a notarised affidavit on stamp paper, death certificates for every deceased person in the chain, identity documents for all heirs, and statements from witnesses who are not relatives. We prepare the affidavit and the heir declarations. | e-StampNotary |
| Varsai (Inheritance) Mutation Application વારસાઈ નોંધ | Application to record the heirs' names in the land/property record (Hakkapatrak / 7-12 / city survey) after a death. Filed at the taluka e-Dhara (ઇ-ધરા) centre for rural land or the City Survey office for urban property; a Vadodara-district application form is published on vadodara.gujarat.gov.in. | e-StampNotary |
| Varsai / Legal Heir Certificate વારસાઈ પ્રમાણપત્ર | Revenue-department certificate naming the legal heirs of a deceased person. Issued by the Mamlatdar (taluka) in rural areas and the concerned Zonal officer in urban areas. Requires death certificate, ID/residence proofs, ration card or pedhinama, panchnama (Annexure 4/47) and an affidavit regarding relinquishment of heirs' claims. | e-StampNotary |
| Succession Certificate વારસાઈ પ્રમાણપત્ર (કોર્ટ) | Granted by the District Court under ss. 370–390, Indian Succession Act, 1925, where a person dies without a Will. It authorises the holder to collect the deceased's debts and securities — bank deposits, shares, mutual funds, provident fund, insurance proceeds. It does not deal with immovable property. Requires a petition, court fee ad valorem on the value, publication and a hearing. | Court |
| Heirship Certificate (court) | Court declaration of who the heirs are. | Court |
| Legal Heir Affidavit વારસદાર સોગંદનામું | Sworn statement listing all heirs — the workhorse document underpinning items 217–221 | e-StampNotary |
| Relinquishment/No-Objection Affidavit of Heirs | Other heirs confirming they do not claim, so one heir can be recorded or paid | e-StampNotary |
| Nomination Form / Deed of Nomination નામાંકન | Nominating a person for a bank account, insurance policy, shares, PF, or a co-operative society flat. The nominee holds for the legal heirs; nomination does not override succession law or a Will. | e-StampNotary |
| Deed of Family Settlement after Death કૌટુંબિક સમાધાન | Heirs agreeing among themselves how to divide the estate. | e-StampSub-Registrar |
| Executor's Renunciation / Consent Deed | Named executor declining or accepting the role. | e-StampNotary |
| Indemnity Bond for Estate Claim નુકસાની બંધપત્ર | Given to a bank/company/society releasing an asset to one heir without probate or succession certificate. | e-StampNotary |
Describe what the office, bank, school or court asked you for. We will name the exact document, tell you the current stamp value, and say whether notarisation is enough — before you pay anything. Call 94267 80195 or message us on WhatsApp.