An NRI's Guide to Succession and Asset Transfer in India: Indian Succession Act vs. Hindu Succession Act

By S&S Co. Advocates & Solicitors · Published 1 August 2026 · Informational content, not legal advice — see our disclaimer

Two Different Statutes, and Which One Applies to You

For Non-Resident Indians dealing with a parent's or relative's estate in India, the first question is almost always: which law governs the inheritance? The answer depends on religion and on whether there is a valid will. The Hindu Succession Act, 1956 (HSA) governs intestate succession — that is, succession without a will — for Hindus, Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs. The Indian Succession Act, 1925 (ISA) governs intestate succession for Christians, Parsis and most other communities, and — importantly — also governs the making and probate of wills generally, including wills made by Hindus.

This distinction matters immediately in practice. If your Hindu father died without a will (intestate), the HSA's rules on Class I and Class II heirs determine who inherits and in what shares. If he left a valid will, the ISA's provisions on execution, probate and administration of wills govern how that will is given legal effect — regardless of the testator's religion. Many NRIs assume one Act or the other applies wholesale to their situation; in reality, both may be relevant to different aspects of the same estate.

Intestate Succession Under the Hindu Succession Act

Where a Hindu male dies intestate, Section 8 of the HSA sets out a priority order: Class I heirs (widow, sons, daughters, and certain other specified relatives, including the mother) inherit simultaneously and in equal shares, to the exclusion of Class II heirs and more distant relatives. This is a materially different scheme from many other jurisdictions' default inheritance laws, and NRIs used to a different system in their country of residence are sometimes surprised that a surviving spouse does not automatically inherit the entire estate — she is one of several Class I heirs sharing equally with the children.

For a Hindu female who dies intestate, Section 15 of the HSA applies a different and somewhat more complex scheme, with the source of the property (inherited from her father's side, her husband's side, or self-acquired) affecting who inherits. A significant development for daughters specifically came through the 2005 amendment to Section 6 of the HSA, which gave daughters the same coparcenary birthright in ancestral (joint family) property as sons — a right that Indian courts have since confirmed applies even where the father died before the 2005 amendment came into force, provided the daughter was alive when the amendment took effect.

Wills, Probate, and the Indian Succession Act

If there is a will, the Indian Succession Act's provisions on execution and probate come into play. A critical, often-missed point for NRIs: probate of a will is mandatory only in certain circumstances — specifically, under Section 57 of the ISA, for wills made by Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs or Jains within the territories of the former Presidency towns of Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata, or relating to immovable property situated within those territories. Outside these areas, probate is not strictly mandatory for these communities, but it is frequently required in practice — banks, registrars and land revenue authorities routinely insist on probate (or at least a succession certificate or letters of administration) before they will act on a will's instructions, simply because it gives them a court-validated document to rely on.

For Christians and Parsis, and for any will relating to immovable property in the former Presidency towns, probate obligations are generally stricter. Given how often financial institutions in practice ask for probate regardless of the strict legal requirement, NRIs administering an estate with property or bank accounts spread across multiple Indian cities should expect to need probate (or an equivalent court order) as a practical matter even where it is not, strictly speaking, legally mandatory everywhere.

Succession Certificates and Letters of Administration

Where a person dies intestate and left movable property — bank accounts, fixed deposits, shares, mutual funds, insurance proceeds — the appropriate instrument is usually a Succession Certificate under Part X of the Indian Succession Act, obtained from the district court having jurisdiction. This certificate authorises the holder to collect debts and securities due to the deceased and gives banks and financial institutions the legal comfort to release funds to the certificate holder.

Where there is a will but no executor able or willing to act (or the will is silent on this), or where the estate needs court-supervised administration for other reasons, Letters of Administration are the appropriate route instead. Both processes involve a citation (public notice) period to allow other claimants to come forward, and both can take anywhere from several months to well over a year depending on the court, whether the application is contested, and how many heirs need to be served notice — a timeline NRIs should plan around rather than assume will move quickly.

Special Considerations for Immovable Property and Agricultural Land

Under FEMA (the Foreign Exchange Management Act) regulations, NRIs generally cannot purchase agricultural land, plantation property or a farmhouse in India — but inheritance is a specific, well-established exception to this restriction. An NRI can inherit agricultural land from a resident Indian relative, even though they could not have bought that same land directly. This exception is frequently misunderstood, and NRIs sometimes wrongly assume they must sell inherited agricultural land immediately; there is no such general obligation, though eventual sale is typically to a resident Indian given the restrictions on future NRI ownership transfers of agricultural land by purchase.

Once inherited property is legally transferred (through probate, succession certificate, or letters of administration as appropriate), the next practical step is mutation — updating the local land revenue records to reflect the new owner's name. This is a state and district-level administrative process, separate from the succession proceeding itself, and is often where NRIs face the most friction, since it typically requires in-person visits or a reliable local representative acting under a valid Power of Attorney.

Power of Attorney, Repatriation, and Practical Logistics

Since most NRIs cannot be physically present in India for the duration of a succession proceeding or a subsequent property sale, a registered and properly attested Power of Attorney (POA) in favour of a trusted representative — typically a family member or an advocate — is usually essential. A POA executed abroad generally needs to be notarised and then either apostilled (for Hague Convention countries) or attested by the Indian embassy/consulate, and subsequently adjudicated/stamped and registered in India, before Indian authorities and registrars will fully rely on it for property transactions.

If inherited property is eventually sold, repatriating the sale proceeds abroad is governed by FEMA and RBI regulations, and generally requires routing the funds through an authorised dealer bank with appropriate tax clearance certificates (commonly Forms 15CA/15CB under the Income Tax Act) confirming applicable taxes have been paid or provided for. Capital gains tax on the sale, and the applicability of any Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement between India and the NRI's country of residence, should be discussed with a qualified tax advisor alongside the legal succession process — this article addresses the succession and property-transfer law, not tax planning, and the two should be coordinated together, not handled in isolation.

Frequently Asked Questions

References & Further Reading

This article references the following statutes, rules and judicial decisions. Case citations link to the fuller discussion in our Legal Updates archive, verified against primary sources at the time of writing.

1. Hindu Succession Act, 1956 — Sections 6 (coparcenary rights, as amended in 2005), 8 (Class I/II heirs for male intestates), and 15 (female intestate succession).
2. Indian Succession Act, 1925 — Section 57 and Schedule III (probate requirements), Part VI (wills), Part IX (letters of administration) and Part X, Sections 370–390 (succession certificates).
3. Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 and associated RBI regulations on acquisition and transfer of immovable property in India by NRIs, including the inheritance exception for agricultural land, plantation property and farmhouses.
4. Income Tax Act, 1961 — Section 195 (TDS on payments to non-residents) and Forms 15CA/15CB, relevant to repatriation of sale proceeds.
5. This article discusses general succession and property-transfer law only and does not constitute tax advice; readers should consult a qualified tax advisor on capital gains and DTAA implications alongside the legal succession process. See our team for family law and property transfer experience, and our Agricultural Industries practice area for related succession and land-inheritance matters.