Legal

Assam Legal Heir Certificate: How to Apply and What to Expect

Assam Legal Heir Certificate is a vital legal document for the survivor of the deceased dying intestate. This certificate determines the blood relationship with the concerned deceased. This Assam Legal Heir Certificate establishes the domicile of Assam to claim inheritance of the deceased person’s assets and properties and to transfer ownership to the legal heirs of the deceased.

Importance of Assam Legal Heir Certificate

Assam’s legal heir certificate helps the resident of Assam to identify the right family members of the deceased dying intestate who has expired without making a will on his properties/assets. Assam legal Heir certificate is also commonly known as the Next of kin certificate. A person next to the deceased is known as the legal heir.

A legal heir certificate is a document issued by the deputy commissioner, the SDO office, or the circle officer of the district of Assam. Any family member next to the deceased can apply for this legal heir certificate in Assam to claim benefits such as provident fund, insurance, investment, government pensionary benefits, provident fund, etc.

The major importance of Assam’s legal heirship is that it helps the family members claim or transfer the property and assets of the deceased’s dying intestate. It also helps the legal heir of the deceased to get an appointment on a compassionate if the deceased was a government employee.

Eligibility Criteria

 A family member of the deceased is eligible for the Legal Heir Certificate in Assam if he comes under the rule given in the Indian Succession Act. The following persons are the blood relatives of the deceased, such as the son of the deceased, daughter of the deceased, father and mother of the deceased, etc.

According to the Indian Succession Act, Class I legal heirs of a deceased are his wife, his children, and his wife. It is only in the absence of family members of Class I heir that the Class II heir is the next direct legal heir eligible for the legal heir certificate. This class II legal heirs of the deceased person are his father, his grandchildren, his great-grandchildren, his brothers and sisters, and other relatives.

Requirements of Document

Documents required for the Legal Heir Certificate are as follows:

1. It is mandatory to submit the death certificate of the deceased person.
2. Documents for the relationship proof such as Voter ID, PAN card, Birth certificate of the applicant, marriage certificate, etc.
3. An affidavit of self-declaration is a mandatory document to submit for an Assam Legal Heir Certificate.
4. Identity proof of the applicant.
5. Photo & Signature.
6. Residential/VCDC/Panchayat certificate.
7. Current Voter list certified copy.
8. Land Revenue Receipt.
9. The application form for this Legal Heir Certificate in Assam is available on the website.

Offline Application Procedure for Assam Legal Heir Certificate:

1. The applicant needs to visit the concerned district Deputy Commissioner’s office, the SDO office, or the Circle office.
2. The applicant shall collect the Legal Heir Certificate from the concerned office to apply for the certificate of legal heir, or else he can download it from the government portal.
3. The applicant, after collecting the form for the application, must fill out the form with all the mandatory details as per the guidelines of the Assam government, with proper details. For a better understanding, the applicant can take the consultation of the district civil advocate.
4. This application shall be affixed with the applicant’s photograph along with the necessary documents and then submitted to the concerned authority.
5. An applicant needs to make payment before the counter in the office of the concerned authority.
6. After the applicant makes a payment, an acknowledgement receipt will be provided to the applicant, through which he will be able to track the application for Legal Heir Certificate status.
7. This application for an Assam Legal Heir Certificate will be forwarded to the concerned circle officer within a stipulated time from the submission of the application.
8. After receiving the application for the Assam Legal Heir Certificate, the concerned circle officer shall start verification by enquiring about the details of the deceased and his family members soon after receiving the application form submitted before the concerned DC/SDO (Civil).
9. After the enquiry report is submitted by the circle officer, the concerned designated public servant will issue/ reject the application for Legal Heir Certificate in Assam .

Online service procedure

A resident of Assam can apply for the legal heir certificate online without any hustle. The state of Assam provides this online service of Assam Legal Heir Certificate in the name of the next of kin in the portal sewasetu.assam.gov.in. Some of the guidelines for applying the Assam Legal Heir Certificate are as follows:

1. The applicant who is a first-time user in the portal needs to register by filling in his full name, mobile no, email ID, state, and password.
2. Once the applicant registers his ID, he will log in automatically with the credentials.
3. The applicant needs to click the apply online on the issuance of next of kin.
4. The applicant has to fill out the form, attach all the necessary documents, and submit it online.
5. An acknowledgement receipt will be generated in the applicant ID after successful submission; this application will then be forwarded to the higher authority for further verification. This acknowledgement receipt will be further sent through an SMS and email ID of the applicant.
6. This portal also provides a service to the applicant to track the Assam Legal Heir Certificate by entering the application reference number.
7. If the application submitted by the applicant is found to be missing some documents or any discrepancies and if any necessary corrections need to be made by the applicant for the Assam Legal Heir Certificate online or if the applicant has to apply a fresh new application, The applicant, through either SMS or Email or both, will be notified by the concerned officers.
8. If the Assam Legal Heir Certificate application filled by the applicant through the online procedure goes correctly and is accepted by the concerned officer, the applicant shall receive information that the certificate is ready within 15 working days or more at the discretion of the concerned authority.
9. Assam Legal Heir Certificate or next of kin shall be downloaded by the applicant from the ARTPS portal or sewa setu.

Processing Time

The regular time taken for issuing the Assam Legal Heir Certificate is a minimum of 1 month or 30 days or maybe more at the discretion of the government authority. As per the Sewa Setu portal¹, the stipulated time given is 15 days.

In case of any objection or region rejecting the application form for the Assam Legal Heir Certificate, it will be intimated in writing to the applicant within fifteen days of the receipt of the application.

What are the different types of legal heir certificates?

This legal heir certificate and its legal requirement differ from country to country or state. In India, legal heir certificates have various local names such as verisu, Next of kin, varsai, etc.

Some of the common and valid legal heir certificates or documents are:

Legal heirship certificate- This certificate is issued by the district taluk officer/ tehsildar or, in some districts, by the district commissioner’s office. The certificate is issued to the applicant seeking the legal heir of the concerned deceased dying intestate to identify the legal survivor of the deceased to claim insurance, retirement benefits, gratuity, investments, etc.

Succession certificate- This succession certificate is issued by the civil court upon filing of the petition by the applicant seeking legal survivorship over the deceased assets and moveable properties, including the transfer of debts and securities to the legal heirs of a deceased person.

Letter of Administration- A Letter of Administration is issued by the civil court granting authority to a person over the deceased dying intestate to manage as an administrator and distribute the deceased estate to the rightful legal heirs.

Probate- Probate is a judicial process as per the Indian Succession Act through which the will of the deceased is verified and evaluated by the district court to check if the will is genuine.

Probate gives the executor the right, by receiving a certificate from the court of law, to administer the assets and properties of the deceased.

Fee Structure & Payment

There are no statutory charges, but a service charge of Rs.30 will be taken by the local authority. In case of any printing from PFC/CSC, it’s Rs.10 per page, and scanning in PFC/CSC(public facilitation centre/common service centre) is Rs.5 per page, and other convenience charges as per the Sewa setu are Rs.10. 

How to track application status

 The application status of the Assam Legal Heir Certificate can be checked by the applicant through the acknowledgement receipt provided with a specific tracking ID for both online and offline applicants.

What is the validity of the Assam Legal Heir Certificate

The validity of the Assam Legal Heir Certificate is for the lifetime unless any objection comes in within 3 years from the death of the deceased.

Why is a legal Heir Certificate Required?

The applicant must include certain specific details while applying for an Assam Legal Heir Certificate, such as making a public statement in the form of an affidavit stating the relationship with the concerned deceased person by submitting various legal documents.

This Assam Legal Heir Certificate is needed if the deceased was a government employee and thus the legal heir for applying for a job in the place of the deceased on the grounds of compassionate appointment, if available. This certificate of legal heir also comes in handy if the legal heir or survivor of the deceased has to claim the benefits of available government schemes benefits.

Assam Legal Heir Certificate is also necessary for the legal heirs of the deceased to claim benefits such as retirement packages, gratuity, insurance, provident funds, investments, etc.

FAQs

1. https://sewasetu.assam.gov.in/