Legal

Legal Heir Certificate in Gujarat: Your  Comprehensive Guide

In today’s comprehensive legal framework, individuals are required to obtain a legal heir certificate, which is a crucial document to prove their relationship and inheritance rights over the assets and property of the deceased dying intestate. Legal heir certificate in Gujarat application has several documentation & procedures.

The legal heir certificate is an important document for the family members of the deceased dying intestate. This document also reduces disputes among family members, ensuring a smooth transfer of the deceased’s assets. Legal Heir Certificate in Gujarat is not only the right established on the deceased’s family members, but these documents are accepted by the government officials, banks, institutions, and various other platforms to claim various benefits lying with the deceased, thus transferring the benefits to his legal heirs.

This legal heir certificate in Gujarat provides legal recognition to the domicile of Gujarat over the assets and properties of the deceased dying intestate; it also protects their rights. With the legal heir certificate in Gujarat, the legal complications and time are reduced, thus reducing the difficulties for the people of Gujarat.

What is a Legal Heir Certificate?

A legal heir certificate is a legal document that identifies the legal heir of the deceased dying intestate, who has passed away without leaving any will on his properties and assets. A legal heir certificate establishes the relationship of the family members with the deceased. Legal heirs of a deceased person include spouse, children, parents, etc. This certificate of a legal heir is issued by the government of a particular state of the residence of the deceased. The application for the legal heir certificate is to be applied by the family members claiming the legal heir rights over the deceased assets and properties. This certificate is to be issued by the government after various documentation and process. This certificate is generally obtained for claiming benefits over insurance, retirement benefits, investment, etc, over the dying intestate.

A legal heir certificate is issued by the government bodies of India to the heirs of a deceased person as per the Indian Succession Act to the family members of the deceased to transfer the deceased assets. These certificates are mandatory for the transfer of ownership in real estate, bank accounts, income tax returns, etc. To get a legal heir certificate, an applicant needs to comply with mandatory documents for the application. The required documents to the application form shall establish the applicant’s relationship to the deceased issued by the concerned authority.

Required Documents for legal Heir certificate in Gujarat

Any family members applying for the legal heir certificate in Gujarat need to comply with the following documents such as:-

1. Applicant’s residential proof certificate, e.g., passport, voter ID, true copy.
2. Applicant Identity Proof such as driver’s licence and PAN card.
3. Applicant ration card/ Pedhinamu.
4. Deceased Death certificate
5.   A unit copy of a payment pension order (PPO).
6. Panchanamu.
7. Generation issued by the Talatishri.
8. Designated form certified copy.
9. An affidavit on the relinquishment of the claim of the heirs.
10. Legal heir’s passport-size photograph

Eligibility Criteria

The following people are considered to be eligible to apply for the Legal Heir Certificate in Gujarat.

According to the Indian Succession Act, when the husband dies intestate, his immediate legal heirs are mother, widow, son, and daughter, comes under class I legal heir. The shares of the deceased shall be divided equally among the class I legal heirs.

In case the legal Heir of Class I is not available, only the Class II legal heirs can claim the share over the deceased property or assets. The class II legal heirs of the deceased are 1) father, 2) sons, daughter, son, 3) brother, 4) sister, etc.

Offline Legal Heir Certificate in Gujarat Application Procedure

1. To collect the application form for the Legal Heir Certificate in Gujarat, the applicant needs to visit the Mamlatdar¹ or Talati/Jan seva Kendra office.
2. The applicant, after receiving the form Legal Heir Certificate in Gujarat
3. You shall fill out the form with the utmost care, attaching all the necessary documents as per the requirements. The applicant may also take the help of a local district advocate to apply for a Legal Heir Certificate in Gujarat.
4. After filling out the forms attached with the required documents, unless a Java panch name is required, the applicant can go directly to the office of the collector or district magistrate to submit the application form along with the necessary documents. A minimum amount of basic fee needs to be paid by the applicant while submitting this application for a Legal Heir Certificate in Gujarat.
5. The applicant, after conducting the due process for filling and submitting the application form for the Legal Heir Certificate in Gujarat, shall later collect the legal heir certificate after due approval by the concerned authority after a certain stipulated time.

Online Legal Heir Certificate in Gujarat Application Procedure

1. The applicant for the Legal Heir Certificate in Gujarat can now be obtained through an online platform, thus reducing the hustle for the applicant. Applicants can visit the official website of Digital Gujarat, which is run by the Government of Gujarat.
2. The applicant, after going to the website, shall click on the login option on the home page of the website.
3. In case the applicant is a new user on the website, he shall register himself by registering on the portal and clicking on the new registration.
4. After clicking on the new user registration, a registration form will appear on the screen, and accordingly, the applicant for Legal Heir Certificate in Gujarat/ new user shall enter his credentials by entering his name, phone number, and address. Email-id etc.
5. For the login option, the applicant can either choose an aadhaar number or mobile number and accordingly, the applicant shall create his password.
6. The applicant, after registering himself on the website, shall now log in using his password and captcha to log in to the portal.
7. Once the applicant can log in to the website, he shall click on the revenue option and accordingly select the varsai certificate option, also known as Legal Heir Certificate in Gujarat.
8.   The applicant, after selecting the Varsai certificate option, shall enter his Aadhar number and accordingly choose the language, either in English or Gujarati, for the application form to show in the portal. According to the language chosen by the applicant, the Legal Heir Certificate in Gujarat will appear, and hence, the applicant can fill out the form. It is also important to note that This Digital Gujarat Portal has a provision to download a Gujarat keyword.
9. The applicant shall fill out the application form by entering the information required such as name, address, occupational details, family details, details of legal heirs, deceased, etc.
10. The applicant shall scan the required documents for the Legal Heir Certificate in Gujarat and upload them along with the application form in the portal.
11. The applicant, after submitting the legal application form, shall take out the print of the application form for further reference and then proceed with the payment.
12. The applicant can make the payment either through an E-wallet or using Gateway.
13. The applicant, after selecting the payment option, shall click on the OTP button to confirm the payment.
14. The applicant needs to enter the one-time password and thus complete the payment process.
15.  It is important to note that all the fields marked with * are mandatory for the applicant to fill out.

Application Process time

 The application for a Legal Heir Certificate in Gujarat usually takes 2 months / 6 days working days at the discretion of the concerned authority.

The applicant, after successfully submitting the application form for the Legal Heir Certificate in Gujarat, is not required to visit the JSK or ATVT centre for profile verification. The citizen of Gujrat will receive an SMS on the status of his/her application for a Legal Heir Certificate in Gujarat.

Any delay in the issuance of the Legal Heir Certificate in Gujarat, the applicant can approach the nearest tehsildar office, or the applicant can appoint a civil advocate for better understanding, or the applicant can contact the concerned sub-collector or RDO if there is further delay.

Fees

The fees for a Legal Heir Certificate in Gujarat are Rs.20/-.

Importance of legal heir certificate in Gujarat

The legal heir certificate in Gujrat will help the domicile in various cases, such as:-

1. From transferring the deceased utilities like land patta transfer, gas connection, electricity, telephone connection, water connection, bank account transfer, etc.

2. The legal heir certificate in Gujarat will also help the legal heir of the deceased get employment on compassionate grounds.

3. This legal heir certificate also helps the deceased family member to get sanctioned on the family pension scheme if available.

4. It also helps in establishing the relationship between the deceased and its legal heir.

5. This certificate on legal hier also lets the deceased legal heir enjoy certain state government schemes or retirement benefits such as provident fund, claiming insurance, house tax, state government employee benefits, pension, gratuity, electricity connection, service benefits, etc.

6. This legal heir certificate is used from time to time to sanction family benefits under certain government schemes.

Concerned Authority

The concerned authority for issuing the Legal Heir Certificate in Gujarat is Mamlatdar in rural areas or Tahsildar, and in case of further delay, the applicant can reach out to the RDO or sub-collector.

Related Guidelines

The applicant for the Legal Heir Certificate in Gujarat shall, if required, Javab Panch Namu in the application form should take two people for verification to the concerned office.  

If any proof is not available from the applicant, the concerned office must issue an affidavit as specified in the application form.

In case an applicant for the Legal Heir Certificate in Gujarat is misled by any information on the online platform, the application shall be rejected by the concerned authority after due verifications. If such a case occurs, the applicant needs to resubmit the application for a Legal Heir Certificate in Gujarat within 37 days of return. On failing to resubmit the application form within days, the application form will be rejected. The fee payment is non-refundable, no matter what the status of the application for a Legal Heir Certificate in Gujarat.

This Legal Heir Certificate in Gujarat is for a lifetime.

Legal Aspects

1.  The legal heir concept has arisen from the Indian Succession Act. According to the Indian Succession Act, the immediate family members of the deceased dying intestate can claim his/her legal rights over the deceased assets and properties.
2. The immediate family members of the deceased include spouses, children of married or unmarried parents, grandchildren, brothers, sisters, children of second wives, and children born out of marriage.
3. As per the Indian Succession Act, the class I heir of the family members will get the first equal share, and after that, the class ii relatives in the absence of class I heirs.
4. In the case of a Hindu woman dead, her husband and children will get her share equally, and if none of them are present, the properties and assets of the deceased Hindu woman will go to her husband’s heirs. In case none of the husband’s heirs are present, it will go to the deceased Hindu woman’s parents.
5. A second wife legally wedded after the divorce or death of the first wife of the deceased husband shall also be considered a legal heir.
6. All the children of the deceased husband, whether children of first wife, second wife or outside the marriage, are considered the legal heir of the deceased husband who has died without leaving a will.

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 for 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 to administer the assets and properties of the deceased by receiving a certificate from the court of law.

Legal heir certificates and a Succession certificate differences

Legal heir certificate- The local municipal authority or revenue authority issued the legal heir certificate to the applicants seeking the legal heir certificate of the deceased dying intestate. It establishes the legal identity of the legal heirs of the deceased person for many purposes other than financial matters. This legal heir certificate also has a local name in different jurisdictions, such as a various certificate, family tree certificate, inheritance certificate, pedghinama, etc.

It is also governed by the Indian Succession Act, along with state-specific laws and local authorities, if available. Legal hier certificates are required for claiming certain benefits such as pension, insurance, gratuity, and any other benefits related to the deceased dying intestate.

Succession certificate- The main purpose of the succession certificate is to establish a legal heir of the deceased dying intestate issued by the civil court of the particular state of the state of the deceased. This succession certificate authorizes the legal heirs to inherit the assets of the deceased, such as debts, securities, and immovable or moveable properties of the deceased.

This succession certificate is also known as a letter of administration. The succession certificate is governed by the statutory law The Indian Succession Act,1925.

FAQs

1. https://revenuedepartment.gujarat.gov.in/mamlatdar-contact