Legal

The Complete Process of Obtaining a Legal Heir Certificate in Tamil Nadu

Investment is a key element to having your money create wealth for yourself and your family members. Holding cash in the banks in the savings account is the safest strategy, but an investment of money allows it to grow in massive value over a period of time, i.e., it is a long-term growth. Legal heirs are divided into shares, and thus, these shares are divided among the legal heirs of the deceased’s dying intestate, according to the Indian Succession Act. If a woman inherits shares/property from her deceased husband, son, father, or mother, he is considered to be the absolute owner of her share claimed as the legal heir of the deceased, and thus, she can accordingly dispose of it.

The legal heir certificate states that any family member who is entitled to succeed the assets /property of the deceased dying intestate should get the Legal heir certificate from the concerned authority of the resident of the deceased.

As per the legal heir certificate, the identity of the deceased heirs is issued by the concerned authority for claiming benefits over the deceased’s gratuity, pension, government schemes, etc.

What is a legal heir certificate?

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

One of the major aspects of a legal heir certificate is that it helps the family members to claim or transfer the property and assets of the deceased 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

The following people are considered to be eligible to apply for the Legal Heir Certificate in Tamil Nadu:

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.

Pre-application preparation

Offline Application Process Legal Heir Certificate in Tamil Nadu

1. The applicant needs to visit the taluk/tahsildar office.
2. A form of legal heir certificate in Tamil Nadu needs to be collected by the applicant from the authority concerned.
3. The applicant, after collecting the form, needs to fill out the details with the utmost clarity to show the relationship with the deceased person. The applicant may also take the guidance of a local district advocate for a better understanding and hassle-free application procedure for the Legal Heir Certificate in Tamil Nadu.
4. The application for a legal heir certificate in Tamil Nadu needs to be affixed with a stamp of Rs.2 before the submission.
5. The form shall have the applicant’s signature.
6. After filling out the form for the Legal Heir Certificate in Tamil Nadu along with all the necessary documents, the applicant shall submit it to the concerned authority, and accordingly, a token will be provided to the applicant to meet the VAO/RI (village administration officer/revenue inspector).

After a period of 2 to 3 days.

• When the Applicant visits the VAO office after the stipulated time, two sets of forms will be provided to the applicant applying for the legal certificate in Tamil Nadu. In one of the forms, the applicant needs to get a reference of 10 people mentioning their name, address, and sign. In the second form, the applicant needs to write the names of the 10 different people in the applicant’s locality for reference. If the applicant is from a metropolitan city, then he needs to visit a revenue inspector.
• After completing the application procedure for the legal certificate in Tamil Nadu, the applicant needs to visit the VAO(village administration office) along with all the legal heirs, and therefore, the application shall be signed in the presence of the VAO. It is only after the VAO’s satisfaction with the applications submitted by the applicant that the VAO will give his office seal and signature.
• The applicant shall submit this signed application form on the legal heir certificate by the village administration officer to the revenue inspector. This revenue inspector, after receiving the application form, shall visit the applicant’s house to examine the address and legal heirs.
• The applicant, after all the due process of the application procedure, shall submit the signed application by the RI & VAO form to the concerned tahsildar office and get a token number, and accordingly, the legal heir certificate in Tamil Nadu will be issued officially.

Online Application Process Legal Heir Certificate in Tamil Nadu

1. An applicant can now apply for a Legal Heir Certificate in Tamil Nadu online without visiting the concerned office. The name of the online website is an e-save portal.
2. If an applicant is a new user, he needs to log in to sign up to register in the portal and then apply. The applicant thereafter login for the Legal Heir Certificate in Tamil Nadu
3. The applicant shall follow the instructions given in the portal very carefully and accordingly fill out the details in the online application form.
4. Then, this application will be verified by the concerned department.

Documentation

For obtaining a legal heir certificate in Tamil Nadu, the following documents are required:-

1. Affidavit on a self-undertaking.
2. Applicant identity proof.
3. Legal heirs’ address proof.
4. Legal heirs’ proof of date of birth.
5. Deceased person’s death certificate.
6. Residence proof of the deceased and the applicant.

Fees Structure

The fee structure for the legal heir certificate of Tamil Nadu is that for the offline method, it is Rs.60 for the application form and Rs. For the stamp and the online method, it is Rs.2 for the stamp and Rs.20 for the affidavit.

Authorities involved

For the Legal Heir Certificate in Tamil Nadu, the authorities involved are the village administration officer, Revenue Inspector, and Tehsildar¹. The applicant is required to visit all the above offices/officers for evaluation when applying for a certificate of legal heir.

Tracking Application status

Generally, the application for the legal heir certificate takes around 1 month or 30 days from the concerned authority to issue. If there is any unnecessary delay, taking more than 30 days, the applicant is suggested to visit or approach the revenue office or sub-collector for further details.

Where can you use a legal heir certificate in Tamil Nadu?

The legal heir certificate in Tamil Nadu 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 Tamil Nadu 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.

Post approval steps

After the due verifications of the documents for the legal heir certificate in Tamil Nadu, the legal heirs will be issued a legal heir certificate by the tehsildar of the concerned district.

Difference between Succession and Legal Heirs Certificate

Succession Certificate- A succession certificate is issued by the district court of the resident of the deceased dying intestate to his legal heirs to establish their authenticity and legal rights for inheriting the debts, securities, and other assets of the deceased. When a person dies without making a will over his properties and assets, then his legal heirs shall obtain the succession certificate from the civil court.

A legal heir needs to file a petition before the civil court claiming the succession right over the deceased dying intestate. This procedure before the civil court shall take 6- 7 months unless objections come in between the proceedings.

 A succession certificate is necessary to obtain the immovable properties of the deceased. This certificate is necessary if the legal heirs plan to sell and administer the property of the deceased, even in the absence of any other claim over it.

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.

FAQs

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tehsildar