Government Scraps Mandatory probate of Wills - Do you still need to do Probate of Will Voluntarily for Succession Planning?
The Repealing and Amending Bill, 2025, simply repeals Section 213 of the Indian Succession Act, 1925 thereby dispensing with the mandatory requirement of obtaining Probate before establishing one’s right as an executor. However, parties are at liberty to file an application for probate to safeguard themselves and courts are empowered to grant probate to enforce such Wills.
In families where relationships are strained, where the estate includes valuable immovable property, or where the will departs from what heirs might ordinarily expect, probate continues to offer a measure of finality that informal administration cannot. It answers potential objections once and for all in court, rather than allowing them to resurface later at the stage of mutation, transfer or distribution.
There is also a practical dimension: banks, financial institutions, housing societies and revenue authorities often proceed on internal risk policies rather than on fine points of statutory interpretation. Therefore, many may still insist on probate or a court order before releasing assets.
Now that probate is no longer mandatory, the executor of a will may commence and even complete distributing the estate in accordance with the will without informing the other legal heirs. This opens up the possibility that the genuineness of the will may be challenged years into the future
How does this change affect Succession Planning?
Executors will no longer be forced into probate proceedings as a matter of course, and in uncomplicated, undisputed estates, assets can be transmitted faster and at lower cost.
At the same time, where probate is no longer mandatory, the quality of the will itself becomes critical. Clear drafting, proper execution, credible witnesses and consistency between the will and nominations or account records assume greater importance.
In straightforward cases, probate may be avoided. In estates where future disputes are foreseeable, choosing probate at the outset may still be the wiser course.