How to Write a Valid Will in India (2026): Witnesses, Registration, Probate
Last updated: 13 October 2026
Quick answer: To write a valid will in India, you must be an adult of sound mind acting freely. Write down who gets what, in any language, on plain paper. Sign it in front of two witnesses, who must each sign in your presence. Stamp paper, a lawyer and registration are optional. Since December 2025, probate is no longer compulsory anywhere in India.
Last updated: 13 October 2026 Quick answer: To write a valid will in India, you must be an adult of sound mind acting freely. Write down who gets what, in any language, on plain paper. Sign it in front of two witnesses, who must each sign in your presence. Stamp paper, a lawyer and registration are optional. Since December 2025, probate is no longer compulsory anywhere in India. Key takeaways Two witnesses: Section 63 of the Indian Succession Act, 1925 needs at least two attesting witnesses. No beneficiary witnesses: a gift to a witness or the witness's spouse is void under Section 67. Registration optional: a registered will is not more valid, but it is much harder to challenge. Probate optional: the Repealing and Amending Act, 2025 (assent 20 December 2025) omitted Section 213. No will: a Hindu man's self-acquired property is split equally among widow, mother and children. Nominee is not owner: your will decides who finally keeps the money a nominee collects. Consider a common Pune story. A 58-year-old engineer dies suddenly. His flat and mutual funds are in his name, and he always said everything would go to his wife. He never wrote it down. Under the Hindu Succession Act, his wife, his 82-year-old mother, his son and his daughter each inherit one quarter. To sell the flat, the family now needs all four signatures, including the grandmother's. A will prevents exactly this. It is also one of the cheapest documents you will ever make. This guide explains how to write a will in India that is legally valid in 2026: who can make one, the signing and witness rules, whether to register it, what changed with probate in December 2025, and the mistakes that most often lead to court. What is a will, and why does it matter? A will is a legal declaration of how you want your property dealt with after your death. That is close to the definition in Section 2(h) of the Indian Succession Act, 1925. A codicil is a later document that explains, alters or adds to a will, and is read as part of it. A will takes effect only on death. Until then you can change or revoke it as often as you like (Section 62). It does three jobs that nothing else does. It overrides the default succession rules. It names an executor to carry out your wishes. And it lets you appoint a guardian for minor children. It also completes your nominations. A nominee on a bank account, folio or demat account collects the money, but holds it for the people entitled under your will or succession law. Our explainer on nominee vs legal heir (/insights/nominee-vs-legal-heir-india) covers the Supreme Court rulings on this point. What makes a will legally valid in India? The Indian Succession Act sets a short list of conditions. Get these right and a handwritten will on plain paper is as valid as one drafted by a senior advocate. Requirement What the law says Practical tip Capacity Any adult (18+) of sound mind may make a will (Section 59). Physical frailty, blindness or deafness do not disqualify if the person understands what they are doing. For elderly or ill testators, get a doctor's certificate of mental fitness on the same day. Free will A will caused by fraud, coercion or pressure that takes away free agency is void (Section 61). Mere persuasion is not enough to void it. Beneficiaries should not draft the will or sit in the room while it is signed. Signature The testator signs or puts a mark, or someone signs in their presence and at their direction (Section 63). Sign every page and initial any handwritten correction. Attestation At least two witnesses, each of whom saw the testator sign (or received acknowledgement) and signed in the testator's presence. They need not be present together. Use two independent adults who are younger than you and easy to trace. Form No technical words or set format needed; intention is enough (Section 74). Use clear, specific language. Ambiguity is the commonest trigger for disputes. Stamp paper A will does not need stamp duty or stamp paper. Good-quality plain paper is fine. Soldiers, airmen and mariners on active service can make a simpler "privileged will" under Sections 65 and 66, even orally before two witnesses. Everyone else must follow Section 63. Which law governs your will? Part VI of the Indian Succession Act governs wills of Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and Buddhists (through Section 57 and Schedule III), as well as Christians and Parsis. Muslims are governed by Muslim personal law, under which a person can generally bequeath only up to one-third of the estate without the heirs' consent. If you are Muslim, take specific legal advice. One difference catches people out. Marriage automatically revokes an earlier will for those directly governed by the Act (Section 69), such as Christians and Parsis. It does not revoke a will made by a Hindu, Sikh, Jain or Buddhist. Either way, a marriage is a good reason to write a fresh will. What property can you leave by will? You can leave only what you own. That includes self-acquired property, your share of jointly owned property, investments, deposits, policy proceeds payable to your estate, and personal belongings. A Hindu can also bequeath their interest in coparcenary (ancestral HUF) property, under Section 30 of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956. You cannot will away a joint account balance that passes to the survivor by contract, or a co-owner's share. If you run an HUF, read our HUF guide (/insights/huf-tax-saving-guide) before drafting. How to write a will in India: step by step Six steps to write a valid will in India, from listing assets to signing before two witnesses Make an asset and liability list. Include property (with addresses and survey or flat numbers), bank accounts, FDs, mutual fund folios, demat accounts, PPF, EPF, NPS, insurance policies, lockers, vehicles, jewellery, business interests, loans given and loans owed. Keep account numbers in a separate schedule you can update. Decide the distribution. Name each beneficiary fully (with relationship and, ideally, an ID reference). Say who gets which asset, or what percentage of the estate. Add alternates and a residuary clause. Say what happens if a beneficiary dies before you. Add a clause that passes "everything else" to someone, so assets you forget or acquire later are covered. Appoint an executor. Choose one or two trusted adults, plus a substitute. Ask them first. An executor can also be a beneficiary. Appoint a guardian for minor children, and say how their share should be held until they are adults. Write the opening and closing declarations. State your full name, age, address, that you are of sound mind and acting freely, and that this will revokes all earlier wills and codicils. Sign before two witnesses. Date the will and write the place. Sign at the end and on every page. Each witness signs with name, address and date, in your presence. Store it safely. Keep the original in a known, secure place. Tell your executor where it is. Consider registration or a sealed-cover deposit (see below). Review it. Revisit after marriage, divorce, a birth, a death, a property purchase or sale, or every three to five years. What should a will include? A clause checklist Declaration of identity, sound mind and free will. Revocation of all earlier wills and codicils. Executor (and substitute) appointment. Specific bequests: named assets to named people. Percentage bequests for the rest, adding to 100%. Residuary clause and alternate beneficiaries. Guardian for minors and how their share is managed. Instructions for debts, taxes and funeral expenses. Digital assets: email, cloud storage, crypto, domain names. See our guide to digital assets in your estate plan (/insights/digital-assets-estate-planning) . Signature, date, place and two witness attestations. Who should witness a will, and why does it matter? Witnesses are the weakest link in most disputed wills. Pick them with care. Never a beneficiary or a beneficiary's spouse. Under Section 67, the will stays valid, but any gift to that witness or their spouse becomes void. Prefer people who will be around. If the will is ever challenged, at least one attesting witness who is alive and available usually has to be examined to prove it, under the evidence law (now the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023). Younger colleagues, a family doctor or your lawyer work well. Record the signing. A short video of you reading out key clauses and signing, with witnesses visible, is not a legal requirement but is strong evidence of capacity and free will. Doctor's certificate. If you are over 75 or unwell, a same-day medical certificate of mental fitness heads off the most common objection. The Supreme Court has long held that the person relying on a will must remove any "suspicious circumstances" around it, for example a frail testator, a beneficiary who arranged the signing, or an unexplained exclusion of close family. Independent witnesses and a short line explaining unusual choices help a great deal. Should you register your will? Registration is optional under the Registration Act, 1908. An unregistered will that is properly signed and attested is fully valid. Registration adds evidence: the Sub-Registrar checks the identity of the testator, and a copy sits in the registry's books. That makes forgery claims much harder. Comparison of a registered will and an unregistered will in India To register, you appear in person at the Sub-Registrar's office with the original will, identity and address proofs, photographs, and usually your two witnesses. Fees are modest and vary by state; check the current schedule with your local office (in Maharashtra, the IGR department). Alternatively, under Sections 42 to 46 of the Registration Act, you can deposit your will in a sealed cover with the Registrar. It is opened after your death on application. Two myths are worth correcting. A registered will does not override a later unregistered one: your last valid will prevails. And registration does not stop a challenge on grounds of capacity or coercion. It simply makes the paper trail stronger. Do you still need probate in 2026? Probate is a court's certificate that a will is genuine and validly executed, granted to the executor. Until December 2025, Section 213 of the Indian Succession Act made it compulsory for certain wills. For Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and Buddhists, it applied to wills made within the original civil jurisdiction of the Bombay and Madras High Courts and the old Bengal territories, and to wills elsewhere covering immovable property in those areas. The Repealing and Amending Act, 2025 , which received Presidential assent on 20 December 2025, omitted Section 213. As a result, probate is no longer a precondition to claiming rights under a will in any court in India. A will can now be proved like any other document. Our estate planning guide (/insights/estate-planning-guide-india) covered this change when it happened. Comparison of probate rules for wills in India before and after the December 2025 change Note what the change did not do. The probate procedure itself still exists, and an executor can still apply for it. Legal commentators point out that probate is a judgment "in rem", binding on everyone, while an ordinary civil judgment binds only the parties. For a large estate, many beneficiaries or a family likely to dispute, probate can still be worth it. Some institutions have also not fully caught up. The RBI's directions of September 2025 on deceased customers' claims say banks may ordinarily ask for probate where a will exists and the claim is above the simplified limit (₹15 lakh for commercial banks), though they may act on an uncontested will. SEBI's 23 July 2026 transmission framework, by contrast, accepts a copy of the will with an indemnity bond, without probate. Our claims checklist (/insights/claim-deceased-parent-investments-checklist) explains what each institution asks for. For Pune residents: probate was never compulsory for a will made in Pune covering Pune property, because Pune is outside the Bombay High Court's original jurisdiction. It mattered only if you owned property in Mumbai. What happens if you die without a will? Dying "intestate" means your personal law decides. For Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and Buddhists that is the Hindu Succession Act, 1956. Christians and Parsis follow the Indian Succession Act's intestacy rules, and Muslims follow Muslim personal law. Under Sections 8 and 10 of the Hindu Succession Act, a Hindu man's property goes first to his Class I heirs, who inherit together. The widow, each son, each daughter and the mother take one equal share each, with children of a predeceased son or daughter taking their parent's share. Since the 2005 amendment, daughters are also coparceners in ancestral property by birth, with the same rights as sons. Bar chart showing how a Hindu man’s estate is split equally among widow, mother, son and daughter when there is no will Take a worked example. Ramesh, a Hindu, dies leaving a self-acquired flat worth ₹1.2 crore and mutual funds worth ₹40 lakh, a total of ₹1.6 crore. His Class I heirs are his wife, mother, son and daughter. Each inherits a quarter, or ₹40 lakh. If he wanted his wife to have the flat outright for life, he needed a will. Without one, the flat is co-owned by four people, and his mother's quarter will in turn pass under her own succession. A Hindu woman's property follows a different order under Section 15: first to her children and husband, then her husband's heirs, then her parents. That difference alone is a good reason for every married woman with assets in her own name to make a will too. Our guide for homemakers and women (/insights/financial-planning-for-homemakers-and-women) covers this. How do a will and nominations work together? A will decides ownership; a nomination decides who collects. Banks, fund houses, depositories and insurers pay the nominee and are then discharged. The Supreme Court has repeatedly held that a nominee generally holds the money for the legal heirs, most recently in Shakti Yezdani v. Jayanand Jayant Salgaonkar (14 December 2023) for shares. So make them point the same way. If your will leaves your mutual funds to your daughter, make her the nominee on those folios. As of October 2026 you can name up to three nominees on a folio or demat account, and up to four on a bank deposit. See our guides to nomination rules for mutual funds and demat (/insights/nomination-rules-mutual-funds-demat-2026) and joint holding vs nomination (/insights/joint-holding-vs-nomination) . Life insurance is a partial exception. Since 2015, Section 39 of the Insurance Act lets a spouse, parent or child be a "beneficial nominee" who can keep the money, though High Courts have not read this uniformly. For larger or complex estates, a private family trust (/insights/private-family-trust-india) may sit alongside the will. Common mistakes that get wills challenged Vague descriptions: "my house" when you own two. Give addresses and identifiers. Percentages that do not add up , or no residuary clause, leaving some assets intestate. Beneficiary as witness , which voids their gift. Unexplained exclusion of a spouse or child. You may do it, but a one-line reason helps. Willing what you do not own , such as a spouse's share of a joint flat or a joint FD that passes to the survivor. Handwritten edits after signing . Make a codicil, signed and witnessed like the will, or write a fresh will. No review after a divorce, a death or a property sale. Nobody knows where it is. A perfect will that cannot be found is no will. Related reading Estate planning in India: will, nomination and succession (/insights/estate-planning-guide-india) Nominee vs legal heir: who actually gets the money (/insights/nominee-vs-legal-heir-india) Claiming a parent's investments after death: checklist (/insights/claim-deceased-parent-investments-checklist) Mutual fund transmission after death (/insights/mutual-fund-transmission-after-death) Just married: a joint financial checklist (/insights/newly-married-financial-checklist) New parents: the money moves for year one (/insights/new-parents-money-moves) Frequently Asked Questions Is a handwritten will valid in India? Yes. A handwritten (holographic) will on plain paper is valid if you are an adult of sound mind, sign it, and two witnesses attest it under Section 63 of the Indian Succession Act. It needs no stamp paper, lawyer or registration. Write clearly, sign every page, date it, and initial any corrections made before signing. Is registration of a will compulsory in India? No. Registration of a will is optional under the Registration Act, 1908. An unregistered will is equally valid. Registering it with the Sub-Registrar makes it much harder to allege forgery or impersonation, so it is worth doing for property-heavy estates or where a dispute is possible. A later valid will, registered or not, overrides an earlier registered one. Is probate required in Mumbai after 2025? No longer compulsory. The Repealing and Amending Act, 2025, with Presidential assent on 20 December 2025, omitted Section 213 of the Indian Succession Act, which had required probate for certain wills in Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata. Executors can still apply for probate, and it remains useful for large or contested estates, or where a bank insists above its limits. Can a beneficiary be a witness to a will? They can sign, but they lose their gift. Under Section 67 of the Indian Succession Act, the will remains valid, but any bequest to an attesting witness or that witness's spouse becomes void. Always use two independent adults who receive nothing under the will, ideally people likely to be traceable for many years. Can I change my will later? Yes, as often as you like while you have mental capacity (Section 62). Make a codicil for small changes, signed and attested by two witnesses like the will, or write a fresh will that expressly revokes earlier ones. Avoid handwritten edits on a signed will, which invite challenges. The last valid will prevails. Does a will override a nomination? In most cases the will decides who finally owns the asset, while the nominee only collects it. Courts have held that bank, share and mutual fund nominees hold the money for legal heirs. Life insurance has a partial exception for spouse, parent or child "beneficial nominees" under Section 39 of the Insurance Act. Align nominations with the will to avoid disputes. Sources: Indian Succession Act, 1925 (Indian Kanoon) (https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1450343/) ; SCC Online: omission of Section 213 (https://www.scconline.com/blog/post/2026/08/29/section-213-succession-act-omission-2025-probate/) ; Registration Act, 1908, Sections 42 to 46 (https://www.vidhijudicial.com/sec-42-to-46-chapter-ix-(of-the-deposit-of-wills)-the-registration-act,-1908.html) ; IndiaCorpLaw on Shakti Yezdani (2023) (https://indiacorplaw.in/2024/01/03/unravelling-the-rights-of-successors-vis-a-vis-nominees-to-the-shares-of-a-company/) ; RBI deceased-claims directions, 2025 (summary) (https://www.indialaw.in/blog/banking-and-finance/rbi-issues-directions-on-settlement-of-deceased-claims/) . Worked examples are Money n Wealth calculations. Want your will and nominations to point the same way? Most family disputes start where a will, nominations and joint holdings contradict each other. Talk to Money n Wealth (/contact) for a free portfolio review, or see our will and estate planning service (/products/estate) . This article is for general educational purposes only and does not constitute financial or legal advice. Figures and examples are illustrative. Please consult a qualified financial adviser and a lawyer for guidance specific to your situation. Money n Wealth (Predics Fintech Services Pvt Ltd) is an AMFI-registered Mutual Fund Distributor (ARN-121995) and APMI-registered PMS Distributor (APRN07444); it is not a SEBI-registered investment adviser and may earn distribution commission on investments made through it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a handwritten will valid in India?
Yes. A handwritten (holographic) will on plain paper is valid if you are an adult of sound mind, sign it, and two witnesses attest it under Section 63 of the Indian Succession Act. It needs no stamp paper, lawyer or registration. Write clearly, sign every page, date it, and initial any corrections made before signing.
Is registration of a will compulsory in India?
No. Registration of a will is optional under the Registration Act, 1908. An unregistered will is equally valid. Registering it with the Sub-Registrar makes it much harder to allege forgery or impersonation, so it is worth doing for property-heavy estates or where a dispute is possible. A later valid will, registered or not, overrides an earlier registered one.
Is probate required in Mumbai after 2025?
No longer compulsory. The Repealing and Amending Act, 2025, with Presidential assent on 20 December 2025, omitted Section 213 of the Indian Succession Act, which had required probate for certain wills in Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata. Executors can still apply for probate, and it remains useful for large or contested estates, or where a bank insists above its limits.
Can a beneficiary be a witness to a will?
They can sign, but they lose their gift. Under Section 67 of the Indian Succession Act, the will remains valid, but any bequest to an attesting witness or that witness's spouse becomes void. Always use two independent adults who receive nothing under the will, ideally people likely to be traceable for many years.
Can I change my will later?
Yes, as often as you like while you have mental capacity (Section 62). Make a codicil for small changes, signed and attested by two witnesses like the will, or write a fresh will that expressly revokes earlier ones. Avoid handwritten edits on a signed will, which invite challenges. The last valid will prevails.
Does a will override a nomination?
In most cases the will decides who finally owns the asset, while the nominee only collects it. Courts have held that bank, share and mutual fund nominees hold the money for legal heirs. Life insurance has a partial exception for spouse, parent or child "beneficial nominees" under Section 39 of the Insurance Act. Align nominations with the will to avoid disputes.
Want your will and nominations to point the same way?
Most family disputes start where a will, nominations and joint holdings contradict each other. Talk to Money n Wealth for a free portfolio review, or see our will and estate planning service .