How to Make a Will in India — Validity Rules, Witnesses, and Why Registration Is Optional

कायदेशीर मुदती

पायरी-पायरीने: काय करावं

1. 1

   List assets and decide shares

   Everything you own, who gets what, in plain language.

   तपशील पहा→

   Inventory what you own: property (with addresses/survey numbers), bank and demat accounts, FDs, insurance, vehicles, jewellery, digital assets. Then state who gets what in unambiguous shares — "my flat at [address] to my daughter [full name]" beats "my property to my children equally". Name an executor (a trusted person who will implement the will) and a guardian for minor children. Wills made under the Indian Succession Act govern most Indians; Muslim testamentary law differs (generally one-third of the estate by will) — take specific advice there.

2. 2

   Execute it correctly — this is the validity core

   You sign; two witnesses attest, seeing you sign.

   तपशील पहा→

   Under Section 63, Indian Succession Act: the will must be in writing (any language, even handwritten), signed by the testator, and attested by two or more witnesses each of whom saw you sign and then signed in your presence. Choose witnesses who are not beneficiaries (a beneficiary-witness risks losing their legacy under Section 67), are younger/likely to outlive you, and are easy to trace. Date every page, sign every page, and state that this will revokes all earlier wills.

   आम्ही हे तुमच्यासाठी करतो — ₹199 →
3. 3

   Registration: optional, but useful

   Not required for validity — adds tamper-proof evidence.

   तपशील पहा→

   Registration at the sub-registrar (Registration Act, Section 18 — optional for wills) costs a nominal fee (commonly ₹100–1,000 by state) and puts a copy in official custody, making later allegations of forgery or substitution much harder. It does not need stamp duty. A registered will can still be revoked or replaced by a later will — the latest valid will always prevails. A medical fitness certificate on the same day is a common, sensible add-on for elderly testators.

4. 4

   Store, review, and tell the executor

   A perfect will nobody can find helps no one.

   तपशील पहा→

   Keep the signed original safe (bank locker with nominee access, or with your advocate), give the executor a copy or its location, and review after every life event — marriage, divorce, births, deaths, property purchases. To change it, either execute a fresh will (cleanest) or a codicil with the same two-witness formality. After death, the executor applies for probate where required — chiefly wills executed or property situated in Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai — otherwise the will operates on its own strength.

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