Lawyer-drafted wills under Indian law, covering property, assets, guardianship of children, and executors. Written plainly, executed correctly, with registration support where you want it, and drafted with the 2025 changes to India’s probate law already built in.
Share the broad picture, your main assets and property, whether you have minor children, and how you’d like things to pass. A lawyer from our team will recommend exactly the will you need, and nothing you don’t, and respond with a clear scope, fixed fee, and timeline.
When someone dies without a valid will in India, their estate is distributed according to fixed statutory rules of succession, which differ depending on the personal law that applies. Those rules take no account of your relationships, your intentions, or the specific needs of the people you care about. A will replaces that rigid default with your own decisions, clearly recorded and legally effective.
This page covers will drafting specifically for India, the personal law framework, registration, and a genuinely significant 2025 change to probate law. For our general, cross-jurisdiction overview, see our main will drafting services page.
Until late 2025, Section 213 of the Indian Succession Act, 1925 made probate, a court certification confirming a will is genuine, mandatory before an executor or legatee could establish their rights in court, but only in specific circumstances: for wills made by Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, Jains, and Parsis, executed within the original civil jurisdiction of the Bombay, Madras, or Calcutta High Courts, or executed elsewhere but relating to immovable property in those cities, essentially Mumbai, Chennai, and Kolkata. Wills made by Muslims and Indian Christians were never subject to this requirement, a long-standing inconsistency in the law.
Parliament repealed Section 213 through the Repealing and Amending Act, 2025, which received Presidential assent on 20 December 2025. Probate is now voluntary across India, for every community and every city, rather than mandatory in some cases and not others. This is a genuine simplification: beneficiaries with a clear, uncontested will can now approach banks and land registries directly, without first needing a court order.
This doesn’t mean probate has become pointless. It remains available, and it still offers the strongest form of judicial confirmation that a will is genuine, which matters if a will is likely to be contested. What’s changed is that it’s now a choice based on your situation, not a fixed requirement based on your religion and where your property happens to sit. We advise on whether probate is worth pursuing voluntarily for your specific estate.
India doesn’t have one single succession law that applies to everyone. Which rules govern your estate, and how much freedom you have to direct it by will, depends on your personal law.
Governed by the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 for intestate succession, with broad testamentary freedom to direct your estate by will as you choose.
Governed by Muslim personal law. A significant point many people don’t realise: under Islamic inheritance principles, a Muslim testator can generally dispose of only up to one-third of their net estate by will, the remaining two-thirds passes according to fixed Quranic shares among specific heirs, unless all heirs consent to a larger bequest after the testator’s death. This materially shapes what a will can and can’t achieve, and needs to be planned around rather than discovered after drafting.
Generally governed by the Indian Succession Act, 1925, with broad testamentary freedom, similar in substance to the Hindu succession framework, subject to protections for a surviving spouse and children in intestate cases.
A will is legally valid in India without registration, provided it’s properly made, signed, and witnessed by two witnesses. Registering it with the local Sub-Registrar’s office, under the Registration Act, 1908, is optional, but it adds a strong layer of authenticity and makes the will significantly harder to challenge as a forgery later. Separately, a will doesn’t attract stamp duty in India, unlike most other legal documents, so there’s no cost barrier either way. We advise on whether registration is worth it for your specific situation.
A regular will takes effect after death. A living will, or advance medical directive, takes effect while you’re alive but unable to make decisions for yourself, recording your wishes about medical treatment. Living wills are recognised in India following the Supreme Court’s rulings on the right to die with dignity. They serve a completely different purpose from a standard will, and some people choose to make both.
We talk through your family, assets, and wishes, calmly and confidentially.
We recommend the right will for your estate, personal law considerations, and flag anything, like assets abroad, that needs special handling.
A lawyer drafts your will clearly and correctly, so your family can understand it and it holds up.
You read it over, ask questions, and we adjust until it says exactly what you want.
We guide you through signing and witnessing properly, the step DIY wills most often get wrong.
If you decide to register, we support you through the process with the Sub-Registrar.
The law is the same nationwide. Local context still helps.
Will writing services in Bangalore.
Will writing services in Mumbai, now with voluntary rather than mandatory probate.
Will writing services in Hyderabad.
Will writing services in Delhi.
Will writing services in Pune.
Will writing services in Ahmedabad.
Will writing services in Jaipur.
Will writing services in Gurugram.
Will drafting and lawyer support in Lucknow.
Will registration support specifically in Lucknow.
Not in one of these cities? We work with clients across India remotely, wherever you’re based.
My Legal Pal’s will drafting practice is led by Prakhar Rai, an advocate enrolled with the Bar Council of India and an alumnus of the National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bangalore, with a Master of Business Laws and 10+ years of experience. Indian succession law changed meaningfully in December 2025, and a will drafted or advised on without accounting for that change is working from an outdated picture. We stay current, and we build that into every will we draft.
Our cross-jurisdiction will drafting overview.
For heirs and executors dealing with Argentine assets.
Our full range of services across India.
Clear, valid, lawyer-drafted wills under Indian law, covering property, assets, guardianship, and executors. Confidential, considered, and handled end to end. Free initial assessment.
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