Q722. Inheriting property in India

- What Documents will be required

Question: Hello, I got your contact from the website. I am inheriting property in India and wanted to know what paper work should i provide in India. I am currently living in USA and i got my citizen ship for USA as well. Thanks kavitha Answer: Perhaps first step would be to get the property transfered to your name. You will need documentation to show that you are indeed the person inheriting the property and the ownership details of the property in question.

Process of transferring inherited

property in India to your name

For starters you will need: 1. A Will, preferable a registered Will. While a non registered Will is acceptable, courts in India give more weight to a registered document. In the absence of a Will, you will have to go through the process of getting a ‘Succession Certificate’. This has to be obtained from a court in India and requires submission of several relevant documents such as, death certificate of the deceased, birth certificate of the heirs, bank statement of the heirs, purchase and registration deed of the property in question or any other documents that the court may require in an effort to prove that the heirs are indeed the rightful successors. 2. Encumbrance certificate which is a document that shows a record of all the transactions that have occurred for the property, such as all sales, mortgages if any details etc. 3. Khata also known as Patta in Tamil Nadu. This document shows the property assessment details with the relevant registration number of the property in the Municipal Corporation records. It shows the details of the property owner, property tax information etc. It is an important document for showing evidence of ownership of property. Basically property registration document shows purchase and sale of property details where as Khata shows the tax assessment information. When registering property it is necessary to change the Khata records also to show the new owner details. This process does not happen automatically and has to be done separately. As a USA resident inheriting property in India, you may find that court procedures when it comes to property matters is time consuming in India. NRIs should consider the services of a local lawyer to handle property transfer matters for them.