WHAT IS WILL?
A will is a legal document that enables the testator to determine that how his estate is to be distributed after his death.
WHAT IS PROBATE?
Probate means a copy of the will certified under the seal of the court of the competent jurisdiction. The will is the only document that becomes effective after the death of the executor/ testator.
Probate of a will when granted establishes the will from the death of the testator. There is a difference between probate and succession certificate. Probate is issued by the court when a person dies testate i.e. having made a will and the beneficiary/ legatee applies to the court for the grant of probate and in absence of a will, the legal heirs of the deceased will have to apply to the court for the grant of the succession certificate which is issued in accordance with the law.
HOW TO FILE?
Probate can be granted only to the executor appointed by the will. The appointment may be express or implied by necessary implication.
A petition for probate must be filed in the court along with the original copy of the will in question and it should contain the time of the testator’s death, the writing annexed in his last will and testament, it was duly executed, amount of assets which are likely to come to the petitioner’s hands and the petitioner is the executor named in the will.
The application for probate shall be signed and verified by the executor or beneficiary. The required court fees has also to be deposited as per the provisions given in the applicable rules. The court issues notice in accordance with law and petitioner has to establish before the court the proof of death of the testator, proof that the will has been validly executed by the testator and proof that the will is the last will of the deceased.
On being satisfied that the will in question has been validly executed, the court will grant probate to the executor named in the will.
TO WHOM PROBATE CANNOT BE GRANTED?
The probate cannot be granted to any person who is a minor or is of unsound mind, nor to any association of individuals unless it is a company satisfies the conditions prescribed the rules made by the state government.