How to distribute assets after grandfather’s passing

I am a professional living in Hyderabad. We recently lost our grandfather at the age of 84 years. He was a moderately wealthy man. We are a Hindu family and trying to understand how to collect and distribute his estate, but we have no clue where to even start, other than getting a death certificate.

-Name withheld on request

At the outset, you should check if your grandfather had signed a Will. If he did, then his estate is to be distributed as per the terms of the Will. If not, then the estate is to be distributed to his legal heirs as per the Hindu Succession Act, 1956.

If there is a Will, then identify the executor named in the Will. The executor’s role will be to execute and give effect to the terms of the Will—this would typically include arranging for the funeral, collecting the assets and paying off liabilities, liaising with regulatory authorities, paying taxes and obtaining probate (if legally required). He/she will also need to obtain a Permanent Account Number (PAN) for the estate.

If you discover more than one Will, then take legal advice on which Will is to be given effect to. Usually, the one latter in time revokes the previous one entirely, unless there is a contrary intention expressed in the Will.

Then make an asset register listing out your grandfather’s assets (arranged by asset class) and liabilities. If there is a Will, then it may contain these details but the Will may not be entirely accurate or updated so you should make independent inquiries. Your grandfather’s tax returns and his accountant’s records would be a useful avenue to obtain some information. He may also have kept a file of his property documents. With this register, you or the executor can systematically take steps to transmit the assets and pay off any debts.

You or the executor may also need to liaise with institutions such as banks, depository participants, and insurance companies as well as statutory or government bodies (for instance, if your grandfather had a provident fund account) to ascertain his accounts and assets and notify of death, but more importantly if he had filed nomination forms for such accounts and assets.

If a nominee was appointed, then the nominee can collect the assets from the relevant institution following the prescribed process, bearing in mind that the nominee is merely a trustee of those assets which he/she must distribute to the rightful legal heirs.

For accounts or assets where there is no nominee, then the institution may seek a court document such as probate (if there is a Will), letters of administration (if there is no Will) or succession certificate (if the asset is a debt or security). You should obtain legal advice in such a case.

For immovable property, you will have to ascertain the authority that is authorised to register the transmission of the property and then follow the relevant process for mutation (i.e. updating property records). For self-owned land, it may be a local land revenue officer; for property leased from a government authority, it would be the authorized officer; for a flat in a co-operative housing society, it would be the managing committee of the society, and so on.

Do remember that post-demise formalities to distribute the estate can be complex, long and laborious. We have only identified some steps to commence the process, but there will be multiple aspects and nuances which will be relevant, depending on the nature of the estate and other factors. Accordingly, do consider engaging a lawyer and accountant who can guide you through this exercise systematically.

Shaishavi Kadakia is a partner and Sachi Shah is a senior associate at Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas in Mumbai.