The law of wills in India is contained in different statutes besides the personal law of the people depending on their religion.

There is significant divergence in the succession rules in the personal laws as well as under the Indian Succession Act, 1925 and the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 (governing succession among Hindus).

Further the Indian Succession Act is also the procedural law governing the probates of wills and the grant of letters of administration.

Wills bequeathing immovable properties located in certain cities of India must compulsorily be probated by the beneficiaries, otherwise, they cannot be acted upon.  Most of the Wills are challenged in India by the excluded legal heirs and end up in a protracted long drawn legal battle before the courts.

When a person dies without executing a Will, it becomes necessary for the legal heirs to approach a court of law to obtain a succession certificate which, when granted, entitles them to stake a claim to the movable properties of the deceased person such as bank balances,