How to Make a Will in India: A Step-by-Step Guide for Families and Business Owners

Learning how to make a will in India takes less time than most people expect. The legal requirements for an ordinary will are short, and the harder work is deciding who should receive what and writing it down clearly. A will lets you choose who inherits your property, who manages the process and who looks after young children. Without one, your estate passes under the succession law that applies to you, which may not match what you would have chosen and can leave your family to sort out the details at a difficult time.

Who should have a will

• Anyone who owns property, investments or bank accounts they want to pass on in a particular way.
• Parents of minor children, who may want to name a guardian.
• Business owners, whose shares or partnership interest need a clear path to the next generation.
• People in a second marriage or a blended family, where the default rules may not reflect their wishes.
• NRIs with property or investments in India.
• Anyone who wants to provide for a dependant with special needs, a charity or someone outside the immediate family.

What a valid will needs

For most people in India, wills are governed by the Indian Succession Act, 1925. Muslims are largely governed by Muslim personal law for wills, which has its own rules, so take specific advice if that applies to you. Under the Act:

• Capacity: section 59 allows every person of sound mind who is not a minor to dispose of their property by will. A person must understand what they are doing when they sign it.
• In writing and signed: under section 63, the person making the will (the testator) must sign it or put their mark on it, or have someone sign it in their presence and by their direction, placed so that it is clear the signature is meant to give effect to the will.
• Two witnesses: section 63 also requires the will to be attested by two or more witnesses, each of whom has seen the testator sign or received the testator's acknowledgment of the signature, and each of whom signs in the testator's presence. The witnesses need not be present at the same time, and no particular form of attestation is required.
• Witnesses should not be beneficiaries: under section 67, a will is not invalid because a witness benefits from it, but the gift to that witness, or to their spouse, is void.

There is no prescribed format and no requirement for stamp paper. A will can be typed or handwritten, in any language, and you can change or revoke it at any time while you have the capacity to do so.

How to make a will: step by step

• List everything you own: property, bank accounts, fixed deposits, shares and mutual funds, insurance, provident fund, gold and jewellery, vehicles, business interests and digital assets. Note where each is held and any loans against it.
• Note who you want to provide for: spouse, children, parents, others, and any charity.
• Decide who gets what. Be specific: name the property by its address and the account by its bank and number. Say what happens to anything not specifically mentioned (the residue).
• Choose an executor, the person who will carry out the will, and a backup in case they cannot act. Ask them first.
• Name a guardian for minor children if needed.
• Write the will in clear language, dated, with your full name and address, a statement that it revokes earlier wills, and your instructions.
• Sign it in front of two witnesses, who then sign it in your presence. Choose adult witnesses who do not benefit under the will.
• Decide whether to register it, and where to keep the original. Tell your executor where it is.

Choosing an executor

The executor collects the assets, pays debts and hands each gift to the right person. Pick someone you trust who is organised and likely to be available: a family member, a close friend or a professional. Naming a joint or backup executor helps if the first choice dies first or lives abroad. If your estate includes a business, the executor should understand it well enough to keep it running while matters are settled.

Registration and probate

Registering a will is optional: section 18 of the Registration Act, 1908 lists wills among documents whose registration is optional. A registered will has an official record, which can help if it is challenged, but an unregistered will that meets the requirements above is valid.

Probate is a court's certificate that a will is valid. Under section 213 of the Indian Succession Act, read with section 57, probate is compulsory only in limited cases, broadly wills made by Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, Jains and Parsis within, or concerning immovable property within, the original civil jurisdiction of the High Courts at Kolkata, Chennai and Mumbai. Outside those cases it is not required by that section, though a bank, housing society or registry may still ask for it before transferring an asset.

Specific issues for business owners

• Shares in a private company: check the articles of association for restrictions on transfer, rights of first refusal and how shares pass on death, so the will does not promise what the articles prevent.
• Partnership interest: the partnership deed decides whether the firm continues when a partner dies and how their share is valued. Your will and the deed should point the same way.
• LLP interest: the LLP agreement may set out what happens to a deceased partner's contribution and rights. Read it alongside the will.
• Control versus value: you may want one child to run the business while others receive equal value in other assets. Say so explicitly.
• Personal guarantees and business loans: list them so the executor knows what the estate may have to meet.
• Digital assets: list online accounts, domains, digital wallets and cloud records, and leave access instructions in a separate, secure document rather than in the will itself.

For example, imagine a Bengaluru business owner with a flat, savings, a majority stake in a private company and two adult children, only one of whom works in the business. The will leaves the shares to the child in the business, the flat and most of the savings to the other, and names a sibling as executor with a family friend as backup. Before signing, the owner checks the company's articles allow the transfer and updates nominations on bank accounts and investments to match. (This is an illustration, not a client case.)

In a partnership? Read what to include in a partnership deed →

Common mistakes

• Naming a beneficiary, or their spouse, as a witness.
• Vague descriptions such as "my property" when you own more than one.
• Forgetting the residue, so assets not named pass outside the will.
• Assuming a nomination does the job of a will. A nominee is generally treated as receiving the asset on behalf of those entitled under the will or succession law, so keep nominations and the will consistent.
• Leaving property you do not own outright, such as ancestral or jointly held property, without checking your share.
• Never updating the will after marriage, divorce, a birth, a death, or buying or selling a major asset or business.
• Keeping the only original where no one can find it.

Frequently asked questions

Does a will need to be on stamp paper or notarised?

No. A will does not need stamp paper, and notarisation is not a requirement for validity. What matters is that it is in writing, signed by the testator and attested by two witnesses as section 63 of the Indian Succession Act requires.

Can I change my will later?

Yes. You can make a new will that revokes the old one, or add a codicil, which must be signed and witnessed in the same way as a will. Small changes are often clearer as a fresh will.

Can an NRI make a will for property in India?

Yes. NRIs can make a will covering their assets in India. Where assets are in more than one country, the will should be drafted with both sets of rules in mind, and advice abroad may be needed.

NRI with income in India? Read about filing an income tax return in India as an NRI →

Beyond Basics helps individuals, families and business owners in Bengaluru map their assets, family and business interests, and turn their wishes into a clear will prepared with our partner advocates. We also check that the will lines up with partnership deeds, LLP agreements and shareholder terms, and explain how it should be signed, witnessed and kept.

Will drafting and legal documentation in Bangalore →