WILL PROBATE

What is a will?

A testament which is popularly known as ‘will’ has been described under the Indian Succession Act, 1925 as a legal document or a declaration point out the will of a person. This legal document contains details like the names of one or more persons who are to acquire, manage and benefit from his estate after his death.

A certified copy of will, which is certified with the seal of an honorable court of law with an award of management of the property to the legatee or executor of the testator, is called a ‘probate’. A probate, since it is a certified document of the court acts as an evidence of the executor’s authority.

A court may initiate a legal proceeding also called as probate proceedings after the death of the person who made the will to determine the authenticity of the will that has been created. Customarily, throughout the court procedures, the witnesses are approached to show up in the court to assert the credibility of the will.

A will can only be created by a competent person with a sound mind and who is above 18 years of age and not a minor. The probate court does not deal with the merits of the case but only decides upon the validity of the will in question.

Probate is a duplicate copy of a will that is certified under the seal of a court of an adequate jurisdiction with an award of administration to the property of the deceased testator. A probate can be granted only to an executor who is appointed under the will. Further a probate is essential if the will is for immovable assets in multiple states.

In law, caveat can be clarified as a notification or a safeguard practice in probate cases that a specific matter isn’t heard; judgment isn’t passed, and order is not issued without hearing the party who had filed the caveat. It can be made in an application or which is supposed to be made in future.

A probate caveat is a document which is filed in court to prevent the proposed executor or administrator for a deceased person’s estate from getting a permission to administer the estate assets. A probate caveat is used to challenge the will itself. For example, where someone believes that will was forged or was not written and approved by the deceased person.