A will costs almost nothing to make and saves heirs months at the MCD, the bank and sometimes the court. What the law requires, whether to register or deposit, when probate is still worth it, what you can leave, and the clauses we want in any South Delhi builder floor will.
A will for property in Delhi is valid if it is made by an adult of sound mind (Section 59, Indian Succession Act, 1925), is in writing, is signed by the testator and attested by two witnesses who each saw the signing (Section 63). No stamp paper is needed. Registration is optional (Section 18, Registration Act); the Delhi Revenue Department lists the fee at ₹600 (₹500 plus ₹100 pasting), with no stamp duty, and the testator attends with both witnesses. Probate is not compulsory in Delhi — and since Parliament omitted Section 213 of the Succession Act in December 2025, not anywhere in India — though it is still worth it where a dispute is likely. Even a registered will must be proved through an attesting witness under Section 67 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, so what makes a will hold is precise drafting, independent witnesses and evidence of capacity.
Files that reach our desk without a will usually turn into relinquishment deeds and signatures from cousins abroad; our guide on transferring property after death covers that side. This guide is for the owner who wants to leave the floor cleanly.
For Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Buddhist, Christian and Parsi owners the rules come from the Indian Succession Act, 1925 (for Hindus and the communities with them, via Section 57 and Schedule III, which include Section 63). Muslim owners follow personal law on what they can leave. The core requirements:
Section 59: any person of sound mind who is not a minor. Age or illness do not disqualify; the testator must understand what they own, who their family is and what the document does.
The testator signs or marks the will, or someone signs in their presence and at their direction, placed so it is clear the signature gives the document effect. Plain paper is sufficient.
Section 63(c): at least two witnesses, each of whom has seen the testator sign (or received the testator’s acknowledgement of the signature), and each of whom signs in the testator’s presence. They need not sign together or read the will.
A will obtained by fraud, coercion or undue influence is void to that extent.
In Meena Pradhan v. Kamla Pradhan (21 September 2023) the Supreme Court restated the standard: execution is proved through at least one living attesting witness, and suspicious circumstances — a shaky signature, a weak mind, an unnatural distribution, a beneficiary who took the lead in having the will made — must be dispelled. Read the judgment if your plan favours one child.
The Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 replaced the Evidence Act from 1 July 2024. The rule that an attested document needs at least one attesting witness called to prove it — old Section 68 — is now Section 67. Its proviso excludes wills from the registered-document exemption, so even a registered will needs a witness in court; if none can be found, Section 68 (old Section 69) allows proof of handwriting. Choose younger, reachable witnesses.
Registration is optional — Section 18 of the Registration Act, 1908 lists wills among documents that may be registered, and an unregistered will is equally valid. It is not a substitute for proof, but it is strong evidence of execution and identity, and in our desk experience registered wills are challenged less often. For a South Delhi floor, we would register.
| Option | Legal basis | Cost and process | What it gives you |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unregistered will | Valid under Section 63 ISA | Nothing beyond drafting; plain paper | Fully valid, but the original can be lost or suppressed, and execution is easier to dispute |
| Registered will | Section 18, Registration Act (optional registration) | ₹600 in Delhi (₹500 fee plus ₹100 pasting), no stamp duty; testator and both witnesses appear before the sub-registrar with ID | Public record and certified copies; strong evidence of execution; can be presented at any time in the testator’s life |
| Deposited will | Sections 42–46, Registration Act | Sealed cover lodged with the Registrar by the testator or an authorised agent; entered in Book 5, kept in a fire-proof box | Confidential until death; can be withdrawn by the testator; on death the Registrar opens it and copies it into Book 3 on application |
The fee and attendance rule come from the Revenue Department’s will registration page and its registration information page (“Will and Authority to Adopt: Rs. 500 plus Rs. 100 pasting fee”); confirm when you book the slot. Delhi sub-registrars register no instrument, including a will, for property in an unregularised unauthorised colony. A registered will stays revocable. The appointment works like any other, as set out in our registration process guide.
The law requires only writing, a signature and two witnesses. Our practice adds registration, a doctor’s certificate of capacity dated the day of signing, and a short video of the testator confirming the will. None is mandatory; each removes a ground a disappointed relative might use.
Section 213 of the Succession Act used to bar an executor or legatee from claiming under a will without probate, but for Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and Buddhists only for wills made in, or covering property in, the old Bengal, Madras and Bombay jurisdictions; Muslim and Indian Christian wills were never covered. The Delhi High Court repeatedly held probate unnecessary in Delhi. The Repealing and Amending Act, 2025 (assent 20 December 2025) has now omitted Section 213 altogether, so probate is optional everywhere. In our desk experience the MCD and banks generally act on a registered will, usually with the other heirs’ no-objection, for mutation and transfer.
Probate is still the only judgment on a will that binds everyone. We suggest it where a sibling or spouse has been left out, heirs abroad will not sign no-objections, or a buyer or lender insists. Cost decides it: under the Court Fees (Delhi Amendment) Act, 2012, probate court fee is ad valorem on the estate value — 2.5% above ₹1 lakh up to ₹10 lakh, 3.25% up to ₹50 lakh and 4% above ₹50 lakh, with no upper cap in the schedule. On a South Delhi floor that is a large sum, so most families with an uncontested registered will skip it; have a lawyer confirm the computation.
A will passes only what you own at death.
A floor bought with your own income is self-acquired and can go to anyone. In Mitakshara joint family property, Section 30 of the Hindu Succession Act lets a coparcener bequeath only their own undivided interest, as the Supreme Court confirmed in Radhamma v. Muddukrishna (2019). A karta cannot will away the whole HUF floor: partition first — see our partition deed and family settlement guide — or will only your share.
Most floors bought by couples are held jointly. Each co-owner can leave only their own share — as stated in the sale deed, otherwise presumed equal. A deceased co-owner’s share does not automatically pass to the survivor: it goes by will or, without one, to all legal heirs. Both spouses should make mirror wills.
Under Muslim personal law a person may bequeath no more than one-third of the estate (after funeral expenses and debts) by will; bequests beyond that, or to an heir, need the other heirs’ consent. The rule is under challenge in the Supreme Court, which issued notice on 18 August 2025; until it rules, plan on the one-third limit.
Nominees on bank accounts, insurance, shares and society flats receive the asset; they do not own it against the heirs. The Supreme Court held in Sarbati Devi v. Usha Devi (AIR 1984 SC 346) that an insurance nominee only collects the money for the heirs, and in Shakti Yezdani v. Jayanand Salgaonkar (14 December 2023) that a shareholder’s nominee gets no absolute title because nomination does not override succession law. If you want the nominee to own it, say so in the will.
A builder floor is a floor plus a land share, parking, perhaps terrace or basement rights. The clauses we want to see:
| Clause | What to write | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Identify the floor | Plot, block, colony, floor, and the sale deed’s registration number, date and sub-registrar | “My flat in GK-2” invites argument if you own two |
| Undivided land share | The proportionate share in the land as stated in the sale deed passes with the floor | The land share is the long-term value and decides any redevelopment |
| Parking, terrace, basement | Name the stilt parking slots, and any terrace or basement rights exactly as the sale deed grants them | These rights are separately valuable and separately disputed — see terrace, stilt and basement rights |
| Whole-plot owners | Bequeath floor by floor, and say who gets the roof and redevelopment rights | “The house equally to my three children” makes each a 1/3 co-owner of every floor and freezes any sale |
| Liabilities | Say who takes the floor subject to any home loan, and whether the residue or loan-cover insurance pays it off | The bank’s charge survives death |
| Mutation and documents | Direct the executor to apply for mutation and hand the title chain to the legatee | Saves months at the MCD — the process is in our mutation guide |
| Executor | Name an executor and an alternate; ideally someone younger and in Delhi | The executor handles mutation, the bank and any probate |
| Residue and lapse | A residuary clause for everything not named, and what happens if a beneficiary dies before you | Without it, assets acquired later or lapsed gifts fall into intestacy |
| Revocation and reasons | State that this will revokes all earlier wills and codicils; if you exclude or favour a child, give one sentence of reason | An unexplained unequal will is the classic “suspicious circumstance” in court |
A widower in Defence Colony owns the ground and second floors of a 325 sq yd stilt-plus-four building, worth roughly ₹9 crore and ₹8 crore (illustrative), with a home loan on the second. He has a daughter in Delhi and a son in London. “My property equally to my two children” makes both co-owners of both floors — every future sale needs the son’s signature, a consulate-attested power of attorney or a relinquishment deed. Ground floor with its stilt slot to the daughter, second floor to the son subject to the loan: two clean titles, two separate mutations.
The worst will I see is the generous one — “equally to all my children”. It feels fair and it turns every floor into a committee. Leave each floor to one name.
Sale deed, conveyance deed, collaboration agreement, possession letter, tax receipts and loan statements; our legal-title FAQ shows what a clean chain looks like.
If the testator does not read English, record that the will was read over and explained.
Adults who are not beneficiaries or their spouses — an interested witness weakens proof.
For an elderly or unwell testator, a doctor’s certificate of sound mind on the day of signing.
Testator signs every page; both witnesses sign in the testator’s presence with names, addresses and date.
Attend the sub-registrar with both witnesses and ID, and tell the executor where the original is kept.
A will can be changed any number of times. A codicil amends part of it and needs the same formalities — signature and two witnesses. A will is revoked by a later will, a written declaration executed like a will, or destruction with intent to revoke (Section 70). For Hindus, marriage does not revoke a will; Section 69 does not apply to them. Sell a bequeathed floor and that gift fails — review the will after every property deal.
An NRI can make a will for Delhi property wherever they live, provided it meets Section 63. Delhi registration needs the testator in person, so many NRIs register on a visit or deposit the will through an authorised agent. Keep the Indian will to Indian assets, and make sure a foreign will’s general revocation clause does not cancel it. Our guide for NRIs selling property in Delhi covers the heir’s later sale.
| Will | Gift deed | |
|---|---|---|
| Takes effect | On death | Immediately on registration and acceptance |
| Revocable | Yes, at any time | Generally no, once accepted |
| Stamp duty | None; ₹600 if registered | Stamp duty and 1% registration fee on value — see our gift deed guide |
| Registration | Optional | Compulsory |
| Owner keeps control | Yes, fully | No; the donee owns it |
| Dispute risk | Can be challenged after death | Settled in the donor’s lifetime |
Neither is taxed as income when received by inheritance or from a relative, and both pass on the previous owner’s cost and holding period for capital gains.
Leaving what you do not own (the whole HUF floor). A beneficiary running the show. Vanished witnesses. Vague descriptions. Never updated (a floor sold years ago).
We will pull your title chain together, check what you own floor by floor, and sit with your lawyer on the property clauses so your heirs get a clean, saleable title.
Sources: Indian Succession Act, 1925 at India Code; Registration Act, 1908 (Sections 18, 42–46) at India Code; Repealing and Amending Act, 2025; Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023; Hindu Succession Act, 1956; Court Fees (Delhi Amendment) Act, 2012; Delhi Revenue Department (accessed October 2026); the Supreme Court judgments named above. Capacity certificates, video and the clause checklist are SouthDelhiFloors desk practice, not legal requirements. General information as of October 2026, not legal advice.
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