The Tamil Nadu government in March 2024 issued new guidelines and procedures to issue legal heir certificates taking into account Class-II under the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, The New Indian Express reported. The new rules override an earlier order passed by the government in September 2022. In an order dated July 10, 2023, the Madras High Court raised objections to the order, saying it did not take into account the Class-2 heirs prescribed under the Hindu succession law.
For the uninitiated, a legal heir certificate is a document that has legal enforceability and states the relationship between the deceased and his legal heirs. This ‘post-demise’ document, which states the names of all legal heirs of the deceased, is crucial for the surviving members to stake their claim in the property of their late relation. Understandably, a great deal of diligence and inquiry are employed on the part of the authorities, before issuing a legal heir certificate. In Tamil Nadu, the tahsildar/Independent deputy tahsildar are authorised to issue legal heir certificates.
Under the changed rules, more than one spouse of a deceased will be eligible to apply for a legal heir certificate in case of a married person if their personal law allows multiple marriages. Similarly, the children or legally adopted children and parents of the deceased will also be eligible to apply for a legal heir certificate. When a childless married couple dies, the certificate could be provided to parents and siblings of the deceased. In case of death of an unmarried person, parents and siblings of the deceased are eligible for the certificate.
In the event of the passing of a person who remarried following the death of their legally wedded spouse or after obtaining a divorce through a competent court, the legal heir certificate will be issued to the children from the previous marriage or legally dissolved marriage, current spouse(s) of the deceased, parents, children and legally adopted children.
The earlier order included only the father of the deceased, the mother of the deceased, the spouse of the deceased, the sons of the deceased and the daughters of the deceased to be eligible to get a legal heir certificate in case of married person. It added that the Class-II heirs were not entitled to receive the certificate issued.
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