Legal Heir Certificate in Kerala: Eligibility & Documents

Learn how to get a Legal Heir Certificate in Kerala — eligibility, required documents, application process via Tahsildar/Akshaya Centre, and its uses.

The significance of a Legal Heir Certificate becomes evident only when a family member dies, and the deceased person has wealth to distribute.

During the time of asset distribution, a legal heir certificate is the first thing you need to initiate the succession plan.

A legal heir certificate identifies the legal heirs of the deceased person and establishes the type of relationship with the deceased individual.

However, it does not grant the right to claim the property or other assets.

A legal heirship certificate is not the same as a succession certificate, as many people assume.

Here you will understand why legal heirship is different from a succession certificate, how to obtain the legal heirship certificate in Kerala, who is eligible for it, documents required to claim it and others.

What Is a Legal Heirship Certificate? A Legal Heir Certificate, or a surviving member certificate, is a document that identifies the legal heirs of a deceased person and establishes their relationship with the deceased.

It helps the legal heirs prove that they are the surviving legal heirs and what their relationship with the deceased person is when they are dealing with assets and other benefits left behind by the deceased person.

Where to get a Legal heirship certificate in Kerala? The Tahsildar at the Taluk Office issues a legal heirship certificate in Kerala under Form 6C of the Kerala Revenue Administration Rules.

The application can also be submitted through an Akshaya Centre , which facilitates the application through the Kerala e-District system.

In other states, you can obtain it from the respective regional offices under the applicable rules.

What does a legal heirship certificate contain? Generally, a legal heirship certificate contains the following elements: Name and details of the deceased Date of the demise of the deceased Names and details of the legal heirs Relation of each legal heir with the deceased Address of the deceased as well as that of the legal heirs Name and details of the authority issuing the certificate Number of the certificate as well as the date of issuance of the certificate Seal of the issuing authority Validity of a legal heirship certificate A legal heir certificate is valid throughout life.

It carries a digital signature to verify its credibility and authenticate the certificate.

After issuance, the legal heir certificate can be accessed for verification and other purposes for natives in Kerala through the eDistrict Kerala portal (<u edistrict.kerala.gov.in</u ) using the certificate number and security code printed in the original document.

<table style="min-width: 50px;" <colgroup <col style="min-width: 25px;" <col style="min-width: 25px;" </colgroup <tbody <tr <th colspan="1" rowspan="1" <p Basis</p </th <th colspan="1" rowspan="1" <p Legal Heir Certificate</p </th </tr <tr <td colspan="1" rowspan="1" <p Issuing authority</p </td <td colspan="1" rowspan="1" <p Tahsildar at the Taluk Office</p </td </tr <tr <td colspan="1" rowspan="1" <p Purpose</p </td <td colspan="1" rowspan="1" <p It officially identifies the legal heirs of a deceased person and their relationship to the deceased.</p </td </tr <tr <td colspan="1" rowspan="1" <p Time Frame to issue the Certificate</p </td <td colspan="1" rowspan="1" <p 15 days after the time limit for any objection (30 days) from the date of Gazette publish.</p </td </tr <tr <td colspan="1" rowspan="1" <p Validity</p </td <td colspan="1" rowspan="1" <p Lifetime validity</p </td </tr <tr <td colspan="1" rowspan="1" <p Supporting documents to be uploaded</p </td <td colspan="1" rowspan="1" <p Aadhaar Card</p <p Ration Card</p <p Death Certificate of the deceased</p <p Service certificate issued by the head of the department/office in case of a serving employee</p <p Affidavit</p </td </tr </tbody </table Who are the Legal Heirs?.

In India, the identification of legal heirs is governed by succession laws.

The applicable succession law may differ based on the religion of the deceased and the circumstances.

For Hindus, Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs: Hindu Succession Act, 1956 For Muslims: Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act, 1937, along with applicable Muslim personal law For Christians & Parsis: Indian Succession Act, 1925 Therefore, the parameters for identifying legal heirs vary from religion to religion based on the respective succession act.

Who qualifies as a legal heir cannot be determined without understanding succession laws.

But we have simplified the identification of legal heirs through our Legal Heir Calculator, which shows exactly who your legal heirs are and how much your legal heirs are entitled to receive from your assets and benefits according to the succession law respective to your religion.

Primary Legal Heirs by Religion Legal heir identification primarily depends on the succession laws related to the deceased’s religion (either Hindu, Christian, or Muslim), followed by legal heirs starting with spouse, children, and parents.

Hindus, Buddhists, Jain (The Hindu Succession Act 1956) Order of Succession for Males When a Hindu male dies intestate, the inheritance order of the deceased is as follows; Class I Heirs: Surviving spouse, sons, daughters, and mother (along with children of any predeceased child).

They get equal shares first.

Class II Heirs: Other relatives like father, great-grandchildren, and siblings if no Class I heirs exist.