How the title to the inherited property can be acquired?

Owing to the intricacies of the Indian legal system, those who do not have a complete knowledge of the law and try to go by themselves in solving the issues, are left pacing between one department to another. Similar is the case with NRIs. NRIs, while their residency abroad, tend to forget many legal definitions and rules. Those born and brought up outside India are not even aware of the legal standards. Therefore, they try to seek some assistance for several matters like immigration, investment, property management, etc.

Dr Shastri, an NRI, inherited his uncle’s residential apartment in Chennai in 1999. He faced several obstructions in acquiring the title to that property. According to Dr. Shastri, his uncle had a sound knowledge of the India’s Legal scenario and paperwork. He had clearly penned his will and the distribution of his assets. Therefore, there were no clashes of opinion as to the will. The only paper missing was the khata and patta records and this was enough to make the acquisition cumbersome. Under such circumstances, efficient property management services for NRIs can reduce the loads of these complex problems.

What Dr. Shastri did to obtain the title?

He started by arranging some documents.

A registered will

Though a will is not required be registered under the legal system, but doing that would make the document valid to be accepted by a court without much prior verification.

A succession certificate

Need of a succession certificate arises in the absence of a will. To prove him a legitimate successor and obtain the successor certificate an NRI has to submit papers such as death certificate of the deceased, the birth certificate of the heirs, copy of the ration card, bank statement of the heirs etc.

Encumbrance certificate

Records related to the transaction in respect of immovable property are presented in the encumbrance certificate. These transactions include sale, lease, mortgage, gift, partition, release, etc.

Khata

Possession of this certificate is an evidence of the fact that the asset is recorded in the municipality or corporation records. This means that the corporation has all the details of the property owner, like name of owner, type, taxes paid/ payable etc. It is basically an evidence of the ownership of the property.

How the transfer of title was brought to effect?

Transfer of title duly requires the mutation of revenue records or transfer of khata. Mutation of records requires the updation of the details of the successor or the new owner in the books of either municipal corporation of the area or the village panchayat.

A requisite to the transfer is that the transfer must be effected within India and at the place where the immovable asset is situated. However, an NRI can have someone to represent him during the transfer through giving him the power of attorney.

How an NRI can make the POA?

If an NRI wants someone in India to represent him sometime during the transfer, he’ll have to issue a power attorney in the name of such a representative. POA agreement must clearly specify the deeds to be performed by the authorized representative. POA should be legally signed by the notary in the country where NRI is putting up and must be further attested by the nearest Indian consulate in that country. Once this is done the person, to whom power of attorney is assigned, has to get POA registered via adjudication process, where he is supposed to pay some stamp duty to Department of Stamps and Registration. This agreement can be rescinded if any misuse is suspected.

Some things that should not be avoided:

·       A must be drafted and should be duly registered. It is important for the will to be registered, in case you want to draft a new will. But before drafting a will the distribution of the asset should be discussed with the siblings.

Documentation as to ownership must be complete.