MG Legal

18/10/2025

May this Festival of Lights illuminate new opportunities, inspire positive beginnings, and bring growth, peace, and success to you and your loved ones.

Let’s celebrate light over darkness, wisdom over ignorance, and hope over despair — both in our personal and professional journeys. ✨

Happy Diwali! 💫

10/11/2023

MG LEGAL wishes you and your family A very Happy Dhanteras!

May the divine blessings of Goddess Lakshmi Ji fill your life with wealth and prosperity.

31/10/2023

What makes WILL invalid in India?

In India, the validity of a Will is governed by the Indian Succession Act, 1925, a Will can be considered invalid or void under certain circumstances.

Given are some common reasons that can render a Will of those who are governed by the Indian Succession Act, invalid or void in India.

1. Not Attested: a Will is required to be attested atleast by two witnesses. In a famous case of Narinder Singh Rao, his father died leaving a piece of paper which was attested only by one witness, stating that upon the death of himself or his wife the survivor could inherit all the estate. The Supreme Court termed the Will invalid as it was not attested by two witnesses.

2. Did not destroy previous Will: It is crucial to destroy all the copies of previous Wills when you create a new one or to mention in a new Will that “I do hereby cancel all my previous wills and declare this as my Last Will and testament”.

3. Remains unsigned by the Testator: A Will may have all the valid components but if it is not signed by the person who is making it, it becomes null and void.

4. Testator is of unsound mind or minor: A person who is not in the right frame of sound mind is not competent enough to decide how to bequeath his/her property. Similarly a minor is also in no position to take an informed decision.

5. Will obtained by fraud, coercion or importunity: A Will or any part of a Will, the making of which has been caused by fraud or coercion or by such importunity as takes away the free agency of the Testator, is void.

If you wish to know more, discuss or share knowledge about Estate Planning, Wills & Codicils, Probate, Letters of Administration, Succession Certificate, Trust or Succession in general connect with me.

Adv. Madhuri Gaikwad
9819111678

22/08/2023

Administration Bond

A bond given by a person to whom the administration of another’s property is entrusted.

Rule 420 of Bombay High Court (Original Side) states that in all cases of letters of administration, save and except under section 241, of Indian Succession Act, 1925, the person to whom the grant is made shall give a bond in form no. 118 with one surety and the bond shall, unless the Judge in Chambers otherwise directs, be given for the gross value of the estate.

Rule 421 of Bombay High Court (Original Side) states that in all cases of succession certificate, the person to whom the grant is made shall give a bond in form no. 120 with one surety and the bond shall for the gross value of the estate, unless otherwise directed by any order of the court.

If you wish to know more, discuss or share knowledge about Estate Planning, Wills & Codicils, Probate, Letters of Administration, Succession Certificate, Trust or Succession in general connect with me.

Adv. Madhuri Gaikwad
9819111678

14/08/2023

We are delighted to inform you that, we have penned down our 100th Article today with your blessings. We look for your continuous support.

Adv. Madhuri Gaikwad
MG Legal

26/07/2023

MG LEGAL has come up with the first episode of the series "WILL".
We have tried to explain What is a Will, Who can make a Will and types of will.

Let's all watch it together on our Youtube channel.

In this video we have tried to explain what is a "Will", who can make a Will and types of Will in very simple words.

30/06/2023

Join us in an informative and interactive session on the topic “WILL”.
On Saturday (1.07.2023) at 4 pm on Zoom. Click on the zoom link below to join the session:

https://us04web.zoom.us/j/2803358047?pwd=90XbXwhPpGZRcCnw5cbHSNN1iCMAcB.1

Meeting ID: 280 335 8047
Passcode: MGLEGAL

28/03/2023

20/03/2023

Can a Legatee appointed as an Executor take the legacy?

Legacy is when something is received by a Will and Legatee is the person to whom a legacy is given or to whom there has been or is bequeathed an estate.

Section 141 of Indian Succession Act, 1925 states that a person to whom a legacy is bequeathed and who is appointed as an executor of the Will, shall not take the legacy unless he proves the Will or otherwise show an intention to act as an executor. If the Will is proved, he takes a legacy. However, there may be circumstances where he does not have time and therefore he may not get the Will proved but still if he shows an intention to act as an executor, he gets a legacy.
For Example: A who is appointed as an executor and to whom the legacy is given under the Will, himself dies within a few days after the testator and therefore he could not prove the Will but still as he orders the funeral according to the directions contained in the Will, A has shown an intention to act as an executor and therefore he would also take the legacy, though the Will is not proved.

If you wish to know more, discuss or share knowledge about Estate Planning, Wills & Codicils, Probate, Letters of Administration, Succession Certificate, Trust or Succession in general connect with me.

Adv. Madhuri Gaikwad
9819111678

13/03/2023

UNADMINISTERED ESTATE

As we have seen in our previous article that when several executors are appointed under a Will, Probate may be granted to them all simultaneously or at different times whenever applied by them. The grant which is obtained by the other executors after the original grant is issued is known as Double Probate and it is issued for the unadministered estate.

An unadministered estate is one where the Grant of Probate is issued to the executor for administrating the Estate of the Deceased but the administration of that estate has not been completed by the executor appointed in the Will. This means that not all of the assets in the estate have been transferred or appropriated, to the beneficiaries under the person’s will or intestacy. The estate which is not transferred or remained to be transferred is called as an unadministered estate.

If you wish to know more, discuss or share knowledge about Estate Planning, Wills & Codicils, Probate, Letters of Administration, Succession Certificate, Trust or Succession in general connect with me.

Adv. Madhuri Gaikwad
9819111678

08/03/2023

Double Probate

Double Probate simply means when several executors are appointed in the Will, Probate may be granted to them all simultaneously or at different times whenever applied by them. The grant which is obtained by the other executors after the original grant is issued is known as “second Grant”. The second grant is made in usual form but the value of the estate is sworn as the value of the assets remaining unadministered at the date of second grant and not as the original value of the first grant.

The grant of double Probate confers the same right as the original grant. An executor of whose power has been reserved may take a grant of Probate of a codicil found later after the original executor has died.

If the Will is proved and the applicant is an executor named in the Will and is under no legal incapacity to act, the court has no discretion but must grant Probate to such executor, even if it has been previously granted to his co-executors. In such a case, Probate should be granted to the subsequent applicants jointly with the executors to whom Probate has already been granted.

OUR NEXT ARTICLE WILL BE ON “UNADMINISTERED ESTATE”.

If you wish to know more, discuss or share knowledge about Estate Planning, Wills, Probate, Letters of Administration, Succession Certificate, Trust or Succession in general connect with me.

Adv. Madhuri Gaikwad
9819111678

27/02/2023

In the matter of Rohinton Edalji vs. Arvind Rai & ors. The Delhi Hight Court observed:

The background of this case is that one Ms. P and Mr. H were 50% owners of the suit property. Ms. P passed away in the year 2012, leaving behind two daughters and two sons. The Petitioner is one of the sons of Ms. P and the brother of Mr. H. Mr. H passed away on 29th March, 2018, in Delhi. He used to reside in the suit property. After the death of Mr. H, disputes arose between the Petitioner and his family and Respondent No.2 - Mr. B, who was working as the domestic help of Mr. H. Respondent No.1 is the son and Respondent No.3 is the wife of Respondent No. 2. The two sisters of the Petitioner and Mr. H have relinquished their shares in the suit property in favour of the Petitioner. Mr. H did not have any children. Thus, it is the claim of the Petitioner that he is the absolute owner of the suit property, being the real brother of Mr. H.

The case of the Petitioner is that upon the death of his brother, when he went back to the suit property, the Respondents did not permit him to enter the suit property. He was, therefore, forced to file a complaint with the police and an FIR was registered on 9th May, 2018. Post the said FIR being registered, the Respondents set up an alleged Will dated 15th September, 2017, which they claim has been executed by Mr. H, in favour of Respondent No.1. They have filed a probate petition seeking probate of the said Will and the said petition is stated to be pending. During the pendency of the probate petition, the Petitioner moved an application under Section 192 of the Indian Succession Act, 1925. which was dismissed by the ld. Trial Court, and was challenged before the Delhi High Court.

The Delhi High Court passed an order in favour of the Petitioner that the respondents shall hand over the peaceful possession of the suit property to the Local Commissioner who shall then hand over the same to the Petitioner. The Respondents were the domestic help of the deceased and cannot convert themselves into owners of the suit property, especially since their rights are yet to be established in the probate petition.

If you wish to know more, discuss or share knowledge about Estate Planning, Wills, Probate, Letters of Administration, Succession Certificate, Trust or Succession in general connect with me.

Adv. Madhuri Gaikwad
9819111678