Buying an Inherited Property in Karnataka: Legal Heir Certificate or Succession Certificate?
Homes put up for sale by heirs come with a bundle of certificates, and two of them are routinely mistaken for proof of ownership. This article sorts out what each certificate is in Karnataka and which office grants it. It also lists the papers a Bangalore buyer should demand before parting with money.
Short Answer First
A legal heir certificate, or the family tree used in its place, names the relatives of a person who has died. A succession certificate tells a bank or company that a named person may collect what the dead person was owed. Houses, flats and sites move by other means.
For land and buildings, the transfer happens through a will or through the succession law that covers the family. It shows up afterwards in registered deeds, the khata and the encumbrance certificate.
The Revenue Paper Explained
The tahsildar grants it, but the formal version is restricted to relatives of a deceased government employee, who need it for family pension, gratuity or a compassionate appointment. A private family does not receive this certificate.
A private family goes to a Nadakacheri centre in the taluk and requests one of two revenue papers. The first is a surviving family member certificate, and the second is the attested family tree, called the vamshavali in Kannada. Staff from the village and revenue offices visit and verify the facts before the paper is released.
Ordinary speech lumps all of these under "legal heir certificate". In a property sale the family tree is the paper that normally appears, because the khata office and conveyancing lawyers both ask for it.
Why a Family Tree Is Not Proof of Title
The document rests on the applicant's statement and a local check, so its completeness depends on what was reported. A relative missing from it keeps a full claim to a share.
The tree also says nothing about the size of anyone's share, which comes from the law of succession or a will. Its real value for a buyer is practical: it lists whose signatures are likely to be needed and gives the lawyer a starting point.
What Is a Succession Certificate?
A civil court grants it under Part X of the 1925 Succession Act. The petitioner applies to the district judge for the area where the dead person normally lived, and for Bangalore city that court is the City Civil Court.
The certificate covers only debts and securities: balances in bank accounts, fixed deposits, shares, debentures and bonds. The court sends notice, entertains objections and may ask for a security bond before it decides.
Once granted, the holder can claim those amounts, and a company that pays in good faith cannot be blamed later. But the order settles who may collect and not who ultimately owns the money. Other heirs can still seek their portion from whoever collected.
Side-by-Side Summary
The table below puts the two papers next to each other.
| Feature | Legal heir certificate or family tree | Succession certificate |
|---|---|---|
| Granted by | Tahsildar, applied for at Nadakacheri | District judge; City Civil Court in Bangalore |
| Basis | Revenue officials' local enquiry | Notice, objections and a court hearing |
| Main uses | Naming relatives, service claims, khata change | Collecting deposits, shares and similar claims |
| Houses and land | Names heirs but passes no title | Outside its scope |
| Size of shares | Settled by succession law | Settled by succession law |
A family holding a flat and a bank deposit may end up needing both papers. Banks often release modest balances to a nominee or against an indemnity bond, so a court order is not always required.
How a Property Changes Hands After Death
Everything depends on if the owner made a will.
The owner left a will
The beneficiary named in it receives the property. Probate is a court's endorsement that a will is genuine, and Karnataka has not generally insisted on it. Elsewhere, a handful of cities once required it under section 213 of the 1925 Succession Act. Parliament deleted that provision through the Repealing and Amending Act, 2025, with assent on 20 December 2025.
Lawyers acting for a buyer may still request probate if the will is unregistered or its witnesses cannot be found, or if someone contests it. Wills that are registered and accompanied by the other heirs' consent usually satisfy them.
The owner left no will
The law of the family's community then operates, for Hindus the Hindu Succession Act of 1956. Every heir is a co-owner of an undivided share as of the date of death, and registered release or partition deeds are what later fix who keeps the property.
Letters of administration, covering the whole estate, are available as an extra step. Few families need them, but they help when relatives disagree or the line of heirs is unclear.
Khata Change After the Owner's Death
The e-khata portal of the Bangalore city corporations records new names. The papers typically needed are:
- A death certificate for the owner
- The will, if there is one, and the attested family tree or surviving family member certificate
- Title deed, present khata and up-to-date tax receipts
- Consent or registered releases from other heirs when only one name is to appear
Since a khata merely records who pays tax, one heir's name on it does not cancel the other heirs' rights. Only a registered release does that.
What a Buyer Should Insist On
A sale by heirs holds up when all share-holders have either signed or released. To avoid gaps, take the following steps in turn:
- Learn how the seller acquired the property, and collect the previous owner's death certificate.
- Cross-check the attested family tree with identity proofs and the names on the draft sale deed.
- Ask for a written answer on if a will exists, and read it.
- Make each heir sign the sale deed, or have the others register releases first.
- Remember that a succession certificate concerns money and not the property.
- Scan the encumbrance certificate for mortgages, partitions, releases and attachments by a court.
- Where a minor owns a share, check that the court has approved the sale.
- Pay an advance only after an advocate's title opinion in writing.
A newspaper notice asking for claims is an added safeguard that some lawyers use, notably where the owner passed away many years back or the family is big. Buyers based abroad follow identical checks, and the NRI page explains our role in a purchase.
