Joint Will in Indian Law

A joint will is a type of will in which two or more people agree to make a joint will. If a joint will intends to take effect after the death of both persons, it would not be enforceable during the lifetime of both persons. The person can revoke the joint will at any time during the cohabitation or after the death of a person. Property acquired by gift or on the basis of a will or other property The legal opinion as such is not very controversial. Despite the existence of a mutual will, the representative will assume ownership of it under the latter will. However, he takes ownership under the conditions of mutual will. The question whether there is such an agreement, enforceable either by unfairness or by a particular enforcement action, should be examined only in the case where surrender is granted, and not before. During the current pandemic, we are seeing people making their wills to plan their inheritance and estate. With so much confusion and uncertainty, it is imperative that people know the type of will they want to make before seeking legal advice from a lawyer, in addition to the basic basics of a will such as legalization by two witnesses with the option also available for registration but not mandatory.

In general, parents tend to make their will separate and independent. However, the concept of mutual will, together of both parents, is also a good option in certain circumstances. The concept of a joint will is rarely used, as it is not possible for the surviving spouse to change the terms of the will, as it may not give him or her the right to dispose of the testator`s property. The survivor may not be able to make an amendment to the will for the following reasons: Most recently, in Dr. K.S. Palanisami (Dead) v. Hindu community in general and citizens of Gobichettipalayam and others (Civil Appeal No. 5924 of 2005 decided on 9 March 2017), the Supreme Court of India (Supreme Court) ruled on the issue: whether a testator had an „absolute” right to dispose of the immovable property under a „common and mutual will”. In its decision, the Supreme Court concluded that courts do not have the right to ignore clear words or add anything of their own, or to dilute the meaning of a clear word used in a testator`s legal statement about his or her property that he or she wishes to assert after his or her death (will). Reciprocal wills are wills of two or more persons that are reciprocal in their terms and are executed in execution of a contract or agreement between two or more persons in order to sell their property to each other or to third parties in the respective manner or manner. Reciprocal wills, unlike joint wills, are sometimes called reciprocal wills.

When describing a will, the adjective is used reciprocally or reciprocally to emphasize on the board the contractual element that distinguishes it from a common will. A suspicion may be raised by one of the spouses if the other spouse violates the terms of the will. The third party may arouse suspicion that should be in favour of the testator`s natural legal heirs. Reciprocal wills should have been executed on the basis of an agreement that the testator cannot revoke reciprocal wills. Disposition is defined as the ability to sell or otherwise transfer land or property from one party to another. Although the property is generally considered alienable, it may be subject to restrictions on sale. In K.S. Palanisami (dead) v. Hindu community in general and citizens of Gobichettipalayam and others,[2] the Supreme Court of India has discussed the issue of an „absolute right” to deal with real estate under a „common and mutual will”.

The court noted that in the case of a legal statement by the testator regarding the property, the court cannot ignore or add a word in the will. The testator`s intention is taken into account when reading the language of the document. In general, in a joint will, the word „absolute” is often used, which leads to countless interpretations: although in India the registration of the will is not mandatory, it can be registered at the discretion of the testator. However, it is not easy to register a joint will after the death of the testator (i.e. the husband). It must be registered by the registrar to verify the validity of the will. It is at the discretion of the Deputy Registrar to register the will. You need to check the validity of the will, as there are cases where the registration is fraudulent or fake. The illustration above appears to be in favor of a joint will, but this was considered a reciprocal will, since husband and wife mutually promise each other that after the death of both testators, the property would also belong to the sons. If the will had simply bequeathed the cotestator`s individual shares to the surviving testator or to one or more other persons without further conditions, the will would have been interpreted as a joint will. In this figure, however, the parties bequeathed the other`s share to the surviving testator, with the mutual and mutual promise that the subsequent inheritance would be made to their sons.

Therefore, the immediate will would be interpreted as a mutual will rather than a common will. It must be specified in writing when medical treatment can be interrupted or no specific medical treatment can be performed, which only has the effect of delaying the dying process, which could otherwise cause him pain, distress and suffering, putting him more in a state of humiliation. `The termination of a contract for the joint execution of a will or the execution of separate wills containing reciprocal legacies shall give rise to the same remedies in favour of the injured party as those used to draw up a will in other cases of breach of contract, namely an action for damages and an action for equity, But it should be noted that the latter is the type of remedy that: what is normally claimed. In fact, according to one authority, only a fair court can take note of the allegation that the revocation of a joint and mutual will by the surviving testator violated his contract with the deceased. „Joint wills. People can make joint wills, but these can be revoked at any time by them or their surviving dependents. A joint will is considered the will of each testator and can be proved in the event of the death of a testator. However, the surviving deceased is treated fairly as a joint property trustee if there is a contract of non-revocation of the will; However, the mere fact of executing a joint will is not sufficient to establish a contract that should not be revoked. Thus, a legacy to a legatee who survived the first testator but died before the second is not confiscated. If a joint will is followed by a separate will that depends on a condition that fails, the joint will will will not be revoked, even if the subsequent separate will contains a revocation clause. Some salient features of a reciprocal will are that there is always a binding agreement between the two testators who are the spouses, nor is it open and available for the surviving spouse to amend or revoke the mutual will at any time, especially if the surviving spouse has also received the benefits of the reciprocal will.

The spirit behind the drafting of a reciprocal will is that after the death of one of the spouses, the surviving spouse administers the estate in trust and executes the provisions of the mutual will, and does not commit any kind of violation of mutual intentions, trust and agreement between the two testators who are the spouses. i. A will made in anticipation of an agreement is nevertheless valid as a will because it is by nature and nature a revocable instrument. In addition, the complexities between husband and wife are further exacerbated by the interaction of section 14 of the Hindu Succession Act with reciprocal wills, under which the pre-existing right must be expressly asserted in a court or a right to joint ownership of a reciprocal will must be claimed. On the contrary, joint and reciprocal wills are separate wills of two or more persons, reciprocal in their terms and executed on the basis of an agreement between two or more persons, in order to sell their property to each other or to third parties in a particular way or manner. Such an agreement is enforced after the death of the first testator through a constructive trust, which means that the surviving party cannot revoke their will after the death of the other party. the surviving deceased must have received benefits from the deceased in a mutual will; A will within the meaning of section 2(h) of the Indian Succession Act 1925 is: A will is inherently a revocable instrument. The testator can revoke a will at any time before his death.

However, the freedom of revocability associated with a will in everyday language is restricted in the case of joint and reciprocal wills. The notion of revocability of the common and reciprocal will has been addressed by the Honourable Supreme Court in certain statements, which have led to laying the foundations for certain conditions that must be met before the revocation of the common or mutual will can be authorized.