WILL DEED

Section 30 of the Hindu Succession Act gives a Hindu power to dispose of his estate by will. Any person who is of sound mind and not a minor, may dispose of his property by will deed. Will deed is a legal document, Indian Succession Act, 1925 defines will, as a legal declaration of the intention of a testator with respect to his property, which he desires to be carried into effect his death. According to section 17 of Registration Act, 1908, registration of a will is not compulsory. Even an unregistered will that has been properly executed is valid instrument in the eyes of law.

*Characteristics of will:

In ascertaining whether a particular document is a will or not, one of the test is whether it is a declaration of the intention of the testator as to disposal of his property after his death after his death and secondly whether it is revocable or not. The irrevocable document is not considered a will.

*Requisites of a valid will:

1. The testator must be of a sound mind and able to make a testament .
2. The testator must be of free mind and of clear conscience he must not be moved by fear, fraud, force, coercion and undue influence.
3. The will deed must be in writing, signed by the testator and attested by at least 2 witnesses as provided by Sec.63 of Indian Succession Act,1925.

*Execution and attestation:

1. The testator must sign in his own hand writing, affix is mark to the will in the presence of 2 witnesses.
2. The will must be attested by two or more independent witnesses.

*Registration of will:

Registration of will is not compulsory under section 17 of Registration Act, 1908 and according to section 18, it is the testator’s choice as to whether he/she wishers to register it or not.

*Revocation of will:

A will is liable to be revoked or altered by the maker of it at any time when he is competent to dispose of his property by another will.

*Void will:

A will or any part of a will, the making of which has been caused by fraud or coercion, or undue influence or by such importunity as takes away the free agency of the testator is void.

*Female Property:

Under section 14(1) of the Hindu Succession Act, any property possessed by female Hindu, whether acquired before or after the commencement of the Act is her absolute property. She is therefore fully competent to make any will unless of course the will award or other instrument by virtue whereof she acquires the same, expressly provides for a restricted estate.

*Muslim Law:

In Mahomedan law no particular writing is necessary to make a valid will not even any particular form, so long the declaration is sufficiently clear.

A Mahomedan cannot dispose of his property by a will to an heir unless the other heirs consent to the bequest after the death of the testator and if the bequest is a non-heir, the will shall be valid only to the extent of one-third of the surplus of his estate after payment of funeral expenses and debts.

No will can deprive wife’s right of maintenance.

*Privileged will:

Any soldier being in an expedition or engaged in actual warfare or an airman so employed or engaged, or any mariner at sea, if has completed the age of 18 years, can dispose of his property by a privileged will made in accordance with the following rules:

1. The will can be written by the testator in his own hand, in such a case it need not be signed or attested.
2. It can be written by another person and signed by the testator, in such a case it need not be signed.
3. If a soldier, airman or mariner give verbal instructions for the preparation of his will, in presence of 2 witnesses, but he dies before the instrument could be prepared and executed, such instrument shall be considered a will.

GIFT DEED

Gift deed is a legal document through which a donor transfers the property to the done without any consideration in return. A property can be gifted to spouse, children or any relative. Under section 17 of Registration Act, 1908, & under section 123 of Transfer of property Act, 1882 it is mandatory to have a registered gift deed to transfer immovable property. If you do not register, the gift deed is considered invalid. As gift is a voluntary action the donor must mention in the deed that the gift has been made voluntarily without any force or coercion.

Acceptance of the gift by the done is also one of the essential ingredient, acceptance of the donee is recorded in the gift deed by the donee’s signature and is substantiated by the acceptance of possession of the gift. Acceptance of the gift should happen during the life of the donor. The gift may be rendered invalid otherwise.

The stamp duty, is calculated on the basis of the marker value of the property (differing from state to state) must be paid at the time of registration.

Once the gift is accepted by the done the property must be mutated on his name. mutation means all records relating to the property are updated with the government.

Essential conditions of a valid gift:

1. Transfer of ownership of property

2. The property must be in existence

3. Transfer of the property must be without consideration

4. Transfer of the property must be with free consent

5. Acceptance of the gift by the donee

PARTNERSHIP DEED

Partnership deed is written legal agreement between the partners of the firm regarding terms and conditions of the partnership among the partners. Terms and conditions includes capital contribution, profit and loss sharing ration, salary’s, interest, partners’ loan, duties and obligations of the partners, etc.,

The Indian Partnership At 1932 governs partnership forms of business in India. After registering a partnership firm all the partners are required to sign and date the partnership deed. The signed deed witnessed by 2 witnesses.

Drafting a partnership deed is not mandatory, but advicible to ensure that all the terms and conditions agreed among the partners are drafted in written form on paper.

Registration of partnership deed is not mandatory but is adviable. Registration will insure the prevention of legal challenges.

SALEDEED

Sale deed is also known as conveyance deed, it is a legal document in writing which transfer the ownership rights of the property from one person to another in exchange of sale consideration. The person who transfer the property (seller) is known as vendor the person and the person on whose name the property is being registered (buyer) is know as the vendee.

According to section 17 of The Registration Act, 1908, the registration of immovable property is mandatory if the value of the property exceeds Rs.100/- and the registration of the property will only make the sale valid. Without registration the buyer will have no legal right over the property.

One of the most important ingredient of the sale deed is that it must contain sale consideration. Sale consideration is the amount agreed between the buyer and the seller.