What is a Succession Certificate?
A Succession Certificate is issued to the legal heirs of the deceased. It establishes their own as to the deceased movable/unmovable assets, e.g., deposits in the bank, shares, certificates, bonds, stock and insurance amount, etc. This certificate identifies the legal heirs of the deceased for the distribution of his moveable assets.
When is a Succession Certificate issued?
A Letter of Administration/Certificate of succession is issued for claiming the charge of the left property of a deceased person being legal heirs in respect of his movable or immovable property. For the issuance of a succession certificate, an application is made for the grant of the certificate
Procedure of issuance of the letter of Succession Certificate:
In 2021, the Letters of Administration and Succession Certificates Act, 2021 was enacted for each province and Islamabad providing a speedy, efficient and transparent mechanism for the issuance of letters of administration and succession certificates.
Previously, the Civil Court issued the allocation of succession certificates/ letters of administration. The procedure to get a succession certificate was quite lengthy. Regarding the procedure's complexity, the Letters of Administration and Succession Certificates Act 2021 was enacted in each province separately.
After the act, National Database and Registration Authority (“NADRA”) will issue such certificates. Under the Act, NADRA may establish a “Succession Facilitation Unit” for receipt, processing, and assessing applications for grant of Letters of Administration and Succession Certificates.
NADRA may also notify any of its existing offices as ‘Succession Facilitation Unit’ at such places or places as it may deem appropriate.
The Succession Facilitation Unit shall be empowered and responsible for receiving applications for grant of Letters of Administration and Succession Certificates from legal heirs of the deceased and processing & assessing the applications by way of a summary inquiry.
The Succession Facilitation Unit is also responsible for maintaining an online portal that provides updated records of the issued Letters of Administration and Succession Certificates.
Stepwise Procedure to Obtain Succession Certificate
A simple five-step procedure for issuing a Succession Certificate/ Letter of Administration is the following
1. Application Initiation,
A legal heir may make an Application for the grant of a Succession Certificate/Letter of Administration, having authority from all other legal heirs in the prescribed manner before NADRA, whose jurisdiction the deceased ordinarily resided at the time of his death or within whose jurisdiction any property or asset of the deceased is located.
Upon receipt of the application, NADRA shall process the application following the FRC (Family Registration Certificate).
Additional documents that are required to be attached to the application are
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Death certificate of the deceased and National ID number.
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List of the legal heirs and copies of the NICs (National Identity Cards).
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Authorization letter from all legal heirs if a single legal heir makes an application on behalf of others.
2. Legal heirs and Assets Details
The applicant will provide all the relevant details of legal heirs and information about the moveable and immovable assets of the deceased.
3. Verification and Consent of Legal Heirs
All legal heirs mentioned by the applicant will visit NADRA’s Registration Center for biometric verification, and NADRA will verify the details provided by the applicant.
4. Advertisement
NADRA will publish the notice for the public at large seeking any objections against that particular application which will be published through;
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Through the online web portal on its website.
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One English language and one Urdu language daily national newspaper.
5. Printing and Delivery of Certificate
If no objection is raised within fourteen (14) days of publication of such notice, the Succession Certificate/Letter of Administration will be printed and given to the applicant.
After completing the due process, an administration letter or certificate of succession is issued to all legal heirs with their respective shares.
Conclusion
The newly enacted Letters of Administration and Succession Certificates Act, 2021, and the procedure under it, have made the lengthy and complex procedure of obtaining the Succession Certificate/Letter of Administration easy and straightforward. It is a sigh of relief for the legal heirs of a deceased person to skip unnecessary and long processes of the Civil Court just to have a declaration of their inheritance’s rights and property devolved unto them.
