Most NRIs discover the gap the hard way: a will drafted by a solicitor abroad, perfectly valid where it was made, turns out to be difficult to act on for property or bank accounts sitting in Gurugram. It isn't that the foreign will is wrong — it's that Indian assets need an Indian will, drafted, executed and, ideally, registered the way Indian law and Indian registrars actually expect. As lawyer for NRI will drafting and registration in Gurugram, this is the specific gap we close.
Why an NRI needs a separate Indian will
Succession in India runs on two different rules depending on what is being inherited. Under Section 5 of the Indian Succession Act, 1925, succession to movable property is governed by the law of the country where the deceased was domiciled at death — which, for many NRIs, is not India. Succession to immovable property, however, is governed by the law of the country where the property is situated (the lex situs) — regardless of where the owner was domiciled. In plain terms: your Gurugram apartment is governed by Indian succession law no matter where you live, but your Indian bank balance could, in principle, be pulled into a foreign domicile's succession rules if your will doesn't clearly say otherwise. A will drafted only abroad, with no thought given to this split, routinely leaves exactly this kind of gap.
A dedicated Indian will, covering Indian assets specifically and naming an Indian-based or India-capable executor, closes that gap and gives whoever administers your estate a document Indian banks, registrars and courts recognise on its face — rather than a foreign instrument they have to interpret before they'll act on it.
What we draft into an NRI's Indian will
- A scope clause stating explicitly that the will governs only assets situated in India, and does not revoke any will made for assets abroad — the single most common drafting error we see corrected too late is a general revocation clause that unintentionally cancels a foreign will it was never meant to touch
- A complete schedule of Indian assets — property with full description and title reference, bank and NRE/NRO account numbers, demat and mutual fund folios, insurance policies, and any business interests
- An executor who can actually act — ordinarily someone resident in India, or at minimum someone able to travel and act promptly, since probate and asset transfer in Gurugram move faster with an executor who isn't managing the process from a different time zone
- Alignment with bank and demat nominations — nominee details on file with a bank are not the same as a bequest in a will, and a mismatch between the two is one of the most common sources of delay and dispute after death; we cross-check this at drafting stage rather than leaving it to be discovered later
- FEMA-aware bequests where the estate includes property likely to be sold and proceeds repatriated by an NRI heir, so the will doesn't inadvertently complicate a repatriation that RBI rules would otherwise permit
Executing the will when you cannot be in Gurugram to sign it
Indian law requires a will to be signed by the testator and attested by at least two witnesses who see the signature and sign in the testator's presence — there is no exemption for NRIs on this. What differs is where and how that happens:
- Execute in India — signed and witnessed during a visit, the most straightforward route where timing allows it
- Execute abroad before two witnesses — valid under Indian law provided the execution formalities are met, but the document then typically needs to be authenticated for use in India: an apostille where you're resident in a country party to the Hague Apostille Convention (India is a member, so this is usually the simpler route), or consular attestation through the Indian embassy or consulate where the country is not a Hague member
- Execute before the Indian Embassy or Consulate directly — many NRIs prefer this, since a will notarised at the mission is generally accepted without a separate apostille step
We prepare the draft, confirm which route fits your country of residence, and coordinate the paperwork so the executed will arrives in a form the Gurugram Sub-Registrar and, later, the probate court will accept without objection.
Registering the will — and how an NRI does this without flying in
Registration under the Registration Act, 1908 is not compulsory for a will to be valid, but a registered will carries far more weight if it is ever challenged, since the Sub-Registrar's record of the testator's identity and presence at the time is difficult to dispute years later. For NRI clients, we recommend it more strongly than for resident clients, precisely because an NRI's absence from India makes a will easier to attack on execution grounds if it is not on official record.
Two routes exist for getting an NRI's will registered:
- Present in person during a visit — the testator appears before the Sub-Registrar having jurisdiction, along with the witnesses, and the will is registered the same way as for a resident client
- Present through an authorised agent — under Sections 32 and 33 of the Registration Act, a document can be presented for registration by an agent holding a Power of Attorney specifically authorising presentation for registration. We draft this Power of Attorney, arrange for it to be apostilled or consular-attested in your country of residence, and have it stamped within the required window after it reaches India, so the will can be registered in Gurugram without you needing to travel for that step alone
There is no stamp duty on a will itself under the Indian Stamp Act — wills are among the instruments specifically exempt — so the cost of registration is limited to a nominal Sub-Registrar fee, not a duty calculated on the value of the estate.
The confidential alternative: sealed deposit under Section 42
Where an NRI client wants the will on official record without its contents being open to inspection during their lifetime, Section 42 of the Registration Act allows the will to be deposited with the Registrar in a sealed cover, opened only after death on application by a person entitled to it. This route generally does require the testator's personal presence at the time of deposit — it is not delegable to an agent in the way ordinary registration is — so it suits clients planning a visit to India rather than those who cannot travel at all. We flag this option specifically where privacy, more than logistics, is the client's main concern.
Coordinating with a will already made abroad
The two wills need to work as a set, not compete. We review whatever will already exists for foreign assets — even where it was drafted by counsel abroad and we are not asked to touch it — specifically to check that the Indian will's scope and revocation language don't accidentally cancel it, and that neither document leaves an asset uncovered by both. This cross-check is a standard part of every NRI will we draft, not an add-on.
What we see go wrong in NRI wills drafted without this care
- A single foreign will assumed to cover Indian property, discovered to be impractical to act on only after death, when the family is least equipped to fix it
- A general revocation clause in a will made abroad that unintentionally cancels an earlier Indian will, or vice versa
- An executor who is themselves abroad and unable to attend to time-sensitive filings in Gurugram, adding months to a straightforward estate
- Bank nominee details left unchanged for years, contradicting what the will actually says, forcing the family to resolve the conflict after death rather than before
- A will executed abroad with witnesses who don't meet Indian formalities, or without the apostille or consular attestation needed for it to be accepted without challenge in India
Why clients choose us for NRI will drafting and registration
- We draft for the split between movable and immovable succession that most generic will templates ignore entirely — the difference matters for an NRI in a way it rarely does for a resident client
- We handle the apostille, consular attestation and Power of Attorney paperwork directly, rather than leaving an NRI client to work out embassy procedure alone from another country
- Registration is arranged without requiring your presence, through a properly authorised agent under Sections 32 and 33 of the Registration Act, where a visit to India isn't practical
- We cross-check against your foreign will and your bank nominations as standard practice, not as an extra step billed separately
- Fees are quoted in writing before drafting begins, so there's a clear answer to what this costs before any work starts
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to travel to India to make my will?
No. The will can be executed abroad before two witnesses and then apostilled or consular-attested for use in India, or executed directly before the Indian Embassy or Consulate in your country of residence. Registration can also be completed through an authorised agent under a Power of Attorney, without you being present.
Is registration compulsory for an NRI's will?
No, registration is optional under Indian law, exactly as it is for resident Indians. We recommend it more strongly for NRI clients because an unregistered will made by someone who lives abroad is more exposed to a challenge on execution grounds, given the testator's absence at the time it would need to be proved.
Will my Indian will accidentally cancel my foreign will, or the other way round?
Only if the revocation clause is drafted carelessly. We draft the Indian will's scope clause to expressly limit it to Indian assets and to state that it does not revoke a will made for assets abroad, and we review your foreign will for the same risk in reverse.
Does my will need to be in English?
It can be in English or in a regional language, provided it is properly translated where required for registration or probate. Most NRI clients execute in English, which also simplifies apostille and consular attestation.
What happens if I have already made a will abroad without an Indian will?
We can still draft a compliant Indian will now — there is no requirement that it be done at any particular time, and doing it while you're able to travel or coordinate paperwork is far easier than leaving it for heirs to sort out through a foreign probate process after your death.
Do bank nominees override my will?
Not legally — a nominee generally holds the asset as a trustee for the actual beneficiaries under the will, though in practice a mismatch between nomination and bequest is one of the most common causes of family dispute and delay. We align the two at drafting stage specifically to avoid this.
How much does NRI will drafting and registration cost?
It depends on the number and complexity of Indian assets, whether apostille or consular attestation coordination is needed, and whether a Power of Attorney for registration has to be prepared. The first consultation is free, and the fee is set out in writing before drafting begins.
For contested succession, probate and letters of administration once a will needs to be acted on, see our NRI will, probate and succession page. For the Power of Attorney that makes registration and other filings possible without travelling, see Power of Attorney for NRIs. For the wider range of NRI matters we handle, see NRI legal services, and for will writing generally, see will writing lawyer in Gurugram.
For a free first consultation, call +91 82954 13475 at any hour, or send the details of your matter.