Last updated: March 17th, 2020 2:47 PM

Odisha Legal Heir Certificate

Legal heir certificate is an important document that helps identify the surviving family members or heirs of a deceased person. Revenue Officers such as Tahasildhar or Revenue Mandal Officer issue legal heir certificates in Odisha.  In case the legal heir certificate is not accepted for any claim, succession certificate has to be obtained from a civil court. In this article, we look at the procedure for obtaining the Odisha legal heir certificate in detail. 

Succession Certificate Vs Legal Heir Certificate

The succession certificate and the legal heir certificate appear to have a common aim, but the certificates are not the same.

Succession Certificate

Succession certificate is a legal document, which is governed under the provisions of the Indian Succession Act, 1925. The Revenue Officers will not provide it. Succession certificate can be obtained from Civil Courts in India. This certificate is granted to heirs (family members) of a deceased person who dies without leaving a will. The main objective of obtaining a succession certificate is to facilitate the collection of debt on succession and afford protection to the party paying the debt to the representative of the deceased person. Succession certificate merely allows its holder to collect the debt due to the deceased as a trustee for the other claimant. Succession certificate can be granted for following purposes to which the deceased was entitled:

• Deposits in banks
• Provident fund
• Shares
• Insurance

Know more about Succession certificate

Legal Heir Certificate

Legal heir certificate is used to determine the appropriate legal heir of a deceased person. This certificate serves to identify the relationship of the heirs to the dead person. As per the rules, if a person dies, family advantages such as pension and property will go to the next legitimate heirs. For availing these benefits, legitimate heirs need to get Legal Heir Certificate.

Uses of Legal Heir Certificate

The following are the purposes for obtaining legal heir certificate in Odisha:

Transfers

• The legal heir certificate is needed for transferring the electricity connection in the name of a legal heir
• For transferring House tax in the name of a family member
• Telephone connection transfer
• To change diseased person’s bank account to the legal heir

Money Withdrawal

This certificate is mandatory for withdrawal of money from financial institutions, banks and post offices where the amount involved does not exceed Rs.1 lakh.

Government Benefits

If the person died as a Government Servant, legal heir certificate is useful for the following purposes:

• Retirement benefit claims
• Pension claims
• Insurance claims
• Gratuity claim
• Provident fund claims
• Arrears salaries 

Property Transfer

The main purpose of obtaining a legal heir certificate is for acquiring the inheritance of the property or land which is left behind by the deceased person. This certificate is used to identify the appropriate legitimate heir for the ownership of a particular property on the sudden demise of the registered owner.  During property registration in Odisha, the seller has to produce legal heir certificate to the buyer to ascertain the ownership of the property being sold. Not verifying legal heir certificates while purchasing ancestral property can lead to litigations in the future.

Eligibility

The following person can apply for a legal heir certificate in Odisha:

• Parents of the deceased person
• Spouse of the deceased person
• Siblings of the deceased Person
• Children of the deceased Person

Documents Required

To obtain legal heir certificate in Odisha the following are the necessary supporting documents:

Application Form

• Death certificate 
• Residential certificate
• Aadhaar Card and Voters ID
• Ration Card
• The first page of service book if deceased was a Government employee
• Copy of finally published settlement ROR or consolidation ROR
• Copy of the policy bond of Insurance Company
• A postal pass copy
• Pension book in case the deceased was a pensioner
• Any other document in support or claim

Time Frame

Legal Heir Certificate will be issued within 30 days from date of application.

Applicable Fee

The fee structure for obtaining Legal heir certificate in Odisha:

S.No	Services	Amount
1	Service Charges of the kiosk Operator	Rs.8
2	Printing Charges	Rs.10
3	Scanning Charges	Rs.5
4	Certificate Output Charges	Rs.10
5	DeGS charges	Rs.2
6	The Government fees and User charges	Rs.30

Applying for Legal Heir certificate through CSC

The following are the procedure for applying for legal heir certificate through CSC:

Approach CSC centre

Step 1: Before applying for a legal heir certificate, complete the death registration process and obtain a death certificate from concerned authority. The applicant needs to visit the nearest CSC centre.

Submit an Application

 Step 2:  The applicant has to submit an application in the prescribed format for legal heir certificate at CSC. Provide the following details in the application form:

• Personal details of the applicant such as name, gender, marital status and religion
• Permanent address and Present address details
• Details of submitter
• Purpose of obtaining the certificate
• Deceased information
• Legal heir details

[pdf-embedder url="https://www.indiafilings.com/learn/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Legal-Heir.pdf" title="Legal Heir"] Step 3:  Submit all required documents (refer above) to the CSC service operator. The request for legal heir certificate will be forwarded online to the concerned authority, i.e., Tahsildar or Revenue Mandal Officer. Note: CSC centre service operator will issue a receipt with the legal heir application number. The applicant will also receive the application number to the registered mail ID and mobile number. Keep it safe for future reference.

Legal heir Certificate Processing

Step 4: Revenue officer will process the legal heir certificate request online.

Issuing proclamation

Step 5: The Revenue Officer will proclaim a prescribed format for inviting objections from the public regarding the list of the legal heirs of the deceased within fifteen days. [pdf-embedder url="https://www.indiafilings.com/learn/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Legal-hier-2.pdf" title="Legal heir 2"] Step 6: After downloading all verification and Proceeding documents, the Revenue officer will RDO will take action for issuing a legal heir certificate.

Application Status

The applicant will receive the updates of the Legal heir certificate application status through SMS. The applicant can also track application status from Odisha e-District web portal. Homepage Odisha Legal Heir Certificate Enter the application number and click on search; the application status will appear. Application Status Odisha Legal Heir Certificate

Verify Legal heir Certificate

After the acceptance of the applicant’s legal heir request, the applicant will receive an SMS to the registered mobile number regarding the approval of the application. Verify the legal heir certificate through Odisha e-District portal by clicking on the certificate verification option. Enter the application number. Certificate verification Odisha Legal Heir Certificate In case any mistake found, contact CSC centre for correcting.

Download Legal Heir Certificate

After proclamation and verification, if the Revenue officer approves the request for legal heir certificate, Odisha Legal heir certificate can be downloaded. Revisit the CSC centre and provide the application number. Get a digitally signed Legal heir certificate. It can be used for all the purposes mentioned above.