Here are some facts and infromation. 1) The will in question has been validated by the court, which subsequently issued an order to issue letters of administration along with a copy of the will. 2) Court has made this statement in letter of administration "I, senior civil judge, do hereby make known to all that deceased Mrs. S made her last will, dated 2002 of his property and thereafter expired on 2018 at [redacted] and the applicants being the lgatee of the said will of the said deceased having made this application to this court praying to issue letter of administration of the said will of the said deceased and the siad will is duly proved before this court and this court has passed an order on 2021 to issue letter of administration with the copy of Will of the said deceased." 3) The will exclusively names Mrs. S's son, Mr. R, as the legatee. However, due to Mr. R's advanced age, he wishes to include Mrs. R, his wife, in the letters of administration. It is important to note that Mr. R is alive and in good health. Question part: 1) I would like to know the legality of above letter of administration, since the will didn't mention the wife of Mr. R and letter of administration was issued to both the legatee. 2) If the said order is not correct, what are the ways to corrected it without involvment of all the heirs as the will is already proved before the court.
1. Wife of R being is not legatee.
2. There is no deficiency in final order if passed by civil judge but in case of WILL probate (except UTs area) is must to get property mutated and to confer right to the beneficiary under the WILL for rest of the world.
Mr. R can execute a power of attorney deed in favor of his wife to perform the tasks on his behalf.
Mrs. R is not a beneficiary neither a legatee hence there is no question of her name to be included i the court order.
The court order is correct.
Wife of R cannot be named as administrator as she is not beneficiary of the will
2) section 261 of Indian succession act provides
What errors may be rectified by Court.- Errors in names and descriptions, or in setting forth the time and place of the deceased's death or the purpose in a limited grant, may be rectified by the Court and the grant of probate or letters of administration may be altered and amended accordingly."
3)
Section 152 of the Code of Civil Procedure empowers the Court to correct its own error in a judgment, decree or order from any accidental slip or omission. The principle behind the said provision is actus curiae nemesis gravabit, i.e., nobody shall be prejudiced by an act of court.
4) Code of Civil Procedure recognises the inherent power of the court. It is not only confined to the amendment of the judgment or decree as envisaged under Section 152 of the code but also inherent power in general. The courts also have duty to see that the records are true and present the correct state of affair. There cannot, however, be any doubt whatsoever that the court cannot exercise the said jurisdiction so as to review its judgment. It cannot also exercise its jurisdiction when no mistake or slip occurred in the decree or order. This provision, in our opinion, should, however, not be construed in a pedantic manner. A decree may, therefore, be corrected by the Court both in exercise of its power under Section 152 as also under Section 151 of the Code of Civil Procedure. Such a power of the court is well recognized.
5) make an application for amendment of LA for removal of Mrs R as administrator
1. As per law, the court is bound to issue the letter of administration in the name of beneficiaries whose names are mentioned in the Will
2. If there is clerical mistakes , then only you can move an application before the same court for rectify the mistakes.
Dear Client,
An application can be made to the Court for the amendment of the Letters of Administration in order to remove Mrs. R as the administrator. This request is based on the fact that she is not a beneficiary of the will, which makes her ineligible for the role. The Indian Succession Act, specifically Section 261, allows for rectifying errors in names, descriptions, and other details in the grant of probate or letters of administration. Furthermore, Section 152 of the Code of Civil Procedure empowers the Court to correct its own errors, accidental slips, or omissions in judgments, decrees, or orders. The Court's inherent power under the Code of Civil Procedure also encompasses the duty to ensure the accuracy of records. It is important to note that this application for amendment should not be construed rigidly, as the Court has the authority to correct decrees and exercise its jurisdiction under Sections 152 and 151 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
1. The LoA applies only to the legatee under the proven Will. No third party can be included in it for whatever the reason.
2. The order is perfectly legal.
As the legatee is of advanced age, though in good health, he may either gift the legacy to his wife or leave a Will in her name.
1. LA can only be issued to the person who applies for it. And only a legal heir of the deceased or the legatee named in the Will of the deceased can apply for LA. If R's wife is neither the legal heir nor the legatee named in the Will then her name cannot be included in the LA and in any event R's wife cannot even apply for LA in the first place since she is not the legal heir nor any legatee named in the Will
2. no correction is required
R has to simply transfer the property to his name as per the directions contained in the Will and thereafter he can make his wife the joint holder of the property by transferring his 50% share to her
If R's wife is also named as a legatee in the Will then R and his wife can jointly apply for the LA
However that becomes irrelevant now since R is already granted the LA and he can make the requisite papers to transfer the property to his wife, either fully or partially
It seems like no one is reading the question properly. 1. The court order is already issued in the name of Mr & Mrs. R. 2. Both the names are in the letter of administration and court order. 3. Only name of Mr. R is in in the will. The question is weather the issued letter of administration correct? if not correct what are the ways to correct it without involving the rest of heirs of Mrs. S.
Since only R name is mentioned in will only he could have been appointed as administrator
2) lLA is not correct
3) make application for amendment of LA
4) consent affidavit of other legal heirs has to be filed
5) court would pass orders after considering application and affidavits filed by legal heirs
No. As per Indian succession Act probate in respect of WILL is required to be obtained from court of District Judge by filing required petition. Letter of administration is not an appropriate remedy. Challenge letter letter of administration. Secondly letter of administration cannot be issued to Mrs. R.
- It means that there is an error in the letter of administration , hence you can move an application in the same court for the correction in the passed order and accordingly in the letter of administration .
-The court will pass a separate order for the validation of that LA .
It seems that your have filed an erroneous application seeking LOA in favor of legatees, though there is only one legatee as per Will.
Therefore the fault lies on you for filing an erroneous application before court which can even be termed as misguiding the court.
If Mrs. R was an authorised representative of Mr. R and there was a proper mention about the power of attorney deed in favor of Mrs. R along with the application, then it can be considered as an error, since it is a patent error, you can file a petition before the same court to rectify the judgment/order accordinlgy and obtain a rectified judgment.
However without seeing the order copy or knowing proper details of the petition, no further opinion can be rendered because it may once again mislead you.
It seems you have not framed the question properly
As only R is the legatee named in the Will, his wife who is not a named legatee nor a legal heir of the deceased, her name cannot be included in the LA grant
This appears to be an inadvertent error
You will have to file an application for rectification. Show the Will of the deceased and the LA petition to the Court
Point out that in the Will the name of R's wife is not mentioned and she was not a co applicant of the LA petition and request the Court to issue an amended or rectified grant
Other heirs are not required to be cited
There is a problem in your question as it's not framed properly
It appears that since R is of advanced age (but in good health condition) he made his wife a co applicant
However the wife of R is neither a legatee nor a legal heir
So the LA grant could not have been issued jointly to R and his wife
Wife of R has no caveatable interest in the estate of the deceased
Though R is of an advanced age but he is fit and fine. So it's not that he cannot administer and manage the estate. So there was no need to make his wife a co applicant
If that be the case then the petition will have to be amended
Consents of other heirs will have to be obtained again since they had consented for R and his wife to administer the estate jointly
They may not so consent if R is the sole applicant/administrator
So their consents in favour of R singly will have to be obtained again
So the entire procedure will have to be repeated and the Court has to issue a rectified LA grant
The contents of the court order were reproduced within quotation marks "....." under point no. 2 of your query. Under point no. 3, there were no such marks. This has led to improper understanding of your query. Please present your facts correctly to enable learned lawyers to study the case and advise you properly.
The court order is legally incorrect. The LoA should have been issued solely in the name of the legatee under the Will, as the court is duty-bound to honour a dead person's last wish as reflected in his Will. Whatever the legatee's age or health, no court can go beyond the letter of the Will.
Apply to the same court for rectification of its erroneous order or appeal against it within the limitation, in consultation with your counsel.
It appears that you filed an erroneous application seeking a letter of authority (LOA) for multiple legatees, even though the will only names one legatee. This was an error on your part, and could even be considered as misleading the court.
If Mrs. R was an authorized representative of Mr. R, and there was a proper mention of the power of attorney deed in favor of Mrs. R along with the application, then this could be considered as an error. Since this is a patent error, you can file a petition with the same court to rectify the judgment/order accordingly and obtain a rectified judgment.
However, without seeing the order copy or knowing the full details of the petition, it is not possible to give any further opinion, as this could lead to further misleading information.
If it’s in the letter of administration then no issue
