Gift deed
Will Drafting Services in Kolkata
Known locally as Uilnama (উইলনামা). Drafted, verified and registered by West Bengal legal partners — fixed fee from ₹12,999 onwards*.
Serving Kolkata and the surrounding belt: Howrah, Salt Lake, New Town, Barasat, Barrackpore, Serampore, Baruipur, Sonarpur, Behala and Dum Dum.
The above charges do not include government fees, stamp duty, or any additional incidental / out-of-pocket expenses incurred at government offices.
Will Drafting scope & turnaround in Kolkata
Under the Indian Succession Act, 1925. Most Kolkata properties fall within KMC (Kolkata Municipal Corporation) limits.
Until December 2025, probate was mandatory here for wills of Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs and Jains. Section 213 has since been omitted, so probate is now optional — but much guidance still online has not caught up. A will still attracts no stamp duty, and registration remains optional.
How a will drafting is registered in Kolkata
- Establish exactly what the testator owns solely, jointly, and as coparcener — this determines what can validly be willed.
- Identify beneficiaries and confirm no intended witness is also a beneficiary.
- Draft the will with a clear asset schedule, residuary clause, executor appointment and express revocation of earlier wills.
- Execute the will in the presence of two witnesses who attest in the testator's presence.
- Where the testator is elderly or unwell, obtain a contemporaneous medical fitness certificate to pre-empt capacity challenges.
- Register the will at the Sub-Registrar Office — optional, but it materially strengthens the evidentiary position.
- Consider whether to apply for probate — no longer mandatory since the 2025 repeal, but still useful where the estate is large, beneficiaries are dispersed, or a challenge is anticipated.
Documents required in Kolkata
- List of all immovable property with title deed references
- List of financial assets — bank accounts, deposits, securities, insurance
- Aadhaar and PAN of the testator and every beneficiary
- Identity details of two witnesses who are not beneficiaries
- Medical fitness certificate, where the testator is elderly or unwell
- Prior will, if any, that the new will is to revoke
- Death certificate and asset schedule, where probate is being applied for
Sub-Registrar Offices in Kolkata
ARA Kolkata IARA Kolkata IIARA Kolkata IIIARA Kolkata IVDSR AliporeDSR SealdahADSR BidhannagarADSR RajarhatADSR BehalaADSR Cossipore Dum DumADSR GariaADSR Sonarpur
Local terms used in Kolkata registration offices
Updating KMC records to the new owner
Record of Rights extract
Second deed-records portal for post-2000 deeds
Registration
What goes wrong — West Bengal and Kolkata specifics
Probate is no longer mandatory in Kolkata — this changed in December 2025
Kolkata, as the former Calcutta presidency town, was the origin of the mandatory probate rule. Section 213 was omitted by the Repealing and Amending Act, 2025. Probate is now optional here, which is a substantial change for a city where estates routinely waited years for grant.
Long joint-family holdings complicate what can be willed
Old Kolkata properties frequently sit in undivided family ownership across branches. A testator can only will their own share, and establishing what that share is usually precedes drafting.
A witness who is also a beneficiary can lose their bequest
Under the Indian Succession Act, a bequest to a person who attests the will is void, though the will itself survives. Families routinely use a son or daughter as witness and unintentionally invalidate that person's inheritance.
A will cannot dispose of what the testator does not solely own
Undivided coparcenary interest, jointly held property and property held with survivorship rights cannot always be willed freely. A will drafted without establishing the nature of ownership creates disputes rather than preventing them.
Registration is optional but evidentially valuable
A will need not be registered to be valid. But an unregistered will is far easier to challenge on grounds of forgery or undue influence, and registration creates a contemporaneous official record of execution.
The latest valid will governs — and revocation must be explicit
Multiple wills executed over the years without express revocation of earlier ones are a common source of litigation. Each new will should expressly revoke all prior wills and codicils.
Assessment moved to carpet area
In line with RERA, residential flats in West Bengal are assessed on carpet area rather than super built-up area. Valuations prepared on the older basis give the wrong duty figure.
Deed records sit on two separate portals
Records are held on wbregistration.gov.in and, for many computer-recorded deeds since 2000, on e-Nathikaran. A blank result on one portal is not proof the deed does not exist — both must be searched before you rely on a clean title.
Thika tenancy and fragmented old-Kolkata title
Parts of central and north Kolkata carry thika tenancy and long, divided title chains from multi-generation family holdings. These need tracing before a gift, since defects pass to the donee unresolved.
Will Drafting services across Kolkata
AliporeBallygungeSalt LakeNew TownPark StreetSouthern AvenueBhowaniporeElgin RoadJodhpur ParkLake GardensHindustan ParkCamac Street
Will Drafting FAQs — Kolkata
What is the stamp duty on a gift deed to family in Kolkata?
West Bengal charges 0.5% of market value for a gift among immediate family members, with a 1% registration fee — among the lowest percentage-based family rates in India. A non-family gift attracts 5–7% depending on location and value. Indicative figures compiled July 2026.
Is my flat assessed on carpet area or super built-up area?
Carpet area. West Bengal aligned assessment with RERA, so residential flats are valued on carpet area rather than super built-up. This materially changes the assessed value against older practice, and quotes prepared on the old basis will be wrong.
I cannot find my deed on the WB Registration portal — what now?
Try e-Nathikaran at cs.enathikaran.gov.in, which holds West Bengal's computer-recorded deeds since 2000. Records are split across the two portals, and a blank result on one does not mean the deed is missing. We search both as part of verification.
Which registration office covers my Kolkata property?
Central Kolkata is served by the ARA Kolkata offices I to IV, with DSR Alipore, DSR Sealdah and the ADSR offices at Bidhannagar, Rajarhat, Behala and Garia covering other areas. Jurisdiction follows the property's location.
Do I need KMC mutation after registering a gift deed?
Yes. Registration does not update municipal records. KMC mutation typically takes 30–60 days, and until it completes the donor remains the recorded owner for tax and municipal purposes.