New Delhi, Jan. 12 -- Parliament in December cleared the Repealing and Amending Act, 2025, which has removed a long-standing procedural hurdle in inheritance by deleting Section 213 of the Indian Succession Act, 1925.

The change means that beneficiaries in Mumbai, Chennai, and Kolkata no longer have to mandatorily get a probate and can now act on a valid Will. This was earlier mandatory for Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists and Parsis if the Will was executed in these cities or covered property located there.

"This was a colonial-era rule that had outlived its purpose and created unequal treatment across cities," said Shweta Tungare, co-founder of LawTarazoo. "Two families with identical estates faced very different legal processes purely...