If you live in Singapore and own property, bank accounts or shares in India, make a separate Indian will limited to Indian assets and make sure your Singapore will does not revoke it. The Indian will can be signed in Singapore before two witnesses. After a death, a Singapore grant of probate does not operate in India on its own; the Indian court grants probate or letters of administration on an authenticated copy.
- Document route
- Notary + SAL apostille, or High Commission
- Time difference
- 2.5 hours ahead of IST
- Handled in India at
- Sub-registrar; district or High Court for probate
- Travel to India
- None for signing
How it works from Singapore
We draft the Indian will with each property described exactly as it appears in the Indian title deed and revenue record, name an executor who can act in India, and add wording that confines the will to Indian assets. Your Singapore lawyer adjusts the revocation clause in the Singapore will so that both stand together. You sign in Singapore before two adult witnesses who take nothing under the will. Registration in India is optional and can be done on your next visit.
For an estate already in progress, we act for the executor or family. Where a grant has been issued by the Singapore courts, an authenticated copy of the will and grant is filed in the Indian court, which issues letters of administration with the will annexed for the Indian assets. In Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata probate is compulsory for wills of Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and Buddhists covering property there. Elsewhere a registered will is often accepted for mutation directly.
What is different for NRIs in Singapore
- Singapore abolished estate duty in 2008 and India has no inheritance tax, so the planning is about procedure and family certainty, not tax.
- CPF nominations and Singapore insurance nominations sit outside the will; Indian bank and demat nominations should be reviewed alongside the Indian will.
- Muslims in Singapore are governed by the Administration of Muslim Law Act for local assets, while Indian Muslim personal law limits bequests of Indian assets to one third without heirs' consent.
Step by step from Singapore
Free review call
Singapore is two and a half hours ahead, so calls are held from late morning onwards. We read your papers on an Indian will or probate first, so the call is about your options and not a repeat of the facts.
Authority from Singapore
Where a representative must act for you in India on an Indian will or probate, you sign before a Singapore notary public and obtain the Singapore Academy of Law apostille, or attend the High Commission of India. We draft the document and send signing instructions.
Work in India
In India, we finalise the will for signature before two witnesses, or file the probate petition and take it through citation and evidence. Updates for clients in Singapore go by email and WhatsApp with scans of whatever is filed.
Result and handover
At the end you receive the signed or registered will, or the sealed grant for use with banks and registries. Originals are couriered to your address in Singapore if you need them.
The law in full
This page covers what changes when you handle an Indian will or probate from Singapore. For the Indian law, the complete document checklist, common mistakes and more questions, read our main page on Will Drafting & Probate. For other matters, see all legal services for NRIs in Singapore or the Inheritance, Wills & Documents practice area.
Questions from NRIs in Singapore
Is my Singapore will valid for my flat in India?
It may be valid if it was signed before two witnesses, but your heirs would have to prove it in India using authenticated Singapore court papers. A separate Indian will is faster and cheaper for them.
Can I sign an Indian will in Singapore?
Yes. Indian law requires your signature and two attesting witnesses. No stamp paper or registration is required for validity, though registration helps if anyone later disputes it.
Does a Singapore probate work in India?
Not directly. The Indian court issues its own grant for assets in India, relying on the authenticated copy of the Singapore grant and will.