I am a 44-year-old man who recently decided to get married. I have inherited some property from my deceased father, which I want my younger sister to inherit upon my passing. Please advise whether my pre-existing will would be revoked if I get married and if I need to prepare a new will thereafter.
-Name withheld on request
The revocation of a will upon marriage depends upon the personal law applicable to you. As the query does not specify your religion, we have broadly set out the position for different religions below. To answer your query, we have assumed you are not from Uttarakhand or a state where a separate code applies for inheritance-related matters.
If you are a Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh or Jain, as per the general rule of testamentary succession (succession through will) under the Indian Succession Act, 1925 (ISA), your marriage will not revoke your will. This position will remain the same, even if you enter into an inter-religious marriage, solemnized under the Special Marriage Act, 1954 (SMA) to a person who is not a Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh or Jain, unlike other religions (as explained below).
However, if you propose to enter into an inter-religious marriage, you could consider preparing a new will post marriage to avoid any question on the validity of your pre-existing will.
If you are a Muslim, you are governed by the Muslim personal law, and provisions of ISA do not apply to you. Therefore, your will would not be revoked by your marriage. If your marriage (either to another Muslim or inter-religious marriage) is solemnized under the SMA, Muslim personal law will not apply and the ISA will apply to you, and your will shall stand revoked on marriage.
If you are a Christian, Jew and Parsi, marriage will revoke your will. Accordingly, it is suggested that you prepare a new will post your marriage.
Generally, we recommend that you periodically revisit your will, especially after significant life events, such as the birth of a child.
Shaishavi Kadakia is a partner and Dharana Trivedi is a senior associate at Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas, Mumbai
