The procedure through which persons may acquire assets from the estate of a recently deceased family member is governed by a series of statutes and rules that are together referred to as inheritance laws. These assets typically come from the deceased person’s home or other property. Suppose a will was never drafted or didn’t account for all of the deceased person’s assets. In that case, these rules ensure that beneficiaries will still be able to receive some inheritance from the deceased person’s estate. Whereas succession is the process of settling the estate of a deceased person and distributing the property to those who inherit it after the debts have been paid, succession takes place after the person has passed away. The “estate” that a person leaves behind when they pass away is another thing that the word “succession” can be used to allude to.

The Succession Act was enacted partly to address any unfair treatment of those dependent upon the deceased but not provided for in the will of the deceased. This was done to prevent any further injustice from occurring.

Because Pakistan has a Muslim majority and its constitution mandates that Islamic law is used as the basis for all legislation, the Islamic legal system of inheritance is obligatorily followed in Pakistan. In the lack of a comprehensive code or regulation on inheritance, the Islamic principles of inheritance passed down through the generations are applied by the courts of the various Muslim sects. Currently, only two pieces of Pakistani legislation, the Succession Act of 1925 and the Muslim Family Law Ordinance 1961 under Section 4, contain a provision related to inheritance and succession.

To acquire the property that was bequeathed to the propositus by the ancestor, one must comply with the country’s national laws. In line with the federal legislation known as the Succession Act of 1925 and the provincial legislation known as the Letters of Administration and Succession Certificates Act of 2020, this transfer of movable and immovable property from the decedent to the successors is carried out.

The main purpose of the Letters of Administration / Succession Certificates Act is to immediately simplify the procedure of obtaining succession certificates and letters of administration. Under Section 3 of the Act, a Succession Facilitation Unit is also established in NADRA offices. This unit is given the authority to accept applications for the grant of letters of administration and succession certificates, to process and evaluate these applications to decide whether or not to accept them and to keep an online portal for record keeping.

According to Section 6, before application for the grant of letters of administration is submitted, it must be accompanied by the deceased person’s death certificate, a list of legal heirs along with copies of their national identity cards, and authorization from the legal heirs in favor of the applicant, and specifics regarding the both immovable and movable property. The approval of such an application is contingent upon receiving an objection claim. If no such claim is submitted, NADRA will issue a letter of administration or succession certificate equivalent to those issued by the District Judge or High Court by the Succession Act of 1925.

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