ISLAMABAD: The Senate on Monday approved an important legislation to facilitate the speedy transfer of movable and immovable property of the deceased, to the legal heirs.
Letters of Administration and Succession Certificates Bill, 2020 is one of the key legislations, in Government’s legal reform agenda, to get the assent of both the National Assembly and the Senate.
The purpose of this law is to provide for an efficacious and speedy mechanism for issuance of letters of Administration and Succession Certificates.
One of the problems faced by the legal heirs of the deceased is the transfer of immovable and movable property even in the cases where no ‘factual controversy’ i.e. any objection by legal heirs or dispute regarding the identity of legal heirs exists.
Law Ministry has devised a mechanism to establish Succession Facilitation Units in collaboration with the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) for the issuance of Letters of Administration and Succession Certificates within 15 days of initiation of application by the legal heir/heirs of the deceased.
The initiative would enable NADRA to use biometric authentication to issue Succession Certificates and Letters of Administration for the first time in Pakistan.
Before this law, it took 2 to 7 years to get a simple Letter of Administration or Succession Certificate by the courts. Previously all the legal heirs had to be present in the courts in Pakistan, now even if legal heirs are not present in Pakistan, the Letters of Administration and Succession Certificates will be issued.
This will save a lot of expense and time and will release onerous burden on the courts.
