Who gets what when someone dies?
For Muslims, inheritance is decided by Muslim personal law. The Shariat Application Acts of 1937 and 1962 made Muslim personal law the rule for succession. Custom cannot override it. The shares come from the Quran. Surah An Nisa 4:11 and 4:12 set them out: a son gets double the share of a daughter. Two or more daughters together get two thirds. A single daughter gets half. Parents get a sixth each when there are children. A wife gets an eighth when there are children, and a quarter when there are none. These shares are fixed. No one can change them by saying "this was always mine".
For non Muslims, the Succession Act 1925 applies instead. Its rules of intestate succession decide who takes what.
One thing to understand: the share exists from the moment of death. The paperwork that comes later does not create the share. It only proves it. We covered the rights of daughters in detail in our guide on women's inheritance in Pakistan.
What do you need first?
Start with three things.
- A death certificate from the union council or NADRA.
- A family registration certificate (FRC) from NADRA. It shows who the legal heirs are.
- The property papers: fard, registry, and land records. We have a plain guide on what a fard is and how to read it.
Also make a list of everything the person owned. Land, house, bank accounts, savings certificates, shares, vehicle, gold. The list decides which process you need for each item.
How do you get money out of bank accounts?
Banks will not hand over money to just anyone. They ask for a succession certificate.
The Succession Act 1925 covers these certificates. The District Judge of the area where the deceased lived grants it. You file a petition signed and verified like a plaint. The court fixes a hearing and issues notice. It may ask for a bond as security. You deposit the court fee set by the Court Fees Act 1870.
The certificate names the heirs and their shares. It works across Pakistan, and it protects the bank. The bank can pay the person named in the certificate without fear.
If you are left out of the certificate, you can appeal to the High Court.
A succession certificate is for movable property only. Bank accounts, shares, savings certificates, debts. It does not transfer land. Land moves through mutation, which is next.
How does land change names?
Land is recorded in the revenue papers. After a death, the heirs' names must be entered in the record. This entry is called mutation, or intiqal.
The West Pakistan Land Revenue Act 1967 says a person who gets a right in land by inheritance must report it. The report is expected within three months of the death. This is how the record stays correct.
In Punjab, mutation runs through the Arazi Record Centre. The Punjab Land Records Authority explains the process on its site. You take your CNIC, get a token with biometric verification, submit the property papers, pay the fee at the bank counter or online, and the Assistant Director Land Records verifies the mutation with the heirs and witnesses. If everyone is present, it can finish in one visit.
Mutation does not give anyone a new right. It records the right that already exists. But the record matters. Under the Land Revenue Act, an entry in the record is presumed to be true until the opposite is proved. A wrong record is hard to fight later. We have a full guide on property mutation in Pakistan and how the process works.
Can the family divide it on its own?
Yes. Most families divide inherited property without a court. It is legal and saves years.
If everyone agrees, put the agreement in writing on stamp paper and get all heirs to sign. Use it for the mutation or the sale.
No agreement can force an heir to give up a share. A forced surrender does not stick. The Pakistan Penal Code makes it a crime to deprive a woman of her inheritance by deceitful or illegal means. The punishment is five to ten years in prison, or a fine of one million rupees, or both. There is also a separate offence for making a woman swear on the Holy Quran that she will not claim her share. If someone in your family is being pushed to give up a share, that pressure itself can be a crime.
What if someone refuses to divide?
Then one heir can take it to the civil court. You do not need everyone's permission to file.
The suit is called a partition suit. The court first declares the shares of everyone. Under Order 20 Rule 18 of the Code of Civil Procedure, when the property cannot be divided easily without more inquiry, the court passes a preliminary decree declaring the rights of all the parties. Then it appoints a commissioner to divide the property on the ground.
There is a special rule for agricultural land. If the land is assessed to revenue, the partition is done by the Collector, not by a court commissioner. Section 54 of the Code of Civil Procedure and Order 20 Rule 18 both say so.
If the property cannot be split fairly, like one house shared by five heirs, the court can order the property to be sold and the money divided. The court also decides who pays the costs of the case.
What if there is a will?
A written will changes the picture, but only up to a point. Under Islamic law, a Muslim can will away up to one third of the estate to people who are not already heirs. The rest follows the fixed shares. A bequest to someone who is already an heir is not valid unless the other heirs agree after the death.
A will also has to be proved in court before it can be acted upon. This process is called probate, and it runs under the Succession Act 1925.
What does this mean for you?
Get the papers moving early. The longer property stays in the name of the person who died, the harder it is to sell, mortgage, or protect from encroachment.
If you are a woman, your share is protected by the law, and the criminal law backs it up.
If the family will not cooperate, see a lawyer. A partition suit is a civil case, and it starts with a plaint. It is not fast, but it is the legal path that ends the fight. And if the money is in a bank account, the bank will ask for a succession certificate in Pakistan before releasing it.
If the deceased left a will, the rules are different. See how to make a will in Pakistan and what makes it valid.
Parents who want to pass property during their lifetime can read our guide on gift deeds in Pakistan.
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