Do NRI marriages abroad impact succession rights in India?
NEW DELHI : Navigating the legal landscape of succession rights in India can be particularly challenging for non-resident Indians (NRIs) married to foreign nationals. Questions about the financial rights of offspring and spouses of NRIs whose marriages aren't solemnized in India often arise, creating a maze of legal intricacies. While the short answer is that there are no immediate issues, the longer answer uncovers several legal nuances.
Legal experts say that couples involving NRIs who marry abroad don’t need to register their marriage in India, provided it is duly registered in the country where they wed. A marriage certificate from India is unnecessary for their spouse’s and children’s inheritance rights. “The laws of succession do not bar anyone from receiving property in India through succession, which includes NRIs and their next of kin," explained Wilson Mathew, advocate, Supreme Court and the Bombay high court.
"There is no mandate for an Indian marrying anyone across the globe to mandatorily register their marriage in India. A child born out of such a wedlock is automatically entitled to receive properties in India through succession. Even if such a couple divorces or if one of the spouses dies, the surviving spouse and their children are entitled to receive properties in India through Will or succession," Mathew added.
He noted that even children born out of live-in relationships or adopted by Indians abroad are entitled to succession in India. Regardless of whether both parties are resident Indians, NRIs, or one is a foreign citizen married to an NRI, they are entitled to inheritance in India. “The foreigner spouse is also entitled to inherit the assets of a late NRI spouse in India as being a foreigner does
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