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My lawyer says I must pay bribes to secure a succession certificate.

Reported on March 21, 2013 from Kolkata , West Bengal  ι Report #34319

I am an NRI pursuing a succession certificate (father died many years ago). My lawyer has told me that I must pay bribes if I want court officials to undertake routine procedures, like visiting my father's residence to ensure he has passed away etc. My lawyer previously managed to disguise from me that I was paying bribes for another inheritance by pretending they were just part of general court fees, but now has come clean about it, and tells me I have no choice. He says that court officials will simply not take action if I don't pay bribes. What can I do so that I do not have to pay bribes?

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ADMIN COMMENT

There is no need to pay bribe to court staff. You can follow the below mentioned steps to get the succession certificate. You may engage an advocate who is reliable and reasonable in levying lawyer fees for this purpose. The Application is to be made in the court, where the properties of your deceased relative are situated or where he / she normally resided. Depending on the value of the estate of the deceased, the matter shall go to the type of court, which can conduct cases for that value [This is known as ""pecuniary jurisdiction"" of the court]
You have to apply to the court with the names of all other heirs of your late relative as the respondents in the matter. Normally a newspaper notice is also issued apart from mandatory notice to the respondents. Upon the expiry of the time period (normally 1 and a half months) from the date of publication of the notice after the respondents have given their no objection, the court passes the orders for issuance of the Succession Certificate in your name, for which you have to then submit Judicial Stamp papers of sufficient amount (as per the prescribed court fees structure) in the court, where after the Certificate is typed by the court staff, duly signed and sealed and delivered.