Digital Wills in India: Legal Validity and How to Create One in 2026

The Will Crisis in India

Here’s a sobering statistic: less than 10% of Indians have a written will. In a country where family disputes over inheritance are among the most common civil cases, this is a disaster waiting to happen.

The reasons people don’t write wills are always the same:

“I’ll do it later” (until it’s too late)
“My family knows what I want” (they don’t, or they disagree)
“It’s too complicated” (it doesn’t have to be)
“I don’t have enough wealth to need one” (any asset of any value qualifies)

As our lives become increasingly digital — bank accounts we manage on phones, mutual funds on apps, crypto wallets, digital gold — the need for a comprehensive will has never been more urgent.

Can a Will Be Digital in India?

The short answer: A will in India must be in writing, signed by the testator (will-maker), and witnessed by two people. The Indian Succession Act, 1925 (Section 63) does not require paper, but it does require a signature.

What the Law Says

Section 63, Indian Succession Act:

“Every testator, not being a soldier employed in an expedition or engaged in actual warfare… shall be attested by two or more witnesses.”

The Information Technology Act, 2000 (Section 1(4)) specifically excludes wills from the list of documents that can use electronic signatures:

“Nothing in this Act shall apply to— (a) a negotiable instrument… (b) a power-of-attorney… (c) a trust… (d) a will…”

What This Means

A fully digital will (e-signed, never printed) is currently not legally valid in India
A will drafted digitally but printed, signed physically, and witnessed is perfectly valid
A video will is not legally valid as a standalone document, but can serve as supporting evidence

The Practical Approach in 2026

The smart strategy is to use digital tools for creation and storage, but print and sign physically for legal validity:

Draft digitally — use a template, get a lawyer to review, iterate easily
Print, sign, and witness — two witnesses who are not beneficiaries, physically present
Store the original safely — bank locker, with a lawyer, or in a fireproof safe at home
Store a digital copy — in an encrypted vault that family members can access
Register if possible — at the Sub-Registrar’s office (₹200-500 fee, optional but recommended)

What to Include in Your Will (2026 Edition)

A comprehensive will in 2026 should cover both traditional and digital assets:

Traditional Assets

Real estate (property address, survey number, registration details)
Bank accounts (bank name, branch, account number)
Fixed deposits and recurring deposits
Insurance policies (policy number, insurer)
Gold and jewelry (physical location, approximate weight)
Vehicles (registration number)
Business interests, partnerships, private company shares

Modern Digital Assets

Demat accounts — broker name, client ID
Mutual fund folios — AMC and folio numbers
Digital gold — platform (PhonePe, Google Pay, etc.)
Cryptocurrency — exchange accounts AND self-custody wallets (seed phrase location, not the phrase itself in the will)
UPI wallets — Paytm Wallet, Amazon Pay balances
International brokerages — Vested, Interactive Brokers, etc.
Domain names — registrar, account details
Digital subscriptions with value — premium app accounts, stored credits

Don’t Forget

Debts and liabilities — home loan, car loan, credit card dues, personal loans (these pass to the estate)
Digital access instructions — reference to where passwords/2FA recovery codes are stored (never put actual passwords in the will itself)
Executor appointment — who will administer the will
Guardian for minor children — who takes care of them
Specific gifts — “My mother’s gold chain goes to my daughter”
Residuary clause — what happens to anything not specifically mentioned

Registration: Optional but Highly Recommended

Under the Registration Act, 1908, will registration is optional. An unregistered will is legally valid if it meets Section 63 requirements (written, signed, two witnesses).

However, registration is strongly recommended because:

✅ A registered will is harder to challenge in court
✅ It goes into the government’s records — proof of existence
✅ It has a specific date stamp — harder to claim it was forged later
✅ Cost is minimal (₹200-500)
✅ Pre-empts disputes about authenticity

How to Register

Visit the Sub-Registrar’s office in your jurisdiction
Bring the original will, your ID, and the two witnesses
All parties sign in front of the Sub-Registrar
Pay the nominal fee
Keep the receipt

Time required: 1-2 hours at the office, assuming no queue.

Revoking and Updating a Will

A will can be revoked or changed at any time during the testator’s lifetime. There is no “final” will — the latest valid will supersedes all previous ones.

Best practices:

Add a revocation clause: “I hereby revoke all previous wills and codicils made by me”
Update after major life events: marriage, divorce, birth of a child, death of a beneficiary, major asset acquisition
Review every 2-3 years even if nothing has changed
Number your wills: “This is my Third Will, dated [date], revoking all prior wills”

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Beneficiary as witness — if a beneficiary also witnesses the will, they may lose their inheritance under Section 67
Ambiguous language — “I leave my property to my children” — which property? All of it? In what shares?
Not accounting for joint property — you can only will your share of jointly-owned property
Forgetting ancestral property — under Hindu law, ancestral property has specific rules; you may not be able to will it away
Unsigned pages — ideally, sign every page, not just the last one
Storing in an unknown location — a will that can’t be found is a will that doesn’t exist
Only one copy — keep at least two copies in different locations

The Technology Solution

While the law hasn’t caught up to allow fully digital wills yet, technology can make the process dramatically easier and safer:

Secure document storage — encrypt your will and store it in a vault that designated family members can access
Automatic reminders — get notified when it’s time to review your will
Asset tracking — keep your will aligned with your actual assets as they change
Family sharing — let your executor and spouse know where the will is stored without revealing contents prematurely
Advisor connection — work with a lawyer to draft and review, all through a secure platform

Lineage Money is building exactly this. Our encrypted vault, family governance features, and advisor marketplace are designed to make will creation and asset protection simple for every Indian family.

Join the waitlist for early access when we launch in March 2026.

This article is for educational purposes and does not constitute legal advice. For specific situations, consult a qualified legal professional. Find verified estate planning advisors on Lineage Money.