Relinquishment Deed

It is quite likely that you may be owning shares in an ancestral property located in a distant town. It is also likely that you may not be needing that share as you have settled in another city where you own property. You then decide to relinquish your share so that it may be useful to another family member who may need it more than you do. An effective way to do that is by executing a relinquishment deed. Another situation can arise when a parent dies intestate, i.e without writing a will. This can lead to one legal heir getting the mutation and titles registered in his/her name after getting the consent of other heirs who sign relinquishment deeds where they abandon their shares. This may be done on mutual understanding.

What Is A Relinquishment Deed?

A relinquishment deed is a legal document which has the effect of giving up or releasing the rights, titles and interest of a particular legal heir in favour of other legal heirs in a common property. The other heirs may be related as parents, siblings, children etc.

This instrument has the effect of reducing the number of share owners in a property and thus resulting in larger share for the existing heirs. A relinquishment deed needs to be distinguished from a gift deed where the shares of a particular owner is gifted to any other person who may be a legal heir in that property or not. A relinquishment deed needs to be registered compulsorily and it has very less registration charges compared to a gift deed which requires high stamp duty, though there is no consideration involved in both documents.

What To Include In A Relinquishment Deed?

Introduction and Title

The introduction part should contain the words ‘relinquishment deed/deed of relinquishment’ along with the date of creation of the document.

Identification of the Executant(s)/Releasor(s)

The person who makes the relinquishment deed is known as an executant or a releasor since the rights are released in a property by executing the document. All details including full name, father’s/husband’s name and residential address is needed. It can be one or more of the existing share owners.

Identification of Releasee

The person who receives the relinquished rights/titles/share is known as a releasee. Care should be taken to include all details like full name, father’s/husband’s name and complete address.

Description of the Property

The description of the complete property is important. The name of the last absolute owner is important. It is implied that there is no absolute owner at present as there would be no need of a relinquishment deed for a property owned absolutely by a single owner. It is necessary to mention all minute details since a schedule can be avoided in the end. Details such as complete address, survey number, registration details, Sub-registrar office details like office name, book number, volume number,

Purpose

The very purpose of a relinquishment deed should be mentioned. It may be that the absolute owner of the entire property died intestate. Had there been a testament/will, there would be no complications that would necessitate creation of a relinquishment deed, since division would be relatively easier and with clearly distinguishable shares.

Heir Details

All existing heirs to that property should be named preferably in a table with details like name, address, age and relationship to the deceased absolute owner.

Share details

Since there is no existing will, the property would be owned by heirs according to the applicable Succession Act. The proportion of shares owned by each heir up to the creation of the relinquishment deed should be mentioned.

Relinquishment

The most important clause in a relinquishment deed is the mentioning of the releasors/executants releasing their shares in the property in favour of the releasee without any monetary consideration and out of natural love and affection. The property should be described once again along with a declaration that they and their legal heirs shall have no claim over the said property. If all remaining heirs release their shares in favour of one heir, it will be mentioned that the rights of the property shall vest absolutely with the releasee.

Signatures

The document shall be signed by all the executants and the releasee and attested by two witnesses before being registered at the concerned Sub-registrar office where the property is situated.

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