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Pakistan Inheritance Laws

      Pakistan's inheritance laws are governed by the Succession Act of 1925 which provides for 2 types of wills: Priviledged and Unpriviledged. Unprivileged Wills must be in writing, duly signed or marked by the testator or on their behalf by another in the testator's presence.  Additionally, it is not mandatory for a will to be signed in the presence of witnesses as testamentary capacity and the testator's signature suffice. On the other hand,  Privilegded Wills must be wholly written by the testator in their own hand or at their request or it can be made by word of mouth with two witnesses in attendance. Due to Pakistan's diverse religious composition Sharia or Islamic Law requires no written documents or forms to be precured in order for a will to be valid thus Priviledged Wills in secular law corresponds with Islamic doctrine.       With this being said, attorneys may be hired to draft a will or the testator may do so on their own, provided they have attained the age of testamentary capacity which according to the Succession Act of 1925 § 89 is 18 years or older. The firm of Surridge and Beecheno established in 1948 handle a wide array for areas including estate planning and probate law. With its head office in the nothern city of Karachi the firm's website provides a wealth of information about their business and its history in Pakistan. They offer internships for law students giving them hands on training and experience. They have also contributed to the publication International Succession edited by Louis Garb and John Wood which discusses the inheritance laws of Pakistan.  As one of Pakistan's largest firms they represent clients such as AT&T, Merril Lynch, Microsoft and MetLife. A full client list is provided on their website http://www.surridgeandbeecheno.com/home-page.html