A co-owner living in New Zealand can seek partition of ancestral or jointly owned property in India by a registered family settlement or by a partition suit. You participate through a power of attorney signed before a New Zealand notary public and apostilled by the Department of Internal Affairs. If the family cannot agree, the civil court declares each share and divides the property or orders a sale.
- Document route
- New Zealand notary public, then apostille from the Department of Internal Affairs
- Time difference
- New Zealand is 6h30 (NZ winter) to 7h30 (NZ summer) ahead of IST
- Main law
- Hindu Succession Act 1956, section 6
- Daughters
- Coparceners by birth (2005 amendment)
Partition of Family Property from New Zealand: how it works
We calculate shares under the Hindu Succession Act or the applicable personal law, noting that daughters are equal coparceners after the 2005 amendment, as the Supreme Court confirmed in Vineeta Sharma (2020). That often surprises families where land was always assumed to pass only to sons. We then explore a family settlement through video calls across the time zones of New Zealand, Australia and India, with drafts circulated by email until everyone agrees.
If settlement fails, we file a partition suit in the court where the property lies and seek an injunction so no co-owner sells or builds while it is pending. The court passes a preliminary decree declaring shares, may appoint a local commissioner to propose a division by metes and bounds, and then passes a final decree. If the land cannot be divided fairly, for example a single house, the court can order its sale and the division of proceeds.
What clients in New Zealand should know
- Years spent in New Zealand do not reduce your share; possession by one co-owner counts as possession for all unless ouster is proved.
- A partition sale gives rise to capital gains in India and may also need reporting to Inland Revenue in New Zealand.
- Agricultural land inherited by a New Zealand citizen with an OCI card can be kept, but sold only to an Indian citizen resident in India.
Step by step from New Zealand
Video consultation
A call at a time that suits New Zealand, after we have read your documents.
Documents signed in New Zealand
New Zealand notary public, then apostille from the Department of Internal Affairs
Work in India
Our team files, appears and follows up in India, and shares scans of everything filed.
Result and handover
Certified copies and originals are couriered to you in New Zealand where needed.
The full guide
This page covers what changes when you are in New Zealand. For the law, the documents and the step-by-step procedure, read our main page on Partition of Family Property, or see all services for clients in New Zealand and the NRI Property Law practice area.
Questions from clients in New Zealand
Do all heirs have to sign a family settlement?
Yes. If any heir refuses, the others can file a partition suit.
Can I take money instead of land?
Yes, by agreement or by a court-ordered sale where division is impractical.
How long will a suit take?
Contested partition suits often take several years, though many settle once shares are declared.