Sections 334-337 explained: this guide covers what it means, who it applies to, the step-by-step process, documents required, fees, due dates and penalties in India — so you can stay compliant with confidence and avoid costly mistakes.
Sections 332 and 333 say that an executor's assent completes a legatee's title. Sections 334 to 337 take the topic further: assent may be given on a condition, an executor who is himself a legatee must assent to his own legacy, assent takes effect from the testator's death, and an executor is not bound to pay or deliver any legacy until one year after the death. This article explains each, with the Act's illustrations, as per the text of the Act consulted.
An executor's assent may be conditional, and if the condition is one he has a right to enforce and it is not performed, there is no assent (s.334). An executor who is also a legatee must assent to his own legacy, and the assent is implied if he does an act referable to his character as legatee and not as executor (s.335). Assent gives effect to the legacy from the death of the testator (s.336). An executor is not bound to pay or deliver any legacy until one year from the testator's death (s.337).
Section 334: conditional assent
The assent of an executor or administrator to a legacy may be conditional. If the condition is one which he has a right to enforce, and it is not performed, there is no assent.
The key words are "a right to enforce". Two illustrations in the Act show the difference:
- Mortgage on the land. A bequeaths to B his lands of Sultanpur, which at the date of the will and at A's death were subject to a mortgage for 10,000 rupees. The executor assents on condition that B shall, within a limited time, pay the amount due on the mortgage at the testator's death. The amount is not paid. There is no assent.
- Payment to the executor. The executor assents to a bequest on condition that the legatee shall pay him a sum of money. The payment is not made. The assent is nevertheless valid.
The two illustrations are old, with old sums and an old place name, and they are given as the Act's illustrations. In the first, the Act's result is that there is no assent. In the second, the Act's result is that the assent is nevertheless valid even though the payment is not made. The Act gives the two results and no further reasoning, and we add none.
If you are an executor thinking of attaching a condition to your assent, or a legatee who has been given a conditional assent, a short legal consultation can help you check the position.
Section 335: assent to his own legacy
When the executor or administrator is a legatee, his assent to his own legacy is necessary to complete his title, "in the same way as it is required when the bequest is to another person". His assent may, "in like manner", be expressed or implied (s.335(1)).
Section 335(2) adds: assent shall be implied if, in his manner of administering the property, he does any act which is referable to his character of legatee and is not referable to his character of executor or administrator.
The Act's illustration: an executor takes the rent of a house, or the interest of Government securities, bequeathed to him, and applies it to his own use. This is assent.
An invented example: Mr. Khanna's will leaves a flat to his son Vivek, who is also the executor. Vivek lets the flat and pockets the rent for himself rather than adding it to the estate. On sub-section (2), that is an act referable to his character as legatee and not as executor, so assent to his own legacy is implied.
Section 336: assent takes effect from the death
The assent of the executor or administrator to a legacy "gives effect to it from the death of the testator". The Act gives two illustrations:
- Sale before assent. A legatee sells his legacy before the executor assents to it. The executor's later assent operates for the benefit of the purchaser and completes his title to the legacy.
- Interest from death. A bequeaths 1,000 rupees to B with interest from his death. The executor does not assent to the legacy until a year has passed from A's death. B is entitled to interest from the death of A.
The first illustration shows that a sale made by the legatee before assent is not lost: the assent that follows completes the purchaser's title. We read this strictly in the Act's words; the text does not describe what formalities such a sale would need.
Section 337: when the executor must deliver
An executor or administrator "is not bound to pay or deliver any legacy until the expiration of one year from the testator's death". The Act's illustration: A directs by his will that his legacies be paid within six months after his death. The executor is not bound to pay them before the expiration of a year.
The words are "not bound". They protect the executor from being required to pay earlier. The text consulted does not forbid an earlier payment, and it does not say what interest, if any, runs on a legacy; interest on legacies is dealt with in a later group of sections, explained in our article on sections 351 to 355.
| Section | Point | Rule as printed |
|---|---|---|
| 334 | Conditional assent | Assent may be conditional; if a condition the executor has a right to enforce is not performed, there is no assent |
| 335 | Executor as legatee | His assent to his own legacy is needed; implied by an act referable to his character of legatee |
| 336 | Effect | Assent gives effect to the legacy from the testator's death |
| 337 | Time | Not bound to pay or deliver any legacy until one year from the testator's death |
Putting sections 332 to 337 together
Read with the earlier sections, the picture is this. Assent completes the legatee's title (s.332), can be verbal, express or implied (s.333), can be conditional (s.334), is needed even from an executor who is a legatee (s.335), relates back to the death (s.336), and the executor is not bound to pay or deliver before one year from the death (s.337). The earlier pair is explained in our article on sections 332 and 333. For a suit to recover a legacy, the Limitation Act has its own rules: see our post on articles 106 to 110 of the Schedule to the Limitation Act, 1963. That is a separate Act.
Later amendments are not shown in the text consulted and should be checked.
Need help with a legacy or assent?
If you are a legatee asking when you can expect payment, or an executor wanting to set a condition correctly, we can explain the sections and help you prepare the papers. Start with our legal consultation service.
Key takeaways
- Assent may be conditional; if a condition the executor has a right to enforce is not performed, there is no assent (s.334).
- An executor who is a legatee must assent to his own legacy; assent is implied from an act referable to his character as legatee (s.335).
- Assent gives effect to the legacy from the testator's death (s.336).
- An executor is not bound to pay or deliver any legacy until one year after the testator's death (s.337).
Read next
- Sections 332-333: executor's assent to a legacy and its effect
- Sections 338-344: payment of annuities and investment to provide for legacies
- Sections 351-355: interest on legacies and annuities
- Executor duties under a will: probate, inventory and distribution
Disclaimer: Based on an unofficial print of the Indian Succession Act, 1925 showing amendments up to the Indian Succession (Amendment) Act, 2002 (26 of 2002), as consulted on 2 October 2026. It explains the words of the statute only; later amendments, State amendments and rules, court fees and the way courts apply these sections should be checked. This article is general information, not legal advice; check the official text before acting.