(1) Application for probate or for letters of administration, with the will annexed, shall be made by a petition distinctly written in English or in the language in ordinary use in proceedings before the Court in which the application is made, with the will or, in the cases mentioned in sections 237, 238 and 239, a copy, draft, or statement of the contents thereof, annexed, and stating-
(a) the time of the testator's death,
(b) that the writing annexed is his last will and testament,
(c) that it was duly executed,
(d) the amount of assets which are likely to come to the petitioner's hands, and
(e) when the application is for probate, that the petitioner is the executor named in the will.
(2) In addition to these particulars, the petition shall further state,-
(a) when the application is to the District Judge, that the deceased at the time of his death had a fixed place of abode, or had some property, situate within the jusrisdiction of the Judge; and
(b) when the application is to a District Delegate, that the deceased at the time of his death had a fixed place of abode within the jurisdiction of such Delegate.
(3) Where the application is to the District Judge and any portion of the assets likely to come to the petitioner's hands is situate in another State, the petition shall further state the amount of such assets in each State and the District Judges within whose jurisdiction such assets are situate.
Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 276
Section 276 sets forth the mandatory statutory contents and verification requirements for every petition for probate, requiring the annexation of the original will, proof of death, valuation of assets, and disclosure of legal heirs.
Drafting a petition under Section 276 requires extreme caution. Litigators frequently make the fatal blunder of concealing a disinherited son or daughter from the schedule of family members. Concealing a legal heir in the Section 276 petition is treated by the Supreme Court as fraud on the court, providing an immediate ground for revocation under Section 263.