Guidance required on Legal Heir or family member Certificate.

Dear client,

In your situation, the death of your father has already resulted in all his legal heirs—your mother, you, your brother, and your sister—succeeding to his share in the agricultural land, and a Legal Heir / Family Member Certificate is generally required only for administrative purposes such as mutation, revenue records, or claiming benefits. This certificate does not decide ownership, but merely identifies the surviving heirs.

You can apply for the certificate by including the name of your brother even if he is unresponsive, because the authority (usually Tehsildar/Taluk office) issues it based on records and local inquiry. His presence or signature is normally not mandatory for issuance of the certificate, as it is not a consent-based document but a declaration of legal heirs after verification. Therefore, his non-cooperation should not prevent you from obtaining the certificate.And you mother being the head of the family can b the deponent in such affidavits.

However, when it comes to actually claiming or dealing with the property, all legal heirs have equal rights under the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, and your brother’s share cannot be ignored merely because he is not responding. If he remains unavailable or refuses to cooperate, you have the following legal options:

You may proceed with mutation of land records by including all heirs (including your brother) based on the legal heir certificate.
If partition or division is required and he does not participate, you can file a civil suit for partition, where the court can proceed even in his absence after proper notice.
If his whereabouts are unknown, the court can allow substituted service (like newspaper publication) and continue the case.
Meanwhile it is better that you report a missing diary in the Police station, this can help you in future

In summary, you can obtain the legal heir certificate without his physical presence, but for final division or exclusive rights in the property, either his participation or a court order (partition decree) will be necessary.