A marriage certificate is a document that declares two people married legally. Marriages in India are to be registered under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 or the Special Marriage Act, 1954. In the year 2006 the Hon’ble Supreme Court made it mandatory in India to get a marriage registered to legalise it.

Marriages are considered to be social contracts. Annulment is a legal procedure for declaring a marriage null and void. A marriage can be annulled on the grounds of fraud, bigamy, blood relationship (sapinda), mental incompetence or undue influence.

Mutual Consent
When the parties to marriage have decided to end the marriage on mutually conclusive terms and conditions, a marriage can be dissolved by filing a mutual consent petition in the court under the Hindu Marriage Act or the Special Marriage act before the Family Court.

Contested
A contested divorce is a divorce which is filed by one of the parties (husband or wife) and is opposed by the other party. It is also known as a one-sided demand for divorce. Contested divorce can be filed on the following grounds:

• Cruelty
• Adultery
• Desertion
• Conversion
• Mental illness/disorder
• Communicable venerable diseases
• Bigamy

In the case of a minor child either parent can seek custody of the child(ren) as both the parents have equal rights over the child. However, grand of child custody is subject to various fact and circumstances and keeping in mind the welfare of the child, the Family Court gets the last say in this regard.

Indian law is strictly against the demand for dowry and the following laws prohibit such evil acts – Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 and Section 304 B and Section 498 A of the Indian Penal Code,1860.

Domestic Violence includes all forms of abuse or threats of abuse whether physical, sexual, verbal, emotional and /or economic that is capable of inflicting harm, injury or which endangers the health, safety, life, limb or well being either mental or physical of the aggrieved person.
Domestic Violence act, 2005 helps both women and children in fighting such abuse and torture.

Maintenance law in India lays emphasis on a man’s duty and responsibility as an earning member of the family to provide for his wife, children, and parents who ae unable to maintain themselves. There are various maintenance laws in India:

• Section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973
• Section 24 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955
• Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act, 1956
• Domestic Violence Act, 2005

The establishment of the marital relationship between husband and wife by either party (husband and wife) when either husband or wife withdraws from the society and obligation of marriage then the other party has the right to initiate proceedings for restitution of such conjugal rights. Laws regarding restitution of conjugal rights in India are as follows:

• Section 9 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955
• Section 32 and 33 of Indian Divorce Act, 1869
• Section 36 of the Parsi Marriage and Divorce Act, 1936
• Section 22 of the Special Marriage Act, 1954

A will is a legally binding document which guarantees the devolution and distribution of the estate, assets and all acquired/accumulated fortune(s) of an individual to his/her heir(s) and coparcener(s). Formulating a will is the easy part in comparison to the execution of the will, as execution involves tedious legal procedures to be followed in accordance with the Hindu Succession Act of 1956. The executor of the will has to follow the prescribed steps after the demise of the testator (the person in whose name the Will is made) to ensure that the beneficiaries receive their fair share, among other things.