Questions, Answered Plainly

You can book a LawCrust consultation in three ways: call +91 80978 42911 (India) or +971 50 409 0417 (UAE), email inquiry@lawcrust.in, or submit the consultation form at lawcrust.in/contact. We respond within one business day, and we offer in-person, phone, video (Zoom/Teams/WhatsApp), and visit-at-home options depending on the matter and your location.

Initial consultations are nominal and quoted on intake, a 30-to-45-minute focused session, sized to your matter. Many matters are scoped within that first call, and the conversation often clarifies enough that you can decide your next step there and then. Detailed engagement fees depend on practice area, complexity, and whether the matter is project-based or on retainer.

Consultations are conducted in English and Hindi by default. Marathi, Bengali, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Gujarati, and Punjabi are available depending on the office and practice area, please mention your preferred language when booking and we will allocate accordingly.

LawCrust operates from 19+ offices, with the Mumbai HQ at Bandra Kurla Complex. Other Indian offices include Mumbai (Andheri), Navi Mumbai (Nerul), Bengaluru, Hyderabad (Kondapur), Kolkata, New Delhi (Malviya Nagar), Pune, Gurugram, and Noida. International offices are in Dubai (UAE) and Dover, Delaware (USA).

Yes. LawCrust has delivered counsel in 110+ Indian cities including Tier-2 centres like Surat, Jaipur, Lucknow, Indore, Nagpur, Bhopal, Coimbatore, Kochi, and Chandigarh. Most procedural work, drafting, filings, depositions, can now be coordinated remotely, and our partner-advocate network covers smaller districts where local court appearance is required.

Within one business day, a matter intake specialist calls or writes back to confirm the scope, jurisdiction, and timing of your matter, and proposes a consultation slot. The first call is a 30-to-45-minute confidential conversation with a practice lead, after which you receive a written summary of next steps and an indicative fee.

For most matters, bring: (1) any notice, FIR, complaint, or court order received; (2) the underlying contract, deed, or agreement if applicable; (3) identity and address proof; and (4) a one-page timeline of events as you remember them. For NRI matters, also bring your passport, OCI card if applicable, and the Indian counterparty's details. We accept secure document upload before the call.

Timelines vary widely: a mutual-consent divorce can resolve in 6 to 18 months; a contested divorce or partition suit can take 2 to 5 years. Anticipatory bail is usually decided in 2 to 6 weeks. Property registrations and POAs are completed in days, not months. We provide a written timeline estimate after the discovery call.

LawCrust offers three engagement models: (1) Consultation fees for the first call, quoted on intake; (2) Project fees, a fixed quote for a specific deliverable (a deed, a petition, an opinion); (3) Retainers, annual or quarterly for ongoing matters. The right structure is recommended after the discovery call, once we have sized the matter.

Yes, every matter has a named practice lead and a dedicated point of contact. For complex matters spanning multiple courts or jurisdictions, you also get a matter manager who coordinates updates, filings, and questions, so you never have to repeat your story to whoever picked up the phone.

Active litigation receives a written weekly update by email or WhatsApp. Transactional matters (deeds, POAs, registrations) are tracked through a milestone checklist shared at engagement. You can call your matter lead 24/7 for an off-cycle update, with no IVR or gatekeepers in between.

Yes. LawCrust coordinates representation for NRIs in the USA, UK, UAE, MENA, Canada, Australia, Singapore, and Europe across property, family, criminal, and succession matters in India, through its empanelled advocates and partner-counsel network. Most procedural work is handled via a registered Power of Attorney, virtual hearings, and local counsel, you are not required to fly back unless your physical presence is legally compelled.

You execute a Special or General Power of Attorney before the Indian Consulate in your country (or before a notary, then apostilled under the Hague Convention). LawCrust drafts the POA, coordinates consular attestation or apostille, registers the POA in India, conducts due diligence on the buyer/seller, completes the deed and registration, and remits sale proceeds via NRO/NRE accounts subject to FEMA limits.

Yes. Mutual-consent divorce can be conducted entirely through a registered Power of Attorney once both parties record statements via video conference, as permitted by recent Supreme Court guidance. Contested divorce hearings are increasingly conducted virtually, though you may need to attend in person for evidence stages depending on the court.

Do not return to India without legal protection. Step one is anticipatory bail, filed before the relevant Sessions Court or High Court so that you cannot be arrested on arrival. Step two is a quashing petition under Section 482 CrPC where the FIR shows abuse of process, supported by the Supreme Court guardrails laid down in Arnesh Kumar v. State of Bihar and subsequent rulings. LawCrust represents NRI husbands across both stages.

Act in the first 72 hours. India is not a signatory to the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, which makes the legal pathway specific: an Indian Family Court habeas corpus, mirror orders in the destination country, and immigration alerts. LawCrust coordinates Indian-side filings, consulate intervention, and partner counsel in the destination country. Read the full guide at lawcrust.in/insights.

Most NRIs use one of two structures: a single will covering Indian-situs assets (immovable property in India), governed by the Indian Succession Act, plus a separate will for foreign-situs assets governed by the local law of residence; or a single international will drafted to comply with both jurisdictions. LawCrust drafts and registers Indian wills, coordinates probate, and works with partner counsel for the foreign limb.

Yes. LawCrust handles OCI applications, renewals after passport reissue, surrender on acquisition of a new citizenship, and challenges where OCI has been miscancelled. We also advise on dependent-visa coordination for spouses and children, and on the rights of OCI cardholders in family-law matters in India.

Mutual consent divorce (Section 13B Hindu Marriage Act / equivalent in other personal laws) is filed jointly when both spouses agree on separation, custody, and finances, it typically resolves in 6 to 18 months. Contested divorce is filed by one spouse on grounds like cruelty, desertion, or adultery, it usually takes 2 to 5 years and goes through evidence and trial. Mutual consent is faster, cheaper, and less adversarial; we recommend it whenever the relationship allows.

Indian courts apply the "welfare of the child" test under the Guardians and Wards Act, 1890 and the Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act, 1956. Custody can be sole, joint, or shared, with visitation rights for the non-custodial parent. Children below 5 are generally placed with the mother; the child's preference is heard from around age 9 onward. Cross-border custody adds Hague Convention and FEMA considerations.

Maintenance is governed by Section 125 CrPC (interim, for any deserted spouse), the Hindu Marriage Act (permanent alimony), the Domestic Violence Act, 2005, and personal-law statutes. Quantum depends on the paying spouse's income, lifestyle of the marriage, age, health, and earning capacity of the receiving spouse. Lump-sum settlement is increasingly common in mutual-consent divorces.

Apply for anticipatory bail immediately under Section 438 CrPC, then evaluate a quashing petition under Section 482 CrPC if the complaint is plainly an abuse of process. Recent Supreme Court decisions (Arnesh Kumar v. State of Bihar, 2014; Kahkashan Kausar v. State of Bihar, 2022) require police to apply mind before arresting and to verify allegations against in-laws. Defence strategy depends on the facts of your matrimonial dispute.

An Encumbrance Certificate (EC) is a state-issued record showing all registered transactions, mortgages, and liens against a property over a specified period. It is the single most important document to verify before any property purchase or sale in India, it surfaces hidden loans, prior owners, and disputes that the seller may not disclose. LawCrust verifies EC, title chain, and 7/12 extracts for every property transaction we handle.

A succession certificate is granted by a District Court under Part X of the Indian Succession Act, 1925. The application is filed in the court of the deceased's last residence, accompanied by the death certificate, list of heirs, list of debts and securities, and newspaper publication. Typical timeline is 4 to 8 months. NRIs can apply through a Power of Attorney without flying back.

Yes, a registered will reduces succession disputes by an order of magnitude. A will in India needs to be in writing, signed by the testator, and witnessed by two persons. Registration with the Sub-Registrar (under the Registration Act, 1908) is optional but strongly recommended, it creates evidentiary weight and makes the will harder to challenge. LawCrust drafts and registers wills, with cross-border coordination for NRI estates.

You have three forums: (1) RERA, file a complaint under Section 31 of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 with the State RERA authority, which can order possession, refund, or compensation; (2) Consumer Court, file under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 for deficiency in service; (3) NCLT, initiate insolvency under Section 7 IBC if the builder is corporate. Choice of forum depends on the relief you seek and the builder's status.

A 41A CrPC notice is a written direction from the police to appear and assist the investigation in a non-cognizable or arrestable offence where arrest is not immediately necessary. You are obliged to appear, but you have the right to be represented by counsel and to refuse self-incriminating statements. Do not ignore it, non-appearance allows the police to arrest. Call counsel before you respond.

Bail is filed at three stages: (1) at the police station for a bailable offence, where bail must be granted as a matter of right; (2) before the Magistrate at first remand (within 24 hours of arrest), where most regular bail applications are heard within 1 to 3 days; (3) before the Sessions Court or High Court if Magistrate refuses, typically heard within 3 to 14 days. Anticipatory bail (before arrest) is filed in the Sessions Court or High Court and decided in 2 to 6 weeks.

Quashing is filed under Section 482 CrPC (now BNSS Section 528) before the High Court. Grounds include: (a) the allegation does not disclose any offence; (b) the case is patently frivolous or initiated for an oblique purpose; (c) civil dispute clothed as criminal complaint; (d) settled between the parties in compoundable matters. Quashing petitions usually take 4 to 12 months depending on the High Court.

Within 60 minutes, call 1930 (the national cyber-fraud helpline), quick reporting can freeze the recipient bank account before money is withdrawn. Within 24 hours, file an FIR at your local police station and a parallel complaint on cybercrime.gov.in. Within 7 days, write to your bank invoking the RBI's "limited liability of customer" framework (RBI/2017-18/15). LawCrust coordinates all three steps and pursues recovery via consumer forums or civil suit where required.

Yes. Every conversation, document, and communication is protected by attorney-client privilege under Indian law, Sections 132 to 134 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 (which replaced Sections 126 to 129 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 with effect from 1 July 2024). LawCrust enforces this with secure document portals, NDA-bound staff, and internal data-segregation. We do not discuss matters with third parties, family members, or counterparties without your written consent.

We try to find a workable engagement structure for every matter we accept. Where the case has clear merit, we explore staged project fees, deferred timelines, or concessional support through the LawCrust Foundation for clients who meet eligibility criteria. Ask during your first call, we are direct about what we can and cannot do.

Every engagement letter includes an escalation path to a senior partner not directly involved in the matter, and a 30-day review checkpoint. If the work materially deviates from what was scoped, fees are revisited. We have not had a fee dispute reach formal arbitration, settlement-first applies to ourselves too.

Yes, at any time. You receive your full file (including digital copies), a no-objection certificate for the new counsel, and a final invoice for work completed up to termination. We will also brief incoming counsel verbally if that helps your matter, your matter, your call.