Frequently Asked Questions On Inheritance And Succession

QUERY #1

I am the son of my father's second wife and now that my father is dead his sons from his first wife are not giving me any shares to his property. What do I do now?

ANSWER:

The short answer to your question is YES. You have the right to claim a share from your father’s property.
But this is dependent on what kind of property you have and whether your father died intestate. If the property in question is ancestral, which means it has been passed on for four generations by male ancestors and has not been partitioned, sold, or divided in this time as per the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, then the deceased’s children have equal share and right over the property. This means that he cannot give this property to just one specific child leaving behind the rest, as all these children, irrespective of the fact that they are from his first or second wife, have equal right to claim this property, and therefore may sue their father in court if a situation similar to the above mentioned one ever happens. And after his death, all his children may have equal claims to the same.
If the property in question is instead self-acquired, then there is one more thing to consider; whether your father died intestate or had prepared a will before his death. If your father had prepared a will before his death, then his children shall have no right to question this will if their names are not on it, i.e as it is a self-acquired property, it is completely upon the testator to decide who may inherit his property, and his legal heirs cannot pose any legal objection to this if their names are not on the will.
But if your father died intestate, then the legal heirs possess the right to claim their share of this property as per Section 8 of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956. As per the same, the son, irrespective of the fact that they are from the deceased’s first or second wife, is a Class I legal heir to the deceased male’s property. Therefore any one of the legal heirs cannot revoke the other’s claim to what is their rightful property.
Therefore, as long as your father died intestate or as long as the property is ancestral, you may have the right to claim this property. If the legal heirs are not ready to share this property, you may file a partition suit in the respective Court to partition the property equally between all the heirs. Do note that the partition suit must be filed within twelve years from the day on which the property was claimed, as per the Limitation Act, 1963.
I hope this helps. Thank you for your time and patience!

QUERY #2

My niece's husband hanged himself and ended his life only two years after their marriage. Now their elder brother has taken hold of his bank account and all his money and property. My niece also has a one month old baby boy. How can they get the property back?

ANSWER:

The short answer to your question is YES. The wife may claim back her husband’s property.

As per Section 8 of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, the son, daughter and widow of an intestate male are Class I legal heirs to his property. The brother is only a Class II legal heir to his property. This means that as per the order of priority, the wife and son of the deceased, if alive, shall inherit the property left over by the intestate male.
As long as the Class I legal heirs are alive, the brother cannot claim this property.
Therefore, the aggrieved party may file a suit in the respective court to recover the same.
I hope this helps. Thank you for your time and patience!

QUERY #3

My sister who is a divorcee died and her property went to her unmarried daughter, my niece. After my niece's death, the property went to her father, my sister's ex husband. The court said that I do not have any claim over the property. How do I prove my claim to the court and take back the property from her ex husband?

ANSWER:
The short answer to your question is NO. You cannot claim your sister’s property.

As per Section 15 of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, the property of a female intestate shall be inherited by:

1. Her son, daughter, and husband
2. The husband’s heirs
3. The mother and father
4. The father’s heirs
5. The mother’s heirs

As per this list, the property of the deceased would go to her daughter only, since she is a divorcee. When the daughter, who was unmarried, dies intestate, her property goes to her mother and father. Since her mother is dead, it would go to her father, irrespective of the fact that her parents are divorced.
Therefore, you cannot claim your sister’s property, as according to the Hindu Succession Act, the father of your niece is the legal heir to this property.

QUERY #4

We are from a Hindu family, and my father has two wives. He married the second woman without my mother's consent thirty years ago. He has one son from his second wife. The second wife recently passed away. Now me and my mother live separately from my father, who lives with his son from the second wife. He pays alimony to my mom, but refuses to give his self acquired property to us and wants to give it all to his son from the second wife. How can we legally claim this property?

ANSWER:

The short answer to your question is NO. You cannot claim your father’s self-acquired property.

Bigamy is prohibited in India as per the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955. The second marriage would be considered void if at the time of marriage either party had a living spouse, as per Section 17 of the same. As per Section 16 of the same Act, any child who would have been legitimate if the marriage was valid, shall be legitimate irrespective of the marriage’s void status. Therefore, even though the father’s marriage with the second wife is void, his child from this marriage is still a legitimate child in the eyes of law.
There are two ways in which a person may claim their rights of inheritance on their father’s property as per the Hindu Succession Act, 1956. Either the property has to be ancestral or the person’s name must have been present in the father’s will. 
Since the property in question is self-acquired and the father is still alive, it is completely up to him to choose who may inherit his property. The legal heirs to his property cannot pose any objection to his wishes and claim the property.
Therefore, you cannot claim your father’s property as per the Hindu Succession Act, 1956.