Ancestral house/land stolen from deaf brother
Karkotakan
(Querist) 28 April 2011
This query is : Resolved
A Christian father in Kerala had three daughters and one handicapped (deaf) son. Daughters were married with appropriate dowry and part of inherited lands were sold to meet daughters' marriage expenses. During 1996, at the age of 70, the Father registered a will allocating ancestral house and major portion of surrounding land (of less than one acre) to the Son and the neighbouring agricultural lands of totaling to 35 cents were allocated to each of the sisters. The son who is deaf from birth and hence isolated from society, got a job outside the State and stayed at work place with his fragile family (consisting sick wife and handicaped son and a student daughter). In discharge of the Son's responsibility to look after parents, housing loan (majority of the amoutn yet to be repaid) was taken and constructed a new house near ancestral house after getting 12 cents of land from the Father. Son was also sending money to the Father monthly and needbased, to meet household expenses.
Later one of the sisters, retired drawing pension, due to dispute with husband, started to stay with the parents in the new house of the Son. Her husband since expired leaving his two houses with surrounding 35 cents of land to the sister.
Unknown to others, this sister who had one plot of 10 cents from father in addition to two houses from her late husband , had managed to get ancestral house and 15 cents of surrounding land registered in her name through a gift deed to "look after parents". This deed was kept confidential even beyond father's death (during 2011) so as to avoid risk and to complete all the ceremonies smoothly. Just two months before death, father disclosed this to a step sister and this caused first referred sister to quarrel with father for leaking the information. Probably this signing of deed secretly and fighting by the first referred ssiter made father mentally sick in his last days resulting in his hospitalization in psychiatry ward. Hospital and funeral expenses were paid/reimbursed from joint account fo Son,Father and mother through which account son used to send money regularly.
After death of the father and after the revelation of the secret gift deed to sister, the Son has brought his mother from the new house to his work place so that the sister need not "look after the parents". The son, with communication problem and isolation from society due to his deafness, was given an oral assurance from sister that another gift deed would be registered by the sister so as to restore ancestral house to the son (her brother) as envisaged in 1996 will, but this restoration is getting postponed under some pretext or other. It is now argued by the sister that original will of 1996 is "invalid" in its entirety as a part of the property covered by the will has since been transferred to son (12 cents) and a daughter (15 cents). Kindly advise a) whether the registered will is valid for the remaining property (consisting of nearly 1 acre less subsequent gift deeds of 12 cents to son and 15 cents to daughter ) and b)how the only son can get back the ancestral house.
Karkotakan
(Querist) 29 April 2011
Kindly advise a) whether the registered will is valid for the remaining property and b)how the son can get back the ancestral house.
