Division of property among brothers
bhawesh verma
(Querist) 15 March 2013
This query is : Resolved
My father in law is farmer by business having three children one son and two daughters all married. He is having three brothers and one sister. From their father all brothers got 20 acres of land. After death of their father my father in law took care of all lands and other brothers got govt jobs and settled in city. Lands were only the source of income for him. From that income he completed maintenance of land, expenditure for livings of family and also sending grains to every brother every year. My father in law bought 7 acres of land from the income of land but kept in the name of his elder brother. At present not a single land is there in his name, on the other hand his entire brother settled down in city and bought new home and property by their job's earning which is in their wife and son's name. Now all brothers are asking for division of property. They are saying that every acres of land will be divided. My father in law is saying that I do not have even my own home; all incomes are invested in buying new lands that is too in elder brother's name. Please resolve this problem. Is there any provision in court for appropriate division of property? Will my father in law get benefit from court, if filing in court? In my opinion my father in law should get land which he has taken after death of his father, remaining ancestral land can be divided in all. If all lands will be divided then all brother's properties shall be a part of division. Isn't it? Please guide me in which way I can get help from the court for appropriate distribution of property and procedure too. Please reply soon.
Devajyoti Barman
(Expert) 15 March 2013
The other brothers have share in the land. However while making partition the court would consider the money and time expended by the person so fair division of property takes place.
Raj Kumar Makkad
(Expert) 15 March 2013
Your father should file a civil suit for the distribution of Hindu Undivided family properties which should include the ancestral land and the land purchased thereafter in the name of the elder brother. The properties purchased by his other brothers in the city out of their own income shall not form part of it.
bhawesh verma
(Querist) 15 March 2013
thank you very much. I appriciate all of your advise.Further I want clarification that if I file a civil suit for distribution then how the distribution will take place on the part of land which has been purchased later by my father in law but not registered in his own name.Will my father in law get benifit of being farmer as he spent all of his money on buying that comman land for all brothers.Does court will look on the part that farming is only source of living for him unlike other brothers.
Also the major part is that what will be the expected expenditure on court and in how much time it get completed.Is there any chance that court can take bribe from other brothers for one individual's favour.
Also,my father in law has provide grains & part of income's money to all his brothers through out his life. Will court understand this problem & give the part of land which he has bought later by his own.
It will be really helpful for me if guide on this particular matter because everybody is planning for distribution innext month only and also other brothers are dominating in nature. Nothing is in my father in law's hand.
Raj Kumar Makkad
(Expert) 15 March 2013
Your father in law cannot take any benefit of his status as of an agriculturist and thus he cannot claim the subsequently purchased land as of his own. There is a full danger of the claim of his elder brother to exclusively claim over that land because the same stand registered in his name so it is in the interest of your father in law to treat the entire purchased agricultural land as of a Hindu Undivided Family of his 3 brothers out of common income of those all and thus it requires to be divided accordingly.
Raj Kumar Makkad
(Expert) 15 March 2013
Sry the other aspects of cost of litigation and expected time have been left to be addressed.
Cost differs from place to place and person t o person so no comments thereto and time also depends but generally a period of 3 years is consumed in lower court to decide such matters if there is no consensus between the contesting parties.
prabhakar singh
(Expert) 15 March 2013
Unless the elder brother turns honest by his own admission that they belong to your father in law,it would remain as blunder,the court would not be inclined to believe your father in law that he bought properties from his income in his elder brother's name as it is "benami" transaction prohibited by law.
