Will

supriya (Querist) 12 February 2014 This query is : Resolved
My Mother in Law hails from Kerala. She has 2 brothers and 6 sisters. My Grandmother (mother in law's mother) wrote a will in favour of her 9 children including my mother in law before 2001. My Mother in law expired in 2001 and my grandmother expired in 2012.After the demise of my Mother in law, the said will was not corrected. Now there are some properties in my Mother in law name. Her legal heirs ( my husband and his elder brother) wants that property.

What necessary steps shall we take to get that property?

And my doubt is whether the whole Will get cancelled or only part of my mother Will would get cancelled ?

Follow Query

Report Abuse

Advocate. Arunagiri (Expert) 12 February 2014
Your husband is entitled for his share. WILL will not get cancelled.

Devajyoti Barman (Expert) 12 February 2014
Your mother has property in as per her mother's Will and hence your husband and his siblings have also share in it.
File a suit for partition if there is dispute to get his share.

Anirudh (Expert) 12 February 2014
Dear Supriya,
There is a 'doctrine of lapse' concerning the WILLs.
Sections 105 to 110 of the Indian Succession Act, 1925 deals with this issue.
If the legatee (i.e. the person in whose favour the will is given) dies prior to the person making the WILL, then in that case, unless the person making the WILL had intended that the property must go to some other person, the WILL made in favour of the person died will lapse. The other portion of the WILL will be effective.
The portion of the property which was originally intended for the person who had died will form part of the 'residue' of the testator (the person making the will). The residue will go by way of inheritence.

In the above case, as your mother-in-law died prior to her mother, (and unless in the WILL it has been written that in the event of death of your mother-in-law the property earmarked for her will go to someone else - say her children etc.,) the legal heirs of your mother-in-law cannot claim the property under the WILL.

However, as that part of the property will form part of the 'residue' of the mother of your mother-in-law's property, the same will go by way of inheritance amongst all her legal heirs.

ajay sethi (Expert) 12 February 2014
agree with anirudh

did the will contain a clause that in event of your mother in law death her share will devolve on her legal heirs ? if there is no such clause in the will her share will lapse .