As per your query it is understood that you need information about ancestral property.
An ancestral property is a property acquired by your great grandfather (Hindu) which has been passed down from generation to generation (your grandfather and father) up to the present generation (you) without being divided or partitioned by your family.
So, it has to primarily meet two conditions for the property to qualify as your ancestral property;
· The property should be four generations old &
· It should not have been divided or partitioned by the previous three generations.
In case of Arshnoor Singh v. Harpal Kaur, 2019, it was held by the Hon’ble Supreme Court that under the Mitakshara Law, whenever a male ancestor acquires any land from any of his father’s ancestors up to a few degrees above him, then his legal heirs about three degrees below him, receives equal rights as coparceners therein property. After the amendment and enforcement of the Hindu Succession Act in 2005, women were also allowed to enjoy their self-acquired property or ancestral property with equal rights but those ancestral property rights could not be granted to women before. Now, women and men have equal rights over their ancestral property.
Below are some of the important points on Ancestral property;
As discussed above, the property should have been acquired by your great grand-father and no partition has been done.
It should not have been divided by the members of a joint Hindu family as once a division of the property takes place, the share or portion which each member (Coparcener) gets after the division becomes his or her self acquired property.
The right to a share in the ancestral property comes by birth.
The share of each generation is first determined and the successive generations in turn has to sub-divide what has been inherited by their respective predecessor.
Kindly note that if a property has been inherited from your mother / grand mother / uncle or even your brother, such property is not considered as an ancestral property.
As you have mentioned that the property has been divided then it is no longer ancestral property.
So, if your father passed away intestate (without will) then the legal heirs will be entitled to the property of your father. Your mother will be the first preferred owner of the property. She has the right to make a will and distribute the property accordingly mentioning the share percentage and the how many people are entitled to such property.
A will can be registered and it shall be honored after the death of the owner of the property.
Hope it helps!
Regards,
Anusha Singh
