Legal Heir

Greetings!

The properties of a Hindu male who dies intestate (without will) belongs to his sons, daughters, widow, and mother in equal shares, as well as the stated heirs of predeceased sons or daughters.
There are two methods to inherit one's property:

Testamentary Succession- The testator is the person who makes the will, and the legatee is the person in whose benefit the will is formed.

Intestate Succession- If a person dies without leaving a will, his estate is divided among his heirs according to the laws of intestate succession.

Heir- A person who is supposed to inherit the estate of an ancestor who died without leaving a will. It is important to identify a legal heir because they are the ultimate successors.

In his grandfather's ancestral property, the son enjoys the same rights as his father. Furthermore, if the father owns a self-acquired or separate property and dies intestate, the son who is a Class I heir will have the same succession rights as his live mother, sister, grandmother, and brother.

Procedure to get Legal Heir Certificate

First Step: Submit an application for a Legal Heir Certificate to the District Tehsildar Officer through the District Court with jurisdiction in the region.

Second Step: The District Authority issues a certificate of legal heirship to the concerned person based on the report of the Village Administrative Officer as well as the Revenue Inspector of the District and after the obligatory inquiry. The certificate lists the names of all the deceased person's legitimate heirs. The documents required to get a legal heir certificate are:

• Name of the deceased person

• Names and the relationship of family members with the deceased

• Signatures of the Applicant

• Residential Address of the Applicant 

Hope this helps 

Regards 

Basically, under the Hindu law, there are two types of properties: ancestral property and self-acquired property. An ancestral or coparcenary property is one which you inherit from your forefathers, up to four generations. Prior to the 2005 amendment in the Hindu Succession Act, only male members of the family were coparceners but later daughters, too, were entitled to get a share. The right to a share in such a property accrues by birth itself, unlike other forms of inheritance, where legacy opens upon the death of the owner.

On the contrary, a self-acquired property is any property which is bought by an individual from his own resources or any property he acquired as a part of the division of any ancestral/coparcenary property. This also includes the property obtained through a legal heir or by any testamentary document such as Will or a gift deed.

So, the simple answered to your query are -
1. Yes, you are a legal heir and thus, have rights over the property.

2. You may proceed to file a civil suit for partition in a court of law that has competent jurisdiction over the matter.

You can go through the link given below of forums and articles that are related to ancestral property as they'll help you to clear your doubts if any:-
https://www.lawyersclubindia.com/forum/details.asp?mod_id=215742

https://www.lawyersclubindia.com/articles/details.asp?mod_id=14074

https://www.lawyersclubindia.com/articles/details.asp?mod_id=8482

Regards,
Kevin M. Paul

many many thanks