Ganesh Kumar (Law student ) 02 November 2010

Ratification of partition by married daughters before 2004

Sir/Madam,

My uncles along with my father entered a family agreement for partition of the ancestral property after the death of my grandfather in 1985. They have two sisters of whom one married in 1955 and the other in 1962. While making the family agreement in the year 2000 with the consent of my grandmother(paternal), they did not get the signatures of their sisters presuming that they had no rights as per HINDU SUCCESSION ACT 1956 (amendment 2005 did not arise).

Please clarify whether the family agreement is valid or does it require any ratification by their sisters now.

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R.Ramachandran (Advocate) 02 November 2010

Dear Mr. Ganesh,

The property in the hand of your grand father could be either (i) ancestral or (ii) self acquired.

If it was ancestral, then on and from the enactment of Hindu Succession Act, 1956, the same will on the death of your grand father will go as per his WILL or by way of inheritance.

If any WILL was left by your grand father, the property will go to those who have been named as beneficiaries in the WILL - others cannot question it.

Whether Ancestral or self-acquired, if your grant father had not left any WILL, then the same will go by way inheritence equally amongst all his legal heirs viz., his wife i.e. your grandmother, his sons (i.e. your father and your uncles) and his daughters (i.e. your aunts).