What is Inheritance of Property?
Inheritance is passing on the property, titles, debts, rights, and obligations to another person upon the death of an individual.
Which Act governs Inheritance Law in India?
- The Hindu Succession Act, 1956 was established to assure equal inheritance rights to both sons and daughters.
- It implements to all Hindus inclusive of Buddhists, Sikhs, and Jains but won’t refer to a Hindu wedded to a Non-Hindu under the Special Marriages Act
- It provides a basic play as to how to deal with inherited
How can one inherit a Property?
As per Inheritance Law in India a person can inherit property in two ways:
- Through Will
- Through state laws of Intestate Succession
Who inherits the property if a Hindu Male dies intestate?
As per the law, ownership of a Male Hindu who dies intestate is divided among his heirs.
The division among heirs has to take place as per a particular rule.
- First the Class I Heirs share the assets among themselves (one share each)
- If the departed person doesn’t have a Class I heirs, then The Class II Heirs are entitled to share the concerned property.
- If there is no heir, then the property is divided among Agnates (descendant or akin through male’s side) and then among Cognates (blood relative or descended from a common maternal ancestor.)
If there is no heir or relative to claim the property, it passes on to the Government by way of Escheat. In such a case, the government attains all the rights related to the assets along with the duty to fulfil all the obligations attached to the assets.
Classification of Heirs in Class I and Class II
Class I Heirs –
- The intestate’s widow
- The surviving sons and daughters
- The mother of the intestate
- The heirs in the branch of every pre-deceased son or daughter of the intestate
Class II Heirs –
- The father of the intestate
- The intestate’s grand-parents and the grand-children
- The brother or sister of the deceased
- Other relatives such as father’s brother/sister, mother’s brother/sister, brother’s widow/son/daughter or sister’s son/daughter, etc.
Who inherits the property if a Hindu Female dies intestate?
The ownership of a Female Hindu dying intestate shall be divided as per following rules:
- first among the sons and daughters (including the children of any pre-deceased son/daughter) and the husband
- then amongst the heirs of the husband
- then among the mother and father
- then amongst the heirs of the father
- then among heirs of the mother
What are the rights of Female as per Inheritance Law in India?
As per the Inheritance Law in India, the Females have the following rights:
- equal right of inheritance to their father’s property as sons
- to receive a share in mother’s property
- have to bear the same liability for the property as the son
- to dispose of the property inherited or gifted by selling, gifting or willing to others as she deems fit