Disputes involving immovable property are common in India. It is said that cases relating to real estate, inheritance, and bequeathing of property form a significant portion of the cases in front of the judiciary.
Thus, as financial planning is important to secure your future, so is estate planning for securing your assets. To save the inheritors from legal hassles and unnecessary squabbles, it is important to leave a Will behind. A Will acts as a convenient way of transferring the assets possessed by an individual after his /her lifetime.
But what happens when the owner of the property dies intestate or without writing a Will? Well, in such cases, the property is divided in equal shares among all the legal heirs according to the religious laws governing the deceased. For a clear understanding, let’s look at some cases.
Case I: When a Hindu male dies intestate
Before we begin, it must be noted that the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 and Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005 are applicable for Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, and Jains.
So, when a Hindu male dies intestate, his property will go to Class I heirs. These include son/daughter widow; mother; son/daughter of the predeceased daughter; widow of the predeceased son; son/daughter of the predeceased son; widow of the predeceased son.
If Class I heirs do not exist, then the property will go to Class II heirs. These include father; son’s/daughter’s son; son’s/daughter’s daughter; brother; sister; daughter’s/son’s son; daughter’s/son’s daughter; daughter’s/daughter’s son; daughter’s/daughter’s daughter; brother’s son; sister’s son; among others.
In the absence of Class I and II heirs, the property of the deceased goes to Agnates, and in their absence, to Cognates. Agnates are distant blood relatives of male lineage, while cognates are distant blood relatives of male or female lineage. If these too are not there, the estate goes to the government.
Case II: When a Hindu female dies intestate
When a Hindu female dies intestate, her property devolves in the following order:
- Her children and the husband
- Second, to heirs of the husband
- Third, to mother and father
- Fourth, to heirs of the father
- Fifth, to heirs of the mother
Case III: Property rights of widows
According to the Widow Remarriage Act of 1856: “All rights and interests which any widow may have in her deceased husband’s property … shall upon her remarriage cease; and the next heirs of her deceased husband, or other person entitled to the property on her death, shall thereupon succeed to the same.”
However, this Act has been repealed.
Thus, under the provisions of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, widows who choose to remarry have a right to their deceased husband’s property as she is still grouped under Class I the heir of her deceased husband.
However, the Hindu Succession Act also mentions that certain widows cannot succeed or inherit. “Certain widows re-marrying may not inherit as widows. Any heir, who is related to an intestate as the widow of a pre-deceased son or the widow of a brother shall not be entitled to succeed to the property of the intestate as such widow if, on the date the succession opens, she has remarried.”
Special provision
Section 25 of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 states that any person who commits the murder or assists the murder shall be disqualified from inheriting the property of the person, or any property in the promotion to succession to which he or she committed the murder.
Documents required in the absence of a Will
- In the case of movable property, the Succession Certificate is required. You can read all about this document in our latest post.
- In the case of immovable property, a Letter of Administration is required. It is issued by the court.
(Note: This post is based on the Hindu Succession Act)