The property has most of the time been a bone of argument among the family members. The distribution of property can cause problems between a father and his children if the father has to make choices and distribution is not equal. It is advisable to get legal advice in property matters and place all documents in order. As per the Hindu Succession Act 1956 a son or a daughter has the first right as the Class I heirs over the self-acquired property of their father if the father has died intestate (without leaving a will). As a coparcener an individual also has the legal right to acquire their share in an ancestral property. But in certain conditions as discussed below a son may not receive his share in his father’s property.
In case of ancestral property:
As per Hindu Law a person automatically obtain the right to share in the ancestral property at the time of birth. An ancestral property is the one which can inherit up to four generations of male lineage. A property can consider ancestral property under two conditions :
- If it is inherited by the father from his father i.e. grandfather after his death
- Inherited from the grandfather who partitioned the property during his lifetime. Where father has acquired the property from grandfather as a gift it will not be regarded as an ancestral property. A son can claim his share in the property even during the lifetime of his father. In any case the person seeking his share, he must prove his succession. However the act does not count a stepson among the Class I heirs.
In some cases the court allows a stepson to inherit the father’s property. For instance in a case of the Bombay High Court the person was the son of a deceased Hindu woman, who has issue with her first husband. That woman acquired the property from her second husband who did not have any legal heir except his wife. The court confirmed the stepson’s claim and declared that after the woman’s death her son (the stepson) of the second husband could claim his succession over the property. The decision was made when the nephews and grand-nephews of deceased second husband claimed title to the property.
In case of self-acquired property
The law says that a son does not have any legal right over the self acquired property of his parents. However, the son could claim his share if he can prove his contribution towards the acquisition that property. Also a son could not receive any share in the self acquired property if his father has bequeathed his property to someone else through a will or a gift deed. A son may be allowed to use the property on permission but the parents are not under any obligation to allow him to live there. Moreover a grandson does not have any rights over the self-acquired property of his grandfather.
If father gifts a property
A property is not considered as an ancestral property if the property was gifted by a father to his son. Therefore a son cannot claim his share in a property which was gifted to his father by his grandfather. The property that father has gifted to his son or a daughter becomes their self-acquired property. Also the grandchildren have no legal right in a property of their grandfather gifted to his daughter or son which they could have gifted to any other person.
In case of Muslim and Christians there is no concept of ancestral property. The property can be given to one son as per the personal law for Muslims.