Will daughters have equal rights if father willed the property to sons??

[sehar]

Dear Legal LuminoriesIn India-- Father has willed his say a bungalow worth 4 crores to his two sons and to the two daughters cash investment of 15laks each.Can they file a suit for equal share as I do remember some law with effect from 1978 or so that daughters are eligible for equal share of their parents property.My question is can the daughters claim for equal share as the will gives disproportionate share to the sons? As usual only applicable Indian law and only professionals pls advice. No offense.

[Seehowtheyrun]

the will stands look what happen to anna nicole

[Seedna]

Sorry, MY BAD

[SecretsNeedToBeKept]

The daughters can file claim only if the father was mentally unsound when writing the will. Otherwise, the will is considered, prima facie, to be his true wish and shall be thus enacted.

[sek4me]

No.Right only if NO will.Obey / honour the will.

[selena]

The words 'cash investment' are unclear and confusing. I take it as the father bequeathing only Rs.15 lakhs cash to each daughter and no share in the immoveable property, while bequeathing the immoveable property to his two sons.The answer is:Assumption: Relating to Hindu law of succession.If the immoveable property is self-acquired: Yes.If it is inherited from ancestors then the father can bequeath only his share in the inherited property.Unequal distribution of the estate (both moveable and immoveable) is possible only for self-acquired property.Legal challenge to the authenticity of will:Prima-facie, the will is considered valid. Can be challenged in a probate case before the District Judge. Grounds: The testator was of unsound mind. he was not in full possession of his physical and/or mental faculties, there was fraud,forgery,force or undue influence. All these allegations are related to the time of execution of will.Daughters can claim equal share, provided there was no will (called Hindu male dying intestate). Here there is a will..So, if no probate case is filed by the beneficiaries (not a compulsory legal requirement), then, if the others who claim better share than what has been bequeathed, can file a partition suit (cost-effective compared to a probate case), in the civil court of juridiction. The defendants (namely the beneficiaries) would defend the case on the basis of the will. The onus(responsibility) of proving the case rests on the plaintiffs, that the will is defective (on the grounds stated above). On the other hand, the defendants may file a probate case, when confronted with the partition suit. If they succeed in the probate case, then civil suit for partition may be dismissed.By such a legal engagement (rather entanglement), the benefit is only harassment to the legatees. Normally, in most of the cases, peace is purchased by out of court settlement by negotiation and filing a compromise memo before the court.But the injury to the filial bondage will remain as a scar for life. Consult your lawyer, who will advise assessing chances of success, if litigative path is to be embarked upon.

[seekinganswers36]

Not if it is the self-acquired property of the parent. The parent is at liberty to give his property to any body, not necessarily the heirs or blood relations. The very fact that he had written a will shows that it was a self-acquired property. If you want to contest the will, you should be in a position to prove that the property was an ancestral property and that therefore you have a share in the property, for which reason the will has to be treated as null and void.

[sectionhand]

As a matter of fact I always ask the person asking question here in Yahoo to specify the fact if the case relates to a Hindus or any other religion persons but since I know you Captain this question relates to Hindus & their property. The Father had willed his bungalow worth 4 crores to his two sons & Rs15lacs cash investment each to his two daughters. Lets first see what the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 provides for such Testamentary succession section 30 of this Act provides: Any Hindu may dispose of by will or other testamentary disposition any property, which is capable of being so disposed of by him or by her, in accordance with the provisions of the Indian Succession Act, 1925 (39 of 1925), or any other law for the time being in force and applicable to Hindus.Explanation.--The interest of a male Hindu in a Mitakshara coparcenery property or the interest of a member of a tarvad, tavazhi, illom, kutumba or kavaru in the property of the tarvad, tavazhi, illom, kutumba or kavaru shall, notwithstanding anything contained in this Act or in any other law for the time being in force, be deemed to be property capable of being disposed of by him or by her within the meaning of this section.The important phrase in this section is " capable of being so disposed of by him or by her" a person is capable of disposing any property of which he or she is the legal owner or in other words it is his or her self acquired property. A self acquired property is that property which a person made during his life time by his own earning or it the share of property which incurred to him or her by way of partition of ancestral property & hence it became his or her self acquired property. Here let me note that if such person holds any share of the partitioned ancestral property should be his own share not having shares of his or her minor children included in it. As I had in my Yahoo questions replied once regarding the status of ancestral property, let me once again refresh that here again, ancestral property is one which should be at least owned by the great grand father originally & had passed down to grand father, father & son, in other words it should be having four generations using it as joint property. This joint ancestral property owners are called coparcener & it is also called coparcenery property now what you are realy confused about the equal rights of daughters in their parents property is actually the equal right of daughters in this coparcenery property of Hindu families. When this Act of 1956 enacted these daughters/female members of the family were only having limited right in any of such coparcenery property. The various south Indian States Kerala in 1975, Andhra Pradesh in 1986, Tamil Nadu in 1990 & Karnataka in 1994 had brought about necessary changes in the law giving equal rights to daughters in the Hindu Mitakshara Coparcenery property & in order to remove the discrimination as contained in the Act of 1956 & give equal rights to daughters in the Hindu Mitakshara Coparcenery property as the sons The Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005 was enacted. Now through out India the daughters in a joint Hindu family governed by the Mitakshara law shall: - (a) by birth become a coparcener in her own right in the same manner as the son; (b) have the same rights in the coparcenery property as she would have had if she had been a son; (c) be subject to the same liabilities in respect of the said coparcenery property as that of a son. So the equality of daughters or equal right in the property of daughters has become law of the country for ONLY HINDU FAMILY COPARCENERY PROPERTY & NOT IN THE SELF ACQUIRED PROPERTY OF THE PARENTS. Rather why talk of daughters even sons don't have any legal right on any property of their parents till the parents are alive & are having legal ownership & possession of any property, yes after their death the children both sons & daughters can share equally amongst themselves their parent's property if no will or any other testamentary document is not made by the deceased parent otherwise all will go as the Will or any other testamentary document of the Old Man or his wife speaks, any child want to challenge it can do so on any of the grounds as force or fraud committed on the testator for getting such will executed, the mental status of the testator was not fit to execute any such will & the testator of the will was not the legal owner of the property for which such will was executed by him or her. Hope this legal brief will be sufficient for your present query.

[Unregistered]

I belong to hindu family belong to chennai, i am daughter did love marraige, as a result my parents are not willing to give me property and they are liking to give all the property to my only brother through anyways (either by will or by settlement). . My mother as only daughter has inherited her mother's property without giving share to her father after her mother died through succession not by will. My grand mother got his share from her mother through partition. I am having 1 son whether he is eligible for his maternal great grand mothers property. My father has acquired some propety from his father may be by will but not by partition. My father has 1 sister, no partition was made between both. Whether I or my son or my sons son are eligibe for the undivided property of my paternal grand fathers property at presnt with my father. How can I protect myself by claiming my parents property as ancestral property