Inheritance is not just about property but also about someone’s rights, relationships and readiness. But some heirs still fear, remain confused and feel cheated due to lack of knowledge of property. Have you ever wondered that what happens to the property when someone passes away or do you yourself become the owner of that property. Most people come to know about it when they suddenly face it or are planning for the future. What exactly is inheritance of property and is it really necessary to transfer it.
Inheritance is a legal process by which the assets, the property or the possessions of the deceased persons is passed on to his legal heirs or we can also say that the transfer of ownership. Property includes house, land, shares, investments, jewellery ,bank balances and movable property. We got to know what a property is but who is a heir and how and why is property transferred to him.
Heir depends on personal laws, religion and if the will is present or not. Most common legal heirs include spouse, children (including adopted children), parents and siblings. Does a daughter have same rights as that of a son in an ancestral property or what if there is no will then who gets what. Lets unpack the basics of property inheritance, the legal mechanism of succession and other principles related to it.
Under the hindu succession act , heirs are categorized into class 1 and class 11. Class 1 includes heirs (daughters, sons, widow, mother) taking precedence. Class II heirs do not get anything. Only if no Class I heirs exist, inheritance passes to the highest available entry in Class II, and all persons in that entry share equally.
With or without the will that is what we call as testate succession and interstate succession respectively. What exactly is testate succession? It basically says that if the deceased person has already made a will than the property will be distributed as per the instructions given in the registered or written will.
A will does not have any time period that is it does not get expired until revoked, replaced or the person dies. When the testator dies the executor must probate his will from the court.
But what if there is no will then the hindu succession act decides that who will get and how much which often leads to disputes and joint ownership. Well the search doesn’t end here it talks about the self acquired and ancestral property.
Self acquired property is the self earned, purchased property without inheriting from the ancestors. The individual has an absolute ownership over it. The owner has a right to gift, sell, will or transfer the property to anyone.
Ancestral property is the undivided property inherited by a male hindu from his father or grandfather or great grandfather by birth. It can be passed onto four generations.
Even daughters are the coparceners and have a birth right in the property after amendment of the 2005 Hindu succession act.
If a partition is requested in ancestral property then it will be divided equally among all the living coparceners. Eg there is a wife, a son, a daughter than wife will not be the coparcener then son and daughter will get the equal share. Though no one talks about the difference between a nominee and a legal heir. A nominee is only a trustee and the property legally belongs to the legal heir. Both the persons vary. Well a fact to be noticed is that no self acquired property can’t become ancestral on its own. However it can become a joint property.
Inheritance is not only about distributing assets it holds fair dealing or rights and to avoid future conflicts. Whether through by legal succession or will the process must be handled legally.
Understanding the principles of inheritance empowers individuals to protect their legacy and rights.
