India is a vast nation with many religions prescribing the defined principles for succession and inheritance in their different personal laws that are sub categorized into succession into testamentary and intestate. In addition with different grounds for disqualification of a person from inheriting estate in various personal laws.
At DelhiDivorceLawyers, we help our clients to develop strategies to guide them and their families through a very difficult time in their lives. Over the years a small but dedicated team has been carefully assembled to make that happen. We treat our client with dignity and respect that they deserve as human beings. We know how to fight for the rights of a person in the court of law and that’s what we do for our clients.
Hence, the common phenomena needs special legal care and attention and we at Delhi Divorce lawyers aim to provide effective solutions which are best applied to the situation at hand . Thus preventing further litigation and confusion between the surviving heirs.
The general law relating to the inheritance and succession can easily be referred to The Indian Succession Act, 1925.
Laws of succession applicable to Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and Buddhist; for the non-testamentary or intestate succession/inheritance, the governing law is the Hindu Succession Act, 1956.
Laws of succession applicable to Parsis; for the intestate succession the governing law is the Indian Succession Act, 1925 specifically under section 50 to 56 of the Indian Succession Act, 1925.
Laws of succession applicable to Christians and Jews; for the intestate the governing law is the Indian Succession Act, 1925 specifically under section 31 to 49 of the Act.
Laws of succession governing Muslims; for non-testamentary succession the The Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act, 1937 is applicable and where a muslim has died testate, the issue has to be governed under the Indian Succession Act, 1925 where a Will relates to immovable property situate within the State of West Bengal, and that of Madras and Mumbai Jurisdiction. Laws of succession in case of inter faith marriages, under Special Marriage Act, 1954.
In situations where no Will has been made, the inheritance of property follows the intestate succession laws as mentioned in the Indian Succession Act of 1925. However, inheritance laws who inherit property of a person dying intestate differ for different religions.
The following can be legal heir under the Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005:
Class I:
• Widow,
• Daughter,
• Mother,
• Son,
• Daughter of a son who is deceased
• Daughter of a daughter who is deceased
• Daughter of a pre- deceased son of a pre- deceased son
• Widow of a son who is deceased
• Widow of a pre- deceased son of a pre- deceased son.
• Son of a son who is deceased
• Son of a daughter who is deceased
• Son of a pre- deceased son of a pre- deceased son
Class II:
I • father
II
• son’s daughter’s daughter,
• son’s daughter’s son,
• sister,
• brother
III
• daughter’s daughter’s daughter
• daughter’s daughter’s son,
• daughter’s son’s son,
• daughter’s son’s daughter,
IV
• sister’s son,
• sister’s daughter
• brother’s daughter,
• brother’s son,
V
• father’s mother
• father’s father
• father’s widow
• brother’s widow.
VII
• father’s sister
• father’s brother
VIII
• mother’s mother
• mother’s father
IX
• mother’s sister
• mother’s brother
Under the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act, 1937 the following can be legal heir:
• Husband: The marriage must be legal. Undocumented or secret marriages are not entitled.
• Wives: Multiple wives are entitled. A divorced wife is also entitled but only if iddah period is not yet complete.
• Sons: Step sons, adopted sons and illegitimate sons are not entitled.
• Daughters: Step daughters, adopted daughters or illegitimate daughters are not entitled.
• Grandsons: Daughter’s sons are not entitled but son’s sons are entitled
• Granddaughters: Daughter’s daughter’s are not entitled but son’s daughters are entitled.
• Father: Step- father or illegitimate father not entitled.
• Mother: Step- mother or illegitimate mother not entitled.
• Grandfather: Mother’s father is not entitled but father’s father is entitled.
• Paternal Grandmother: Father’s mother is entitled.
• Maternal Grandmother: Mother’s mother is entitled.
• Full Brothers: All those brothers are entitled who share the same father and mother with the deceased person.
• Full Sisters: All those sisters who share the same father and mother with the deceased person.
• Paternal Brothers: All those brothers who share the same father, but a different mother.
• Paternal Sisters: All those sisters who share the same father, but a different mother.
• Maternal Brothers: All those brothers who share the same mother, but a different father.
• Maternal Sisters: All those sisters who share the same mother, but a different father.
• Full Nephews: Brother’s son is entitled but sister’s son is not.
• Paternal Nephews: Paternal brother’s son is entitled but paternal brother’s daughter is not.
• Full brother’s son’s son
• Paternal brother’s son’s son
• Father’s full brother
• Father’s paternal brother.
• Father’s full brother’s son
• Father’s paternal brother’s son.
• Father’s full brother’s son’s son.
• Father’s paternal brother’s son’s son.
• Father’s full brother’s son’s son’s son.
• Father’s paternal brother’s son’s son’s son
Under Section- 32 of the Indian Succession Act, 1925, a Christian legal heir is a wife, a husband or the kin of the deceased, for instance,
• Widow
• Daughter
• Son
• Mother
• Father
• Sister
• Brother
• Direct blood line, as between a son and his father, grandfather and great- grandfather, and so on in the direct increasing blood line; or between a son and his son, grandson, great- grandson and so on in the decreasing blood line.
• If a person has died intestate and is only left with a great- grandfather, an uncle, and a nephew, but no person with direct kinship will take equal shares as under the 3rd degree of kinship.
Under Section- 54 of the Indian Succession Act, 1925, a legal heir under the Parsi personal laws are as follows:
• Both mother and father
• Both sisters and brothers (excluding half sisters and brothers) as well as lineal descendants of them
• Both paternal as well as maternal grandparents
• Children of both maternal and paternal grandparents and their lineal descendants
• Maternal and paternal grandparents’ parents
• Maternal and paternal grandparents’ parents’ children and their lineal descendants
In case, a Parsi Indian dies intestate with no lineal descendants nor a widow or a widower the following are entitled to the property:
• Both mother and father
• Both sisters and brothers (other than half sisters and brothers) and their lineal descendants
• Both maternal and paternal grandparents
• Children of both maternal and paternal grandparents and their lineal descendants
• Both maternal and paternal grandparents’ parents
• Both maternal and paternal (grandparents’ parents’ children) and their lineal descendants.
• Half sisters and brothers and their lineal descendants
• Widowers of sisters and/ or half sisters and widows of brothers and/ or half brothers
• Maternal and paternal grandparents’ children’s widows or widowers.
• Widows or widowers of the deceased lineal descendants who did not remarry
