Several legal changes have been made to bolster the position of women in inheritance. With an amendment made to the Hindu Succession Act of 1956 in 2005, daughters have an equal share in their parent’s ancestral property along with their brothers.
As per the Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005, in a joint Hindu family, governed by the Mitakshara law, the daughter of a coparcener becomes a coparcener in the same manner as the son and has the same rights in the coparcenary property and is subject to the same liabilities as a son.
They can have an equal share in the parents’ self-acquired property, provided the parents do not dispose of the properties in this category through a will.
Check how a self-acquired property divided among the owner’s legal heirs
Treatment of self-acquired property versus ancestral property
The Hindu law differentiates between self-acquired and ancestral property.
After a property owner dies, their right to joint family properties devolves by intestate succession. In the coparcenary property, the daughter is allotted the same share as the son. Her marital status has no bearing on her right to the property.
However, the law gives the owner an absolute right to dispose of their self-acquired property in any manner with the help of a will. If this right is not exercised, the self-acquired property will be divided among the legal heirs in the same manner as the ancestral property.
Can a married sister claim her brother’s share in the family property?
If parents decide to bestow their entire self-acquired property to their married daughter, her brother has no legal provision to stop this from happening, says Prabhanshu Mishra, a Lucknow-based lawyer.
However, this is not true for ancestral properties. A married sister can claim only her share in the property and cannot claim the brother’s share, Mishra adds.
Nonetheless, there is a scenario in which a married sister can stake her claim in the brother’s share of the ancestral property.
According to the law, the property of a Hindu man dying intestate goes first to the heirs specified in the Class I list. In the absence of a Class-I heir, the property goes to the heirs specified in the Class II list.
The Hindu Succession Act places sisters in Class II, hence, in the absence of any claimants from Class I, a sister can stake a claim on her brother’s property after his death.
List of Class I heirs under the Hindu Succession Act
- Son
- Daughter
- Widow
- Mother
- Son, daughter and widow of a predeceased son
- Son and daughter of a predeceased daughter
- Son, daughter and widow of a predeceased son of a predeceased son
List of Class II heirs under the Hindu Succession Act
- Father
- Son’s daughter’s son and daughter
- Brother
- Sister
- Daughter’s son’s son and daughter
- Daughter’s daughter’s son and daughter
- Brother’s widow, son and daughter
- Sister’s son and daughter
- Father’s father, mother and widow
- Father’s brother and sister
- Mother’s father and mother
- Mother’s brother and sister
FAQs
Who is an heir?
An heir is a person who is legally empowered to inherit the estate of his ancestors.
Who is a coparcener?
A coparcener is a person who gets a legal right to ancestral property by birth.
What is a self-acquired property?
A self-acquired property is that which is purchased using your own money and over which you have an absolute right.
What is an ancestral property?
An ancestral property is an undivided property in which four generations of a single family have their share.
Who is a Class I heir?
A person’s son, daughter, widowed wife, mother, son of a predeceased son, daughter of predeceased son, widow of a predeceased son, son of a predeceased daughter, daughter of a predeceased daughter, son of predeceased son of predeceased son, daughter of predeceased son of a predeceased son and widow of predeceased son of a predeceased son are his Class I heir.
Who is a Class II heir?
A person’s 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, brother’s daughter, sister’s daughter, father’s father, father’s mother, father’s widow, brother’s widow, father’s brother, father’s sister, mother’s father, mother’s mother, mother’s brother and mother’s sister are his Class II heirs.
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