Is anyone there who doesn’t want to own a property or has no interest in making any investment. We all like to secure our future by doing different types of investments. The property which we purchase with our own money is self-acquired property and the one which we inherit from our grandparents or ancestors is the ancestral property. The rights of legal heirs in both the cases are different. Moreover the rights also differ according to the religions. Here in this blog we will discuss about the heir and his inheritance as per the Hindu Succession Act.
1. Know About Heir and Inheritance
The Hindus Succession Act or the HSA, implies to Hindus, Buddhist, Jain and Sikhs, to those who have either converted to these religions or took birth out of wedlock. This Act is not applicable to Indian Muslims and Christians as they have their own laws that state about the heir and his inheritance.
The words ‘Heir’ and ‘Inheritance’ are not new to most of us but here we will discuss in depth about these two terms and the legalities and other terms associated with them. Laws of inheritance are very complex and differ with religion. An heir is the person who is legally permitted to inherit the ancestral property, as per the laws of the religion and the laws of the country. This situation arises when the ancestors have passed away without leaving a ‘will’.
The practice of getting a share from the ancestral property after the death of the deceased is known as inheritance. As mentioned earlier the rules of the inheritance differ according to the religions, moreover these rules have changed over time. So, we can say that the person who receives some share from his ancestral property is the heir and the property or the share that he receives from his ancestral property is termed as Inheritance.
2. Legal Heirs of an Ancestral Property
When a legal will of the ancestral property is not made and the owner of the property passes away, then an heir will be the first relative such as a son, daughter, brother, sister, aunt, uncle or the parent. If there is no immediate family member, then a distant relative will be the heir. In the absence of a will, the property of the deceased will go to the closest relative who is alive. As per the law given by the Supreme Court of India, the legal heir will get the property and as per the HAS, the legal heir can be a man or a woman and irrespective of what religion, case, or other social norms he or she may believe in. If no heir is available or not alive, then the property will go to the state and this condition is known as escheatment.
An existing spouse or a registered partner may be given preference but the law in this case is not very strict. The spouse will be the beneficiary if it is a marital property. If the partner is unmarried then he or she is not entitled for any share legally, regardless of the length of their relationship. He or she may get something if it is mentioned in the will but in the absence of a will, the unmarried partner is not entitled for any share and the legal partner will only be the beneficiary. Other acquainted members like friends, stepchildren, foster children, divorced partners, mother-in-law and father-in-law cannot claim any share in the property of the deceased.
3. More About Inheritance
The ancestral property, asset, jewellery, cash, shares, and other things of an owner who dies without making a will gets transferred to the beneficiary or the legal heirs. The tangible assets and the immovable property is termed as inheritance. The HSA classifies the heirs based on different levels of succession like Class 1 Heirs, Class 2 Heirs, Agnates and Cognates. The first relatives are considered as Class 1 and the
others who are not close are Class 2 Heirs. If there is no one in Class 1 Heirs, then only members of Class 2 Heirs get entitled for the inheritance.
3.1. Agnates
A person who is related to the departed, wholly through males, either through adoption or by blood is known as agnate. This person can be a male or a female. This connection is restricted to relationship by blood and doesn’t get extended to relationship by marriage.
3.2. Cognates
All those relations who are related to the deceased through females are said to be Cognates. In both the cases the nearer heir gains the preference and if two are equally near to the deceased, then the inheritance gets equally divided.
4. Inheritance of Daughters or Single Woman
The HSA gives equal rights to daughters and sons over the departed father’s property. Irrespective of married or unmarried, daughters enjoy the same share and rights as their brothers, on their father’s property. It means that, whatever share her brother claims, she will also get the same, as per the laws of inheritance.
A woman, who is childless, dies without creating any will, then her property goes back to the source, that means, the property which she had inherited from her father or mother will go to the heirs of her father or mother. If she had inherited any property from her husband or father-in-law, then that property will go to the heirs of her husband.
For a woman who had children but dies without a will, then all her property, no matter from where she inherited, will go to her husband and children.
5. Inheritance of Mother on Son’s Property
As per HSA, a mother is a legal heir to her son’s property and if a son passes away leaving his wife, children and mother, then all of them have an equal right on his property. Later if the mother passes away without creating a will, then the share which she got from her son’s property, will pass on to her legal heirs, means to all her children.
6. To Conclude
When a person passes away after making a will, then the distribution of his property doesn’t create any issues but problems and conflicts arise when a person passes away without creating a will. In such a situation, his property gets distributed among his legal heirs who are alive and this will be done as per the laws of succession. The property will be distributed among the Class 1 Heirs and if there is no one in this category, then the property passes on to class 2 and so on. Inheritance is the property which a legal heir gets from the deceased