My father passed away long ago and my mother stays with me. I am married and have a daughter. My wife has mental health issues and is unable to take decisions. My elder sister is married with two children (13 and 7). My mother purchased two vacant plots and registered these in my name. A house from my father’s share was settled among us and registered in my name. After selling land from my father’s share, one more house was bought in my name. What’s the best way to transfer these assets to my and my sister’s children after my death? I want the children to make independent decisions on the sale of assets when they are in their 30s. Can my sister and my wife, through her parents, claim a stake in the assets registered in my name?
Rajat Dutta, Founder & Initiator, Inheritance Needs Services:
Your mother purchased two vacant plots and registered these in your name, making you the sole owner. After the demise of your father, you became the sole owner of a house, from his share of inheritance. Additionally, on selling your father’s share of land, another house was bought in your name. Thus, you became the sole owner of four immovable assets, including two plots of land and two houses. A well-drafted will is the most cost-effective and ideal testamentary document to enable transfer of assets to your children after your demise. However, if you, as a testator, feel that when you die, your and your sisters’ children would be less than 30 years old, your will can specify a concept of testamentary guardianship for the children, to protect their interests in the assets till they attain 30 years of age. If you make a will, your wife and her parents, and your sister cannot stake a claim in the assets registered in your name unless the will is proved to be defective, or you have made a new will contrary to the above.
My grandmother bequeathed a house in Andhra Pradesh to my mother, in her will. However, my mother died in 2001 and my grandmother died in 2007. I have a brother and a sister. At present, my brother is living in that house. Can I claim my portion of the house? Can my children stake a claim to this property after my death?
Rajat Dutta, Founder & Initiator, Inheritance Needs Services: Your mother, the sole designated beneficiary as per your grandmother’s will, died before the testator (your grandmother). As per Section 105 of the Indian Succession Act, the legacy lapses if the designated beneficiary dies before the testator. If the legatee does not survive the testator, the legacy cannot take effect unless the testator, in the will, intended it to be bequeathed to some other beneficiary. In the absence of a clear mention in the will, other legal heirs (as per applicable succession laws) can stake a claim to the property. In such a case, it is of no consequence as to who is living in this house.
My 90-year-old father wants to sell an ancestral property. We are two brothers and a sister. The buyers are insisting on no-objection documents or relinquishment deeds from all three of us to proceed with the deal. While my sister and I have no objections, my brother is not cooperating. Is there a way out for my father?
Raj Lakhotia, Managing Partner, LABH & Associates:
An ancestral property cannot be sold without the consent of all stakeholders. A single person’s decision is not sufficient for the sale to proceed. If there is a disagreement, one has the right to request a partition of the ancestral property. Once the partition is affected, one can sell the share that has been acquired by partition.
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