Property

Is Widow Entitled to Inherit Her Father in Law Property?

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LegalKart Editor 05 min read 36729 Views
Last Updated: Dec 23, 2023
Is Widow Entitled to Inherit Her Father in Law Property?

What are a widow's rights in father in-law's property? The answer will depend on the applicable law of inheritance of property in India. The distribution of a father's property occurs per the inheritance property law in India. Let us see when can a widow daughter-in-law claim father in-law property. 

The Inheritance Law in India

There is no uniform inheritance property law in India. The law of Inheritance varies based on one's religion. Thus, Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Parsis, etc., are governed by their own separate inheritance laws. 

The religion of the deceased determines the law of inheritance that will govern the succession of their estate. Hence, when a Hindu dies, then the Hindu law of inheritance and succession applies to his estate.

Inheritance Property Law in India

 Succession under Hindu law is found in two laws: the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, and the Indian Succession Act, 1925. These laws govern who the estate of a Hindu deceased will pass to on their death. 

When Can a Widow Inherit Her Father-in-Law's Property?

(Those who read this Article also Consulted a Lawyer about Property inheritance law.) 

Inheritance/succession is of two types:

  1. Testamentary Succession: When the deceased leaves behind a will, the instructions in the will alone govern the deceased's property's succession. Such succession is called testamentary succession. The Indian Succession Act, 1925, governs testamentary succession.

  2. Intestate Succession: In other cases, the deceased does not leave behind a Will. In such cases, the law decides which persons the estate of the deceased will succeed to. When succession takes place in this manner, it is known as intestate succession. The Hindu Succession Act, 1956 governs intestate succession.

Depending on the circumstances, a widow can inherit her father-in-law's property through both these modes. 

By Testamentary Succession 

It is possible for anyone who is of legal age and of sound mind to draught and carry out a will. A testator is a person who is responsible for carrying out the terms of a will. When someone writes a will, they indicate in it who will inherit their assets once they pass away. This is the definition of a will. The individuals who benefit from the will are referred to as the legatees of the will. A testator has nearly unrestricted discretion to choose the legatees of their will (who do not need to be members of their family or relations) as well as the manner in which their fortune will be distributed among the legatees.

Thus, if the deceased father-in-law has left behind a Will, and that Will specifies that a widow will be a legatee of a specified share of his estate, the widow will be entitled to inherit that share of the father-in-law's estate. 

On the contrary, there is also a corresponding risk. If the deceased father-in-law has left behind a Will, but the Will has not allotted a share of his estate to the widow, then the widow cannot claim any share of the deceased's estate. 

People Also Read This: How to Inherit Property in India?

By Intestate Succession

If the deceased Hindu has not left behind a Will, the succession of their estate will be governed by the rules contained in the Hindu Succession Act, 1956. 

Under Hindu Law, the property is of two types: Joint Family property and Self-Acquired property. 

  1. Joint Family Property: All property inherited from one's ancestors is considered Joint Family Property. 

  2. Self-Acquired Property: All other properties are considered the Self-Acquired Property of the respective person. The clearest indication of Self-Acquired Property is that its has been acquired with the money of one's own efforts. 

The widow will be entitled to inherit a share of the Self-Acquired Property owned by the father-in-law. His Class I heirs will be the ones to inherit the Self-Acquired Property that the decedent's father-in-law had acquired over his lifetime. The Hindu Succession Act, which was passed in 1956, has a schedule in which the list of Class I heirs is included. A Class I heir is the widow of the deceased person's son who passed away before the deceased person did. Other important members of Class I include the decedent's wife, as well as his mother, kids, and daughters. As a result, there is no question that the widow will be entitled to a portion of the father-in-Self-Acquired law's Property. Nonetheless, the amount of her inheritance from her father-in-Self-Acquired law's Property is going to be proportional to the number of Class I heirs who are still alive.

People Also Read This: Inheritance Rights of Grandchildren in India

The share will be determined by this process: 

  1. The deceased's widow, sons, daughters, and mother take equal shares of the property. 

  2. If any son, or daughter, of the deceased, has died before him, then the share of that son/daughter will be divided amongst their widow, sons, and daughters. In the case of a son, his sons and daughters will take one share, and his widow will take the second share, of that son's share. 

Thus, the widow of the father-in-law will take her share in Step 2. The extent of her share will depend on how many of the father-in-law's sons and daughters and mothers, and the widow's own sons and daughters, are alive. 

Illustration— The deceased X (the father-in-law) has been survived by his only daughter D, mother M, and the widow W of a son who died before him. This widow W has a single daughter WD of her own. 

  1. The Self-Acquired Property of the deceased will be divided equally amongst his mother M, dead son, and daughter D. Thus, D, M, and the dead son each get 1/3 of the property. 

  2. The 1/3 share of the dead son will then be divided equally amongst his widow W and the daughter WD of the widow. Thus, the widow W and her daughter WD both get 1/6 of the deceased's property each. 

Hence, the widow is entitled to inherit 1/6 of the self-acquired property of the father-in-law. 

Indian inheritance law gives more rights to a daughter than a daughter-in-law in father-in-law's property. The widow would be entitled to her deceased husband's share in an intestate succession. 

People also read about: Rights of Widow in Husband's Property

Conclusion

In conclusion, the laws governing inheritance can be complicated and can vary a great deal depending on the jurisdiction as well as the particulars of each individual case. Although it is not unheard of for widows to inherit their father-in-property, law's the legal framework that governs inheritance must be thoroughly understood and obeyed in order to eliminate the possibility of difficulties and disagreements arising from the situation. It is necessary for everyone who is interested in inheriting property to speak with a competent legal professional to ensure that their rights are safeguarded and that they completely grasp the obligations that come with inheriting property under the law. Open communication and a thorough estate plan that elucidates both the wishes of the person who has passed away and the rights of the inheritors are, in the end, the best ways to ensure that the process of inheriting something goes off without a hitch and run smoothly.

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