• About succession

Respected Advocates,
 
 We are Hindu Family, me ( 26 years old) B.A LLB (2014 passed out), my brother ( 29 years) M.Tech Bio technology and our Mother house wife, father passed away on 31-July-2016 ( due to prostrate cancer). My father retired as government employee, my mother is getting family pension.
My mother is second wife to my father, he let us know every fact in his life, no hidden secrets. First marriage details:- on 8.5.1968 he married one called Singamma, in 1975, a son was born to them, in period between 1977-78 singamma left my father with their son just because her husband suffering from Tuberculosis and never even returned while he suffered for 3 years , my fathers brother took care of him and gave him medical treatment with his own expenses. In 1982 after yeas of request by my father and his brother to singamma to come and live with him, they stayed together from 1982-85 and then she express her feeling not wanting to live together with my father and she asked my father to pay maintenance as she want to live with her son separately from my father, and he agreed, she even agreed that she will not claim any of my fathers property even if it is ancestral or self acquired ( i am in possession of that copy of MOU ). In 1988 this case went to court and same was given as judgement by Magistrate court, which he fulfilled until his demise( divorce not taken).
Now they sent us a legal notice ( 8.8.2017) claiming 1/4th share of property ( apartment in Hyderabad, independent house in our town) we replayed that legal notice with facts that my father prior to his death made handwritten WILL( in possession withe me) ( 5-10-2015) stating that me and my brother are sole beneficiary's to his property's and even mentioned "that his first wife and his first son should not be given any rupee because she left him when he needed her most"
Details of property's :- Independent house ( still in my fathers name) constructed by my father with SBH house loan ( loan book in possession with me) empty land given by my mother ( second wife) to him through gift deed in year 2000 ( deed is in possession with me) in the year 2009 after his retirement my father purchased apartment in hyd in my brothers name. 
My Questions are:- 1) As per the above facts who stands more chance to win the case?
2):- Should we mutate the independent house from my fathers name to our name?
3) if they file a case in court do we have right to give rent of the said property while case going on?
 
Note :- my father don't have any ancestral property
Asked 8 years ago in Civil Law

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8 Answers

1)is the will attested by 2 witnesses?

2) if will is executed by your father and attested by 2 witnesses first wife and son would not have any share in property

3) as far as land is concerned once gift deed is executed your mother would be absolute owner of the land

4) as far as independent house is concerned apply for mutation of house in your name and that of your brother

5) also apply for probate of father will

6) it has to be proved that will was executed by your late father

7) you can give house on rent unless any stay is granted by court

Ajay Sethi
Advocate, Mumbai
99783 Answers
8145 Consultations

1. Off course you. Firstly the MOU he signed with his first wife has force of law inasmuch as it was decreed in 1988 by the Magistrate Court and secondly, in any case he bequeathed his entire property in favour of you and your brother by means of the 2005 will. They may drag this to Court, but do not stand a chance against you.

2. Get it mutated immediately.

3. Nothing has to be given to them as long as they have no interim order in their favour.

Vibhanshu Srivastava
Advocate, Lucknow
9763 Answers
323 Consultations

1. Which case are you talking about? Are you talking about any anticipated case which might be filed by the 1st wife of your father and her son basing on the legal notice sent by them? If, yes then they will not be able to do much legally since your father has already executed a will in your favour. First of all you should now file an application before the Court for the grant of probate of the will keeping in mind that will has no value more than a scrap paper unless it is probated. After obtaining the grant of probate of the said will, you can apply for mutation of the properties based on the probated will.

2. Unless and until there is a restrain order from the Court against their any application filed, you are at liberty to deal with the said willed properties the way you wish to.

Krishna Kishore Ganguly
Advocate, Kolkata
27703 Answers
726 Consultations

Hi

Since your father has executed a WILL in your favour, you and your brother's will inherit all of your father's property based on WILL.

Technically your father had being paying maintenance to the first wife's son till the boy became a major, but did not divorce the first wife.

So given the above, the legal heirs are first wife, your step brother, you and your brother. Unfortunately your mother is not a legal heir in eyes of law.

Though your father's first wife, your stepbrother, you and your brother are legal heirs, you and your brother alone will succeed to properties subject to WILL being proven in the court.

To answer your specific questions

a) You and your brother will WIN the case, subject to you proving the WILL in the court, by making the witnesses to the WILL come to court and testify that your father executed the WILL.

b) Yes, You should mutate the property in your name. You can do it by producing the copy of the WILL or by proving the WILL in the court (in telangana/ andhra there is NO probate, but as legal heirs you can ask the court to issue letter of administration based on WILL).

c) Since you are in possession of the property as legal heir, you can give the property on rent even whilst the case is going on.

Rajgopalan Sripathi
Advocate, Hyderabad
2173 Answers
394 Consultations

1) advisable to apply for probate

2)probate is not mandatory in Delhi

3) you have to prove by testimony of attesting witness that will is executed and attested by 2 witnesses . if any objection is raised by legal heir petition would be converted into suit

4)witness has to come to court during trial to give evidence

5) you can apply for probate where testator died or where property is situated

Ajay Sethi
Advocate, Mumbai
99783 Answers
8145 Consultations

1. You shall have to apply for the probate before Court having jurisdiction on the area where the willed property is located.

2. There is a laid down procedure for obtaining probate of a will for which you shall have to first file it w2ith the legal heir certificate which should contain all the legal heirs of your father.

3. Thereafter the Court wills send copies of your probate application along with copy of the will against which they7 are expected submit their written objection.

4. At this stage the application for probate gets takes the status of a suit for which the Court will hear both the parties and pass judgement which will be binding on both the parties.

5. If probate is granted, the beneficiaries of the will shall become the title holders of the willed properties.

6. You have a fit case to get the probate of the will. Engage a local lawyer having expertise in this field.

Krishna Kishore Ganguly
Advocate, Kolkata
27703 Answers
726 Consultations

My Questions are:- 1) As per the above facts who stands more chance to win the case?

You only have chances to win the case because the legal position is in your favor.

The will bequeathing his properties in your favor is in your possession for all the properties that were i his name at the time of his death, hence her claim for a share in the said properties are not maintainable or tenable in law.

2):- Should we mutate the independent house from my fathers name to our name?

Yes you can do it so that the will can come into force and you can enforce the bequest made in it.

3) if they file a case in court do we have right to give rent of the said property while case going on?

No, not necessary, do not make any commitments that way until there is a court order.

T Kalaiselvan
Advocate, Vellore
89985 Answers
2492 Consultations

5) Both property's located in telangana, is probate apply ?

If there is a dispute on the Will, then you may better apply for probate of will or just enforce the will by applying for mutation of properties on the basis of will through revenue authorities.

6) What is the procedure to prove that the said Will is executed by my father it self? and that is final?

Apply for probate of will which will answer all types of question.

A) Should i have to present the witnesses in court just to probate the Will?

The witnesses are to be produced before court while the probate OP case trial is going in the court of law.

and if law states that probate is necessary in telangana also

Probate of Will ins not mandatory in Telangana

in which location court i have to go to probate? ( the place where my father executed the Will or in locations where we have property's) ( Hyderabad and Siricilla).

You have to apply for probate of will within the jurisdictional court where the will mentioned property is situated

T Kalaiselvan
Advocate, Vellore
89985 Answers
2492 Consultations

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