• Deceased bigamist's will

Is it true that property owned by husband is also owned by wife even if only his name appears on title deed?

My father died in 2016. A woman produced a registered will leaving all property to her as 'his wife'. He had committed bigamy and 'married' her without divorcing my mother.
What rights does my mother have over the properties?
Asked 6 years ago in Family Law
Religion: Sikh

10 answers received in 1 day.

Lawyers are available now to answer your questions.

11 Answers

1) your mother should challenge the will

2) file suit for partition to claim her share in property

3)second wife has to prove the will

4) she would have to apply for probate of will

5) if you object to grant of probate it would be converted into testamentary suit

Ajay Sethi
Advocate, Mumbai
94520 Answers
7485 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

No, it is not right at all.The wife has no sharein the proeprty of husband unless her name is there in the titile deed.

However wife has legal right of residence in the proeprty owned by husband.

If the proeprty owned by your father was his self acquired proeprty then he can give this to anyone he chooses for which the person need not be a wife at all.

However of the Will is not validly executed then you can challenge the Will when his paramour will file case of Probate of Will.

Devajyoti Barman
Advocate, Kolkata
22779 Answers
484 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

1. It's not true that property owned by husband is also owned by wife, eventhough only husband's name in the title deed.

2. Being the owner of a self acquired property your father had the absolute right over the property to take a decision and in the instant case, he has willed it to a woman calling her as his wife.

3. When the first wife is alive, marrying again is not recognised under HMA.

4. Let your mother challenge the 'WILL' in the appropriate court.

Shashidhar S. Sastry
Advocate, Bangalore
5068 Answers
314 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

No, according to the personal law wife and husband have distinct legal entity therefore wife has no right to claim her share in husband's self acquired property. A person can register property in name of his any of the family member even his wife, if the husband mention his wife's name in the sale deed it does not gives or right to the wife to claim ownership on the property merely because her name is entered in the sale deed, if wife had no sufficient means to prove that at the time of purchase of that property she had been earning and have separate source of income to purchase that property then it will be treated that property is the self acquired property of her husband.

Shivendra Pratap Singh
Advocate, Lucknow
5127 Answers
78 Consultations

4.9 on 5.0

In this condition husband can delete the name of his wife from the sale deed by movie and application before the registrar for this purpose. If she claims her right in the property only on the ground that her name has entered in the title deed you can  challenge it on the ground that at the time of purchase she had no source of income. Therefore it is your self acquired property.

Shivendra Pratap Singh
Advocate, Lucknow
5127 Answers
78 Consultations

4.9 on 5.0

1. First part of your question is not true.

Vibhanshu Srivastava
Advocate, Lucknow
9588 Answers
303 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

1. Property of a deceased Hindu male who dies intestate devolves according to Hindu Succession Act on his Class 1 heirs. During his lifetime nobody can claim a share therein.

2. Even though a person may have committed bigamy but this does not preclude him from making a bequest of his property in favour of his illicit partner. So if your father has made a bequest in favour of his second wife then notwithstanding the commission of bigamy the will takes precedence over natural succession.

Ashish Davessar
Advocate, Jaipur
30763 Answers
972 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

Hi, if she has a WILL in her favour , then the property belongs to her .. However you can challenge the WILL in court about its authenticity.. There are reasons that a WILL can be forged.. Also take a stay order by filing suit for permanent injuction so that she cannot sell the properties

Hemant Chaudhary
Advocate, Gurgaon
4630 Answers
67 Consultations

4.9 on 5.0

Hello,

If the husband has not transferred the property to any other person during his lifetime or has not willed the same then your mother who also happens to be the legal wife of your father will inherit the property which was owned by your father.

Regards

Anilesh Tewari
Advocate, New Delhi
18077 Answers
377 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

1. No, it is not true. Wife is not legally considered as the joint owner of the property and can not claim ownership of the said property during the life time of the husband.

2.However, the wife inherits share of her husband's properties along with other legal heirs, in case her husband dies intestate.

3. For claiming the title of the property, the said woman shall have to apply for and obtain grant of probate from the Court with out which the value of the will be not more than a scrap paper.

4. If she file an application seeking grant of probate, all the legal heirs of your deceased father will get notice from the Court and in that case you shall be able to challenge the will fittingly on appropriate grounds.

5. In case of properties located at some places like Delhi, no grant of probate is required and in that case you shall have to challenge the registered Will after picking up loopholes in the said file.

6. Your father could have been accused of committing bigamy but his will can not be considered as void for his said bigamous activity.

Krishna Kishore Ganguly
Advocate, Kolkata
27191 Answers
726 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

As the woman, who claims herself to be your father's wife, produced the will, you can challenge the same in the court and can ask to her to proceed through court for claiming any share in the property.

Your mother should not handover possession of the property till a court decision is arrived.

If you suspect the will to be a forged, you with your mother and siblings can partition the properties among yourselves before she claim any share in them.

T Kalaiselvan
Advocate, Vellore
84711 Answers
2172 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

Ask a Lawyer

Get legal answers from lawyers in 1 hour. It's quick, easy, and anonymous!
  Ask a lawyer