• Is a married woman a coparcener in father's HUF?

Father, BBM, was staying in Mumbai in property purchased by himself. He put the property in HUF. Father has 3 children - Eldest son, ABC, (72 years as of today), married daughter, PQR, (married in 1980) and youngest son, XYZ (61 years as of today). The eldest son and youngest son live in the property with their children as a joint family. 

Father passed away in 2003. In his will he has mentioned that his share of property should be divided equally between his two sons. However the will has not been probated.

1. Please advise if the married daughter, PQR would have a share in the HUF and would she be a coparcener? 

2. Please also advise if the children of ABC, PQR and XYZ be coparceners in the Father's (BBM) HUF?

3. Assuming the HUF has Rs. 1000 in the form of FD, savings and shares and the value of property in HUF is Rs. 3000 then who would get how much when the HUF is dissolved?

Thanks!
Asked 6 years ago in Property Law
Religion: Hindu

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6 Answers

The amendment of 2005 hindu succession act which provides that daughter after marriage shall be coparcener in the father huf even after marriage is applicable only prospectively not retrospective effect so if father died before 2005 then partition opened before that so daughter cannot claim her right in the HUF.a daughter can avail of the benefits granted by the amendment only if her father passed away after September 9, 2005. Also, the daughter is eligible to be a co-sharer only if the father and the daughter were alive on September 9, 2005

This position was cleared by supreme court in prakash vs phulwati.http://www.livelaw.in/law-on-equal-right-for-daughters-over-property-is-prospective-sc/

Shubham Jhajharia
Advocate, Ahmedabad
25514 Answers
179 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

Firslty, the property was purchased by your father so there is no question of putting it as HUF. It is only possible if he had some HUF from his anscestors then he may have put his property as part of his existing HUF.

Secondly, yes she may have a share in the property as the Will has not been probated and limitation period has also been expired. So now the property would dilute as per Hindu Succession Law equally amongst all.

Thirdly, the moment you get any share from your father’s property either self acquired or anscestral, your children would be treating the same as HUF for them.

Lastly, your third question is not holding any value in it as it is not the HUF at all as per my experience and study on this topic.

Rest you can consult

Me through Kanoon to knapp the detail procedure to claim your share in the court of law.

Sanjay Baniwal
Advocate, South Delhi
5473 Answers
13 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

a married daughter is considered a part of HUF. Prior to 2005 amendment in the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, the daughter, on her marriage, ceases to be a member of her father’s HUF and becomes a member of her husband’s HUF. However, after the amendment the daughter married or unmarried, is now considered as co-parcener like a son.

2)The Hindu Succession Act, 2005 applies to all daughters including those who are married, but this act does not apply to daughters married before the commencement of the Hindu Succession Amendment Act, 2005. Moreover, the provisions of the amendment act do not apply in case where the partition of the joint Hindu family has already been effected before 20th December 2004.

Ajay Sethi
Advocate, Mumbai
94522 Answers
7485 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

1. As per the amendment to the Hindu Succession Act in 2005, the daughters of coparcenors were also recognised a coparcenors alongwith the sons. This applied on and from the year 2005

2. PQR's dad passed away in 2003, ie prior to the amendment in 2005. Since your dad was not alive in the year 2005, the daughter cannot become a coparcenor of HUF property. So the daughter PQR will not be able to claim coparcenary share. (Query No.1)

3. Query no.2 - the children of ABC and XYZ will become coparcenors. Had PQR been a coparcenor, her children would also become coparcenors. So PQR's children cannot claim coparcenory interest

4. Query No.3 - When HUF is dissovled, all the coparcenors will get equal share

5. A woman becomes a coparcenor, regardless of she being married or not, when her father is alive in 2005. So marriage is not the criteria to decide coparcenory right of a woman. The only criteria is that the father of the woman must be living in the year 2005 when the amendment was introduced.

Yusuf Rampurawala
Advocate, Mumbai
7485 Answers
79 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

Dear Client,

Yes, married daughter has share in father HUF after amendment in Hindu Succession Act 2005 Hindu Succession Act, Prior to amendment, after marriage she ceases to be member of father HUF.

Your father expired in 2005, devolution of property took place in 2003 so no share in huf but only in father`s personal property.

Not of PQR.

ABC XYZ and children.

Yogendra Singh Rajawat
Advocate, Jaipur
22596 Answers
31 Consultations

4.4 on 5.0

1. The daughter married prior to 2005 shall not be having rights as a coparcener, because the amendment giving equal rights to daughters effected in the year 2005 is not having retrospective effect.

Hence she will not have coparcenary rights in the property.

Further since the father died in the year 2003, has bequeathed that his share of property shall devolve on his two sons only, the daughter will not be having any share in the father's share of property too.

2. Children of ABC and XYZ shall have rights in their father's share in the property.

3. The same shall be divided into three shares, father and two sons shall be having an equal share in that.

T Kalaiselvan
Advocate, Vellore
84711 Answers
2172 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

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