1) no formal deed of adoption has been made

2) there has been no giving and taking ceremony wherein your parents gave you in adoption to your adopted mother

3) your adopted mother died intestate ie without a will

4) on her demise her property would devolve on her siblings unless you are able to prove a valid adoption

5) in the event any legal proceedings are taken by her other legal heirs oppose it on ground that the deceased had adopted you as her son

6) you have not mentioned whether your birth certificate , school leaving certificate , ration card and other documents reflect her name as mother

1. If there was no adoption carried out in accordance with the law then you cannot claim to have been adopted. Adoption can be said to be legal only if a deed of adoption is made, which has not been done in your case.

2. Since you were not adopted you have no right to claim inheritance to the house of the woman who raised you.

3. Her brother will inherit her property.

Hi,

Your claim for the property of your adopted mother is a bit complicated matter since you were not adopted legally and there is no will made by your adopted mother in your favour. You'll have to prove your adoption first then only you can claim your adopted mother's property in absence of which your adopted mother's brother/s can claim for her property. Appoint a good local lawyer and provide all the documentary evidence pertaining to your birth, adoption, school admission documents and/or any other document to prove your association with your adopted mother.

1) SupremeCourt in the case of Dhanraj Vs. Surajbai, AIR 1975 SC 1103 wherein it

CM(M) No.338/2013 Page 7 of 8

was held that the physical act of giving and receiving was absolutely

necessary for the validity of an adoption under the law as it existed before

coming into force of the present Act, and the position under the Act is

identical. It is imperative that there should be some overt act to signify

delivery of the child from one family to another. However, mere expression

of consent, or the execution of the deed of adoption, though registered, but

not accompanied by actual giving and receiving, will not operate as a valid

adoption.

2) The Supreme Court in the matter of Nilima Mukherjee vs.

Kantabhushan Kosh, AIR 2001 SC 2725 held that ‘in the absence of

documentary or other proof of an adoption, the ceremonies also not shown to

have been performed, the fact of such an adoption cannot be believed.

There being no legal adoption you cannot claim to be a adopted child of her.

As a spinster she cannot adopt you.

If you have upnayanam records or any other evidence that you have been staying with her since childhood in the same house (including school certificates), you may apply for legal heir ship certificate by producing her death certificate with the local tahsildar office, manage to a certificate that you are her only legal heir and then apply for mutation of revenue records of the property in your name, once this is done, her brothers will not find ground to grab the property from your possession. Legally you cannot claim to be her heir or successor in rights or interest.

1) what is the name reflected in school leaving certificate? does it reflect your adopted mother name?

2) what about ration card ? does it reflect your name as son ?

3) photographs of you with the lady are not sufficient to prove adoption

4) i had in my earlier reply drawn attention to SC judgement in the matter of Nilima Mukherjee vs.

Kantabhushan Kosh, AIR 2001 SC 2725 wherein it has been held that ‘in the absence of

documentary or other proof of an adoption, the ceremonies also not shown to

have been performed, the fact of such an adoption cannot be believed.

5)for your voter card , aadhar card name reflected in ration card , school leaving certificate etc would be taken into account

You are confusing the lawyers as well as yourself.

I was clearly stated that in the absence of no valid legal adoption, you cannot claim yourself as an adopted child of that spinster woman.

However you can apply for legal heir ship certificate with the revenue department on he basis of the documents reportedly in your possession to prove your togetherness with the deceased since your child hood.

IN YOUR BIRTH CERTIFICATE IF YOU WANT TO CHANGE THE INITIAL, YOU CAN APPLY FOR CHANGE OF NAME WITH THE AUTHORITIES WHO ISSUE THE CERTIFICATE, IF IT IS NOT POSSIBLE, YOU MAY APPLY FOR GAZETTE NOTIFICATION FOR CHANGE OF NAME.

Your school leaving certificate and other documents which mention the name of the woman who brought you up as your mother are very weak evidences which may be discarded by the court. However, the hallmark of a legal battle in a court of law is the uncertainty of its result. It teaches one to expect the unexpected. So you can take the call.