• Ancestral property

Hi all, 

My Grand father had a property of about 5 acres, which he acquired through succession (by death of his father, who died in testate). My grand father had 4 Sons and three daughters, died in 2009, leaving my grand mother as widow. my grand mother expired in 2014, expired in testate. 

when my mother with her sister asked for division, one of the brother (youngest) is referring to a will written in 2005, awarding entire property in favor of him. although he did not show us the will copy, we verified the same with concerned SRO. 

i have following questions:
1. is my grand father entitled to write an un-equal partition will favoring only one son(out of seven)?
2. in this scenario, can my mother challenge the will ?
3. what is the process My mother and other 5 inheritances should follow in order to partition the property.

thanks, 
SV
Asked 8 years ago in Property Law
Religion: Hindu

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6 Answers

1) if your grand father had died intestate your mother would have one seventh share in property .

2) your mother can file suit for partition to claim her share in the property .

3) before filing suit issue legal notice to claim her share in property .

4) if your brother is relying on the will he would have to furnish you copy of the will

5) does the will mention reasons why daughters have been disinherited?

6) if you file suit for partition your brother will have to file for probate to prove the will

7) no probate would be granted if there are suspicious circumstances surrounding the will

Ajay Sethi
Advocate, Mumbai
94692 Answers
7527 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

A. Your grand father inherited the property through his father would not be considered as ancestral property. Hence, Your grandfather had right to alienate the property as his own wish.

B. In your case, after the demise of your grandfather without execution of any will that property would be distributed equally between all class I legal heirs. i.e, widow, mother of deceased if alive, 3 daughter and male son.

C. In case, if your grandmother executed a will that it can be challenged before the court of law under the law of succession.

D. You would better file a partition suit before the Court of Law for the division of property between the all the class I heirs. In case if any will executed that should be divulge before the Hon'ble Court and the validity of the Will can be challenged from your side.

B.T. Ravi
Advocate, Bangalore
943 Answers
96 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

1) in respect of ancestral property your grand father could not have bequeathed entire property to one son only .

2) your mother should move court to challenge the will on account of suspicious circumstances surrounding the will .

3) if it was self acquired property your grand father could have bequeathed entire property to one son .

4) your mother should issue legal notice to her brother and other legal heirs for partition of property . file suit to claim her share . will has to be proved by your uncle

Ajay Sethi
Advocate, Mumbai
94692 Answers
7527 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

Hi, your mother has to file a suit for partition in respect of her share in the property in the partition suit you have to plead ignorance about the "will" then your uncle has to come before the court with "will" then your uncle has to prove the will as per law.

2. Secondly as the property is the ancestral property so your grandfather can't make a will to whole property in worst scenario to an extent of his share in the property.

Pradeep Bharathipura
Advocate, Bangalore
5604 Answers
335 Consultations

4.5 on 5.0

1. is my grand father entitled to write an un-equal partition will favoring only one son(out of seven)?

If he was the only legal heir to his father the upo inheritance he becomes the absolute owner hence he can bequeath the property to anyone of his choice, there is no binding on him that he has to distribute the property to all his children.

2. in this scenario, can my mother challenge the will ?

Yes, she can very well challenge it. However since your uncle has not shown the will, she can straight away file a partition suit, let him come out with his will which he needs to prove.

3. what is the process My mother and other 5 inheritances should follow in order to partition the property.

If there are no chances for an amicable partition, then a partition suit before the court will be the only legal remedy.

All your subsequent questions have answer as above.

T Kalaiselvan
Advocate, Vellore
84893 Answers
2190 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

1. The owner of a property is at liberty to discriminate among his heirs at the time of writing his will.

2. The will can be challenged by your mother or her sisters only on the grounds that it was made by their father under force employed by his son i.e the beneficiary of the will, or that the property in question is ancestral in nature.

3. If your mother and her sisters have insurmountable evidence to prove that the will is vitiated on account of any of the two reasons mentioned in the preceding para they may file for partition to cull out their share in the property.

Ashish Davessar
Advocate, Jaipur
30763 Answers
972 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

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