Property bequeathed through will acquires character of ancestral property in which all legal heirs will have share. It will not become self earned property of beneficiaries. Only if an ancestor transfers his self earned property through gift, it will be exclusive property of donee.
Grandfathers property
Hi, My grand father left a will and divided his properties to all his sons. What do we call this property now owned by his sons? Is it self acquired or ancestral? Does grand child have share on this type of property?
Asked 1 year ago in Property Law
Religion: Hindu
13 Answers
Thanks a lot for quick reply, Ravi sir. Please answer below query when you get a chance. My father had few ancestral properties and he voluntarily gifted all his ancestral properties to his wife(my mother). All the property documents are now under my mothers name. Now the property still be considered as ancestral?. I am assuming these properties will now be treated as self acquired by my mother as it was done through a gift deed , my mother has all rights to sell it to anyone, ancestral rights which i intially have as grand child may not be applicable. Please confirm.
Asked 1 year ago
1. This will be the seperate property in the hands of your grandfather's sons having the characteristic of self acquired property. Hence the property now owned by sons' are legally considered as self acquired property.
2. The grandchild shall have share in the property after the lifetime of his/her father, if the father dies intestate ( without executing a WILL).
3. However, if the querist's grand father had executed a WILL for the ancestral property ( if the property was owned by querist's great grandfather), then the grandchild (querist) will be a coparcener, since birth and he/she will be entitled to a share alongwith other legal heirs.
Grand children have no share in property bequeathed by grand father to his sons
it is not ancestral property
Kindly clarify on what basis you say it is ancestral property
father cannot gift all the ancestral properties to his wife
children can file suit to set aside gift deed and claim share in property
SC has held that Hindu father or any other managing member of a HUF has the power to make a gift of the ancestral property only for a pious purpose, that is, for charitable and/or religious purposes. Therefore, a deed of gift in regard to the ancestral property executed out of love and affection does not come within scope of pious purpose
Please note my answer, "Only if an ancestor transfers his self earned property through gift, it will be exclusive property of donee." Father is entitled to gift only his share in the ancestor property to anyone. Here the properties gifted by father are ancestral, apart from his share, remaining properties are still ancestral. In effect gift of properties other than his is invalid. All legal heirs have share in the gifted property, excluding to the extent of share of father. I think I made myself clear.
Grandfather has settled his property among his children by a Will and on acquisition of their respective share, the shareholders become an absolute owner of their share in the property.
This cannot be considered as an ancestral property
It is not an ancestral property in the hands of your mother.
It becomes her own and absolute proeprty, hence she has full rights to dispose it at her own Will and wish.
First need to check whether your grand father has self owned property or it were ancestral property.
Assume that its self earned property of Grand Father than by way of Gift Deed it will be self owned by your father and your father has rights to whom he want to distribute it and whether its again gifted to your mother than mother is truly owner, so she can distribute the property according to her wish to anyone.
If its not self owned property of Grand father and its ancestral property than only his share can be gifted and rest of the property will be partition/distributed accordingly.
If he has divided equally to all legal heirs it will be self acquired property now in hands of all legal heirs
Dear Client,
- As far as the ancestral property is concerned, you can stake a claim over it by virtue of your birth. For the self acquired properties as well, you being a class I legal heir, have a claim over these. This is, of course, if your father has not willed or gifted the properties to someone else. You can claim the properties by applying for a succession certificate in the civil court or high court that has a jurisdiction over the property or your place of residence. Once the succession certificate is granted by the court, the properties can be transferred in your name.
- The ancestral property must belong to four generations or we can say that ancestral property must be continued for four generations and passed down from generation to generation.
- The ancestral property should not be divided by the members and when the division occurs, the property becomes the acquired property.
- In the case of ancestral property, a person has the rights or interests within the ownership from birth.
- The ancestral property rights are controlled by per strips and not by each capita. The shares within the ancestral property are first determined for each and every generation and divided for the next generation.
- Moreover, properties acquired from mother, grandmother, uncle, or even brother are not the ancestor properties. And property inherited by will and gift also is not ancestral property. Ancestor property can become ancestor property whereas if is thrown into the pool of ancestor one and enjoyed in common.
- Any property gifted by a father to his son cannot become an ancestor within the hands of the son.
When it is self acquisition, no body is having right over the same, more so your father gifted the property, either you or anybody don't have any legal rights.
If the property gifted is self-acquired by your father, he is entitled to gift it to any one including your mother. In law, a property gifted by a registered deed is on par with a self-acquired property of the recipient (Donee), in your case, it belongs to your mother absolutely.
Your mother, as the recipient of the gifted property, is free to do whatever she likes with it. She can bequeth it to any person/s by a Will. If she dies intestate, i.e., without executing a Will, the daughter will have a legitimate claim to a share along with all the brothers and sisters.
In case, the property gifted by your father is ancestral, the gift has to be limited to his share in the property. If he has gifted the entire property, it is invalid as the ancestral property is to be shared by the parents and all their children (sons and daughters) equally.
Thank You.
Inherited property would be treated as a self acquired property.
After any partition, the ancestral nature whatever of the property is lost forever, and each beneficiary thereof is legally entitled to his/her share absolutely and exclusively. An ancestral property is one which has been in common possession and enjoyment for four generations at least. Check the nature of your father's estate in this light.
- As per law, after getting the said property by way of WILL it will considered the self acquired property .
- Further, the beneficiary can apply for getting mutation in his name after submitting the death certificate of grandfather and the copy of the said Will.
- During the lifetime of son , then grand son having not right .
