Your entitlement depends on who is the legal owner of the property, not on who paid the money.
If the property is registered in the name of your mother-in-law, then in law she is treated as the absolute owner, even if it was purchased from your father-in-law’s income. After the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act, 1988, you generally cannot claim that the property belongs to someone else merely because they paid for it.
Therefore, if the property is in your mother-in-law’s name:
- It is her self-acquired property
- Your deceased husband had no automatic share during her lifetime
- You cannot seek partition in that property while she is alive
A partition suit in such circumstances is likely to fail.
However, after your mother-in-law’s lifetime, if she dies without a Will, then the property will devolve under the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 to her legal heirs.
At that stage:
- Your husband’s share will pass to his legal heirs (which includes you and your children, if any)
- You can then claim through your husband’s share
Regarding your question about ex-parte proceedings:
Even if other parties do not appear and are set ex-parte, the court will still examine whether you have a legal right. If there is no legal entitlement, merely proceeding ex-parte will not guarantee a decree in your favour.
In summary:
- No right to partition during mother-in-law’s lifetime if property is in her name
- No claim based only on father-in-law’s income
- Right arises only after her death (if no Will)
- Ex-parte proceedings do not create rights where none exist