I am a native of village Mohisgoria, Burdwan, West Bengal. I am currently residing in Jamshedpur where my husband was posted. He was urged to take voluntary retirement in 1999. Since then, he has been very ill. His salary had always been meagre and now we are in a financial crisis. My husband has been a mental patient since his college days — a fact that was hidden from me at the time of our marriage 31 years ago. His share of his ancestral property — comprising agricultural lands, ponds, etc. — has been looked after by his youngest brother since our marriage. Till date, we have not received more than a few thousand rupees from our share of the income from our property. My brother-in-law has taken full advantage of my husband’s inability to look after his share. In spite of several requests to him demanding fair share of the income, he refused saying that he had always given us the right amount on a regular basis. I have a record of the cheques we have received from my brother-in-law as payment. Can I claim compensation from my three brothers-in-law for hiding my husband’s illness from me at the time of marriage? Can I charge my youngest brother-in-law with forceful and illegal capture of property? Is there any remedy in law that will help me get back my dues? Can we ask for a partition of the property before a court of law?

Name and address withheld

I sympathise with your condition. However, I must tell you in earnest, that there is little or no chance of getting compensation from your in-laws for your marriage. This is because you have lived with your husband for the last 31 years. As you cannot enjoy your share of the ancestral property jointly, you and your husband should approach the civil court and file a suit for partition. Your husband can claim for his dues in the said suit.

I live in a house built by my uncle. This is the house where the whole family (my uncle’s brothers and sisters as well as his parents) lived once. Now, I live there with my uncle and his wife and my parents. My uncle has no children. To my knowledge, he has not made a will but one of his brother’s children are eyeing his property. They have once spoken to me about this and aired their suspicion that my uncle will name me his legal heir. Now, I am in an awkward position. I cannot bring up this topic with my uncle. I do not want any share but at the same time, I do not want his property to be the bone of contention between unscrupulous relatives. What is the legal solution to this problem? If he dies intestate, then who can lay claim to his property? His wife is infirm and needs medical attention all the time. Please suggest a remedy to keep her away from any property dispute.

name and address withheld

Someone has to open a dialogue with your uncle in regard to settlement of his property. If you are not able to open this discussion, then you have to find a family friend or relative to initiate the process in which you can express your interest. If you undertake this process, you will not be seen with suspicion as a prospective beneficiary. Remember, if your uncle does not make the much-needed settlement in his lifetime, then his legal heirs will claim their shares after his demise. You do not seem to have any right to the property because he has a wife, and she is the legal heir as per schedule class I, Section 8 of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956. So, the best thing for you to do is to bring the issue to your uncle’s notice in order to prevent the possibility of a dispute.

I am a 27-year-old single woman suffering from a degenerative disease. I have no close kin and my parents have died three years ago. I have a few insurance policies and stock investments in my name. I want to gift my assets to my friend who is a widow and her infant son. Can you please suggest how I should go about it? Could you kindly give an estimate of how much money I have to spend in obtaining a deed of gift, etc?

Jayasri Bhowmick,
Kundghat, Calcutta

You have insurance policies and stock investments as your assets. And you are interested in gifting it to your friend and her son. Remember, if you gift your assets, then you cease to be a claimant to any benefits arising out of those. The person who receives the deed of gift becomes entitled to all benefits of the said property with immediate effect. In order to avoid financial hazard, you can do one thing. You can nominate any one person of your choice to be the recipient of your insurance policy in the event of your death. If the policies mature in your lifetime, then you can collect the total sum of money and pass it on as a gift to the person you have in mind. You can do the same with regard to your stock investments.

I would like to know what the Indian law provides for a married daughter who wants a fair share in her father’s property. This is with regard to my mother’s share in her paternal property. I have a feeling that my uncles are trying to cheat her and reduce her share in the property. My grandfather’s property includes a four-storeyed house, a number of insurance policies and jewellery worth Rs 3.5 lakh. My grandfather died last year. My grandmother died nearly seven years ago. My mother is the youngest among three sisters and she has two elder brothers.

Name and Address withheld

Any property belonging to a female Hindu, whether acquired before or after the commencement of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, will be held by her as full owner thereof. This is provided in Section 14 of the said Act. There is also an explanation attached to the said provision, which gives an understanding of what is meant by ‘property’. The term includes both moveable an immovable assets acquired by a Hindu lady through inheritance or device, partition, gift or as arrear of maintenance before, at or after marriage or any property held by her as streedhan before the Act came into force.

If your grandfather died intestate, then your mother becomes a legal heiress as she is one of the shareholders in the property. However, if the property comprises a residential building occupied by members of the family, the female heir cannot claim a right to partition unless the male heirs choose to do the same.

There is one more provision that says that a female heir is entitled to a right of residence in the same building only if she is unmarried, has been deserted by or is separated from her husband, or she is a widow.

Subject to the above restriction, your mother can inherit her share in the property only if her father has died intestate.

I reside in an unpartitioned house, which is in the name of my mother who died intestate long ago leaving only two legal heirs — my brother and myself — who stayed elsewhere during her lifetime. Having held full possession of the house when my mother was alive, I did not initiate the process for mutation in my favour. Now, I want to to purchase the so-called property right of my co-sharer at a reasonable price and ask for a partition. I want to know more about some legal provisions so that the sale value determined cannot be changed unilaterally at the time of execution of the partition suit.

Name and Address withheld

It appears that your brother, who is also your co-sharer in the property, does not occupy any portion of the house which is the name of your late mother. Your brother is entitled to the right of selling his share to the extent of his interest to a stranger. But before he can do this, he has to offer his share to you for purchase. The procedure is laid down in Section 22 of the Hindu Succession Act and in the event of sale, you have to file a suit before that court within whose jurisdiction the property in question is located.

Strictly speaking, mutation is not a document of title. It just empowers the authority to collect revenue. There can be, of course, sale of property without mutation. The fixation of sale value can be done only by negotiating with the selling party. Once you reach an agreement, you should put it in writing. This is technically known as an agreement for sale.

You can file a suit for partition. But if the property cannot be divided equally, then you can approach the court for purchase of your brother’s share. Alternatively, you can file a case in terms of Section 22 of the Hindu Succession Act claiming preferential right to acquire the property.