Law Credo
Rights on mothers property after death is governed by personal and right laws.
Once a mother (woman) gets any property via a will or gift deed or also by heritage or it is a self-earn property, she becomes the complete owner of the same.
Under Hindu Law Act, the mother’s property assign as per the Hindu Succession Act, 1956. The act applies to legatee succession.
According to Section 15 of the Hindu Succession Act, the following persons take over a woman’s property after death:
- Her Children.
- Children of predeceased children.
- Her Husband.
- Mother and Father of the deceased woman.
- Legal Heirs of husband.
- Legal Heirs of Father and Mother.
The preference order is as follows:
- First, Children of predeceased Children and Husbands, the Children of specific Women.
- Second, Legal Heirs of Husband.
- Third, Woman’s Mother, and Father.
- Forth, Legal heirs of Woman’s Father.
- Last but not least, Legal heirs of woman’s Mother.
If a mother dies legatee, as per the Hindu Law, children of deceased children, woman’s children, and woman’s husband have an equal right to the specific property. In the case of their absence, the property is taken over by other legal heirs as per the order of preference given above.
Rights On Mother's Property After Death also includes:
- Right to the share of mother in her father’s property.
- Children of deceased mothers have the right to claim the deceased mother’s share in the property of the woman’s father.
After the alteration of the 1956 Act, in the year 2005, the daughters are successors and having equal rights as sons, in the property of the father. So, if a daughter (mother) dies before the partition of her father’s inherited property, the children of women have the right to the inherited property of their maternal grandfather.
But, during the lifetime of a woman, only the woman has the right to claim the property of her father as a son. Any other person can file a legal suit for partition only with the help of power of attorney carry out by the mother in favor of children.
In case, the self-acquired property of the father (maternal grandfather), if the father dies intestate, the son/daughter of the daughter (woman) of such father(maternal grandfather) are the Class 1 successors as per the schedule of the 1956 Act.
Once the share of the daughter (woman) has been transferred to her (woman) after the partition of property, she is the complete owner of her share.
If the mother makes a will, the property pass on as per the will, if a mother dies intestate, the inheritance law is applied as per the 1956 Act.
Distribution of mother's property between her son and married daughter:
Married daughter has equal rights on mothers property after death as son has, in the case the mother dies intestate, the married daughter claims her share equally with the son as per Act 1956.
Under Muslim Law, the law is not systemized, rights on the property of the mother are according to governed by personal law.
For faiths other than Buddhists, Hindus, Sikhs, Muslims, Jains, distribution of mother’s property after death is as per the India Succession Act, 1925. Generally, the relatives of the mother have priority as compared to the husband and his relatives.
