Q.1248 Claim to share of

ancestor property in India by UK

citizen

Question: Respected Chand Sir and Team This is Karthik from Bangalore. I am reaching out to you after going through information in your NRI Guide. Fantastic book with great information. I am writing to you to clarify a doubt on behalf of my friend. One of my friend Kavitha aged 35, she is living in UK as a British Citizen with her family. She got the British Citizenship in 2014-15. Her father passed away last month. She have one elder brother living in India and he was taking care of her father and mother. Her father had an ancestor property. This property was originally earned by her father’s grandfather. Now she understood that her father had made a Gift Deed in her name for only 30% of her ancestor property. Kavitha was expecting that she will get 50% of the ancestor share by Indian law (Daughters' rights in Hindu Succession Act, 2005.). Question 1: She is now a foreign citizen and does she have rights to claim 50% of the ancestor property legally? If so what need to be done next? Other than the ancestor property, her father had earned on his own. Even that property her father made 100% of this property as a Gift Deed to his brother. Nothing was given to her. Question 2: She is now a foreign citizen and does she have rights to claim 50% of her fathers self earned property legally? If so what need to be done next? Kindly help in answering the queries. Thanks and Regards Answer: Regarding questions: 1. Acquiring foreign citizenship should not diminish the rights of children in claiming share of ancestral property in India. 2. The Hindu Succession Act, 1956 does not impose restrictions on a Hindu as to whom they may bequeath their self-acquired and legally owned properties. o Your friend’s father had every right to will his self-earned property to whoever he wished. Children do not have an automatic right to a parent’s property and parents can transfer their property to whomever they desire by way of a legal transfer, such as a Will.

Right to ancestral property

• Kindly note that Section 6 of The Hindu Succession Act applies only to intestate and not to bequests of personal assets through testamentary instruments such as a Will. • Do not assume that every grandchild has a right to their grandfather’s property. How the grandfather acquired the property may be a factor. Any property acquired through a partition deed or family settlement arrangement would cease to be considered as ancestral. • Once a Hindu undivided family goes ahead with a division of their property, the portion of property received by each shareholder [Coparcener] then becomes their self-acquired property. Each situation may have different facts and circumstances that need to be considered when it comes to assessing rights to ancestral property. It is always best to seek the advice of a lawyer.