In case a male dies intestate, i.e. without making a will, his assets shall be distributed according to the Hindu Succession Act and the property is transferred to the legal heirs of the deceased. The legal heirs are further classified into two classes- class I and class II.

Can married daughters claim their fathers property if the father died before the Hindu Succession Act of 2005?

According to a recent Supreme Court ruling, it does not matter whether the father was alive or not in 2005, when the Hindu Succession Act 1956 was amended to give equal rights to the daughter in her father’s property. Since your father died without a will, the property will be divided equally among all legal heirs.

Who is the heir to a father’s property in India?

Hereon, women were also accepted as coparceners. They can demand a share in the father’s property. A mother is a legal heir to her deceased son’s property. Therefore, if a man leaves behind his mother, wife and children, all of them have an equal right on his property.

What happens if a Hindu dies without a will?

The property of a Hindu male dying intestate, or without a will, would be first distributed to heirs within Class I. If there are no heirs categorized as Class I, the property will be given to heirs within Class II.

Who are the heirs of a Hindu dying intestate?

As per these the property of a Hindu dying intestate devolves upon his heirs of Class I who take the property to the exclusion of all other heirs. But what if there are more than one Class I heirs among whom the property of the deceased devolves?

Can a Hindu wife transfer property to a third person?

However, if the property inherited by the wife is ancestral, she cannot transfer such property to a third person by way of will or any other deed, as there is a birthright of the descendants of the husband to inherit such property under the Hindu succession law.