There are various personal laws in the context of inheritance and succession. There is no uniform law in India relating to inheritance.
Here in this article, I am going to write about the rights of grandchildren (as both grandson and granddaughter have equal rights) in grandfather”s property belonging to Hindu family depending upon the type of property and rules of succession.
Granddaughters have an equal share in the ancestral property of grandfather. According to legal provisions, both grandson and granddaughter have equal rights relating to share in grandfather’s property. But the right of grandchildren depends on what kind of property it is, i.e, grandfather’s self-acquired or ancestral property. The grandchildren have a birthright in ancestral property of grandfather but they do not have any such right in grandfather’s self-acquired property.
Right of grandchildren in ancestral property of grandfather
What is an ancestral property?
A property which a father inherits from his father, father’s father or great grandfather and which has been passed down from generation to generation.
Grandchildren’s right in grandfather’s ancestral property
If there is not any division yet, the right in ancestral property arises at birth itself, which is different from other forms of inheritance where the right to inheritance arises at the death of the owner. Therefore the share of every generation is determined before birth.
The property is distributed as such each share gets further divided into successive generations.
Right of grandchildren in self acquired property of grandfather
What is self acquired property?
The property which is bought from one”s own source of income is a self-acquired property. The owner has free choice to dispose of it as he wants.
Grandchildren’s right in self acquired property
The grandchildren cannot claim any right in self-acquired property of grandfather. It is all up to grandfather what he wants to do with his self-acquired property. No one can raise any objection.
Through a will
Any adult who is sane can execute a will. The one who executes it is a testator. A will is a legal document that specifies to whom the testator wants to pass on his property after his death. To whom it passes is known as legatees.
Therefore, if a deceased grandfather dies leaving behind a will, which species that particular grandchildren( grandson or granddaughter) will be legatee of a specified share of his property, then that grandchild will inherit the specified share of the property.
If grandfather dies without a will
If he dies without leaving behind a will, then only his immediate legal heirs i.e, his Wife, sons, and daughters will have the right over his property as per the provisions of the
Hindu Succession Act,1956.
The property acquired by the deceased’s wife, sons and daughters will be treated as their self acquired property and no one will have the right to claim ownership over such property.
If before grandfather’s death any of his son or daughter dies, then a legal heir of such deceased child’s son or daughter will acquire the property which was to be given to the son or daughter.
The grandson or granddaughter will have the right to get the share of the deceased father, and if the father is alive they will have no right.
Illustration: If A dies leaving behind his wife Z and four children B, C, D and E. One-fifth share will be inherited to wife and four children.
In a landmark judgment, the Supreme Court held that daughters will have equal coparcenary rights in Hindu Undivided Family properties, irrespective of whether the father was alive or not on 9 September 2005, when an amendment came into force.
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