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WEALTH WHINES Money & Relationships

Daughter’s right to dad’s property

Here are the situations in which she can stake a claim, says Riju Mehta

Financial dependence, be it on the father, brother or husband, has been at the root of much hardship for women over the years. It was with the idea of leveling this playing field that the Hindu Succession Act 1956 was amended in 2005, allowing daughters an equal share in ancestral property. Find out if your father can still deprive you of your share in the property.

1 If the property is ancestral

Under Hindu law, the property is of two types: ancestral and self-acquired. Ancestral property is inherited up to four generations of male lineage and must remain undivided through this period. For descendants, be it a daughter or son, an equal share in such property accrues by birth. Before 2005, only sons had a share in such property. So, by law, a father cannot will this property to anyone he wants to, or deprive a daughter of her share.

2 If the property is self-acquired

If the father has bought a piece of land or house with his own money, a daughter is on weaker ground. In this case, he has the right to gift the property or will it to anyone he wants, and a daughter can’t raise an objection.

3 If the father dies intestate

If the father dies without leaving a will, all legal heirs have an equal right to the property. The Hindu Succession Act categorizes a male’s heirs into four classes and the inheritable property goes first to Class I heirs. These include widow, daughters, and sons, among others. Each heir is entitled to one part of the property. So, a daughter has a right to a share in the father’s property.

4 If the daughter is married

Before 2005, the Hindu Succession Act considered daughters only as members of the Hindu Undivided Family (HUF), not coparceners. The latter are the lineal descendants of a common ancestor, with the first four generations having a birthright to ancestral or self-acquired property. Once the daughter was married, she was no longer considered a HUF member. After 2005, the daughter was recognized as a coparcener and her marital status makes no difference to her right over the father’s property.

5 If the daughter was born or father died before 2005

It does not matter if the daughter was born before or after 9 September 2005, when the amendment to the Act was carried out. She will have the same rights as a son to the father’s property, be it ancestral or self-acquired, irrespective of her date of birth. On the other hand, the father has to have been alive on 9 September 2005 for the daughter to stake a claim over his property. If he had died before 2005, she will have no right over the ancestral property, and self-acquired property will be distributed as per the father’s will.