My grandfather passed away in 1988 and had written a will ( handwritten but not registered). As per the will, property ( 1 acre ancesteral land) was to be partioned between his two sons only post the death of my grandmother. My grandfather has 4 daughters all of whom were married before his death. The will states that at the time of partition, the sons are to give each sister INR 50,000 for partition to take effect.
My grandmother passed away this year. When partition talks started, the daughters are demanding equal share of the property and claims that INR 50,000 written in 1988 is not valid in this time. They claim that there has been a rule revision where the fathers property is eligible for all children equally and are disputing the will. The original witnesses of the will my grandfather had written have all passed away. This incident is happeneing in Kerala.
I need clarifications on the following:
- Are the daughters right in disputing the will?
- Is a handwritten but not registered 'will' valid in the court of law?
- What is the best possible way forward to settle this issue?
- In case of dispute by the daughters, how much time will it approximately take for the court to pass a verdict?
- We are a family of christians and would like to know if 'Hindu Succession Act' is applicable to us.
Would really appreciate all the inputs i can get on this,
Many Thanks.
Diamond Antoo
