Partition and maintenance
PPBiswas
(Querist) 18 June 2014
This query is : Resolved
My father died intestate leaving behind my mother(housewife), elder sister(schoolteacher in govt. H.S. school) and myself(service in govt. of india). My mother and sister filed a partition suit for our house and after several years, court has granted equal one third right to all three. I'm always prepared to take full responsibility for my mother and I'm also elligible to get full medical benefit for my mother but my mother has refused time and again to get herself included in a family photograph which must be submitted to my office if any benefit is to be claimed for her. She has always favoured my sister who is married but lives with my mother and has usurped all the money my father left behind.I'm certain that once our house is partitioned, my sister and her husband will force my mother to gift her portion to themselves and then they'll drive my mother out and force her to seek maintenance from me.1. What can I do to prevent or preempt such steps?
2.Can I send a letter to my mother from a lawyer on my behalf intimating that unless she declares herself dependent on me by submitting family photograph, she will not be able to claim any support from me in future?
3.Will such a letter be sufficient to defend myself from any future claim for maintenance?
4.If my mother gifts all her assets - movable or immovable - to my sister who is married with a family and working in govt school as teacher, then can my mother claim any maintenance from her son whom she has deprived?
5.Since my mother has never earned any money nor had any dowry and my father built his house entirely out of his own income, can my mother gift her portion to her daughter depriving her son?
Devajyoti Barman
(Expert) 19 June 2014
1. If your mother us affectionate to her daughter only ignoring the sorry future that you are presuming, you can do nothing in it. May this would be the time when you mother cold understand the real picture of her children.
2.No, you can not do anything like that nor you are advised to contemplate on that line also.
3. No, nothing is sufficient to avoid maintenance of your mother.
4. Yes, she can. Only son is liable for maintenance of mother not the daughter.
4. She has 1/3rd share in the house and she can transfer her share to anyone she chooses.
Rajendra K Goyal
(Expert) 19 June 2014
1. The case is in the court, you can not do any thing till your mother agrees.
2. You can send but it is doubtful it would serve any useful purpose till mindset of your mother is changed.
3.It is doubtful that such a letter, if you prefer to send, would be sufficient to defend yourself from any future claim for maintenance.
4.Legally she can gift and also can claim maintenance.
5.She has right to gift her portion.
malipeddi jaggarao
(Expert) 19 June 2014
If your father died intestate when you have 1 brother and 1 sister how the property is bestowed on 3 by the court leaving your brother?
Regarding your specific queries:
1. Why do you fore-see that she will be thrown out of house? She has faith in them and let her have the same.
2. Only pre-empt the purported support that she would claim in case she is thrown out of your sister's house, you need not send any letter right now. If she is really thrown, if you are capable of supporting her, extend the same instead of having prior planning to throw her out.
3. It is upto to deny future claim of support when she gives all her property to another daughter.
4. claiming maintainance from her son - why do you bother? It is for him to respond.
5. She gift the property to anybody.
R.K Nanda
(Expert) 19 June 2014
agree with experts.
PPBiswas
(Querist) 20 June 2014
Extremely sorry for inconvenience: I'd forgotten to mention that I'm the son. Hence my questions were put. I request all the experts to kindly look at the following para in Parental Maintenance act 2007:
1.Ch II para 4 states that all the children will be liable to pay maintenance proportionate to their claim on inheritance.Since my sister will normally inherit half of the share of my mother and as she is earning member, she should legally have equal responsibility for maintenance of our mother compared to son(myself).
2.Ch V para 23 states that that gift or transfer of property of a senior citizen to one/more children will be void and nullified if the child receiving her property fails to maintain her. As per this clause, if my mother gives her property to her daughter who is a working woman, then her claim for maintenance must be directed towards her daughter who is recipient of her property. Please clarify this point.
Thank you all the experts
Devajyoti Barman
(Expert) 20 June 2014
As log as you are alive, it is your primary duty to maintain your mother.
Biswanath Roy
(Expert) 21 June 2014
Simply by serving a notice/letter you cannot legally deprive your mother from maintenance.
Your mother can dispose of her own share in the property to any body according to her own will.
prabhakar singh
(Expert) 21 June 2014
Your mother as as much rights and share in the house left by your father as you and your sister has,say equal.
Like you or your sister,your mother has absolute transferable rights even favor of
strangers.
Your mother without earning is legally a dependent on you as well as on your employed sister.
Your duty to maintain your mother can not be discharged simply for reason that your mother has gifted her share in house property to your sister.
T. Kalaiselvan, Advocate 
(Expert) 22 June 2014
Very well addressed and explained by all experts, hope you are convinced of your position and that of your mother's ? from the insistence in your query, it appears that you are more interested i your mother's share of the property and not in well being, please look back.
