Grandson's claim in a property
S Sharma
(Querist) 04 March 2011
This query is : Resolved
I had posted this query-
My father-in-law had two small shops adjacent to each other. He bought both of them himself and was not an inheritance. He gave both of them to my husband's brother through a registered will. My father in law is no more. My husband also died recently. Can my son get a share in the said shops. I have also come to know that my husband's brother has sold one of the shops. But he has signed a rental agreement with the new owner of the shop and pays him rent by cheque every month. He has also changed the name of the firm and created a new firm to do the same old business. Do I have any legal recourse to make a claim on the said property for my son who is 20 years old as this is his grandfather's self earned property. The registered will was not challenged before by my husband or by me till today.
Mr. P.S. Dhingra an expert gave the following reply -
Question of inheritance by the grandson arises on the existing non-transferred property only after the death of the owner. If the Grandfather had already transferred the ownership to some one when alive, the same cannot be claimed by the grandson now out of the ownership of his uncle. It would have been better to raise dispute before transfer of the ownership by your father-in-law to his other son.
It would however be better to convince the uncle of your son to share something with his nephew on moral grounds amicably, but not as a matter of right.
Now My question or concerns are as follows:
The grandfather did not transfer the ownership but gave the shops to his son via a registered will, which doesn't mean that the ownership was transferred. He became the owner on the basis of that registered will, after my father in law died . The shop has been sold after the death of my father in law on the basis of the said registered will given to my husband's brother. He is running the same business at the same shop taken on rent from the new owner of the shop but he has changed the name of the business firm. Do I have any legal right to claim a share in my son's name although the property has been sold to a third party.
Is it possible to challenge the will and file a claim now or is it too late?
R.Ramachandran
(Expert) 04 March 2011
Mr. Dhingra's answer is perfectly right and the grand son cannot claim any right now.
This is because, it is a private/personal property of your father-in-law. He has every right to dispose of the property in whichever way that he wants. No one can question his actions. In his wisdom, according to you, he had given his properties to one of his son (i.e. brother of your husband) through WILL. The Will would become effective upon the death of the testator (i.e. your father in law). Therefore after the death of your father-in-law, depending upon the place where the property is situate (i.e. Delhi, Mumbai, Calcutta, Chennai etc.) the WILL has to be got probated through Court by the beneficiary under the Will. At that time, if any one wants to challenge the validity of the Will (on the grounds of fraud, undue influence, coercison, pressure etc.) it could have been done. Apart from this, the grand son cannot raise any claim for any share in the property in question.
H.M.Patnaik
(Expert) 05 March 2011
What I understand from your query , you are not sure whether the so called WILL was Probated through court or not before transfer of ownership . In such an event, it would be advisable to consult an experienced civil lawyer of your area and discuss with him to ascertain the trail of events leading to transfer of ownership of the shop, so that if there is any latch , you can take appropriate course of action.
