Shruti 09 February 2022

Can mother write will on ancestral property

Mother's father died intestate and so she inherited property. Mother saying that she will write a will on this inherited property in favor of son, and exclude both daughters. She says that although will cannot be written on ancestral property, but this restriction is only for men. For women, they become absolute owners of property and she can will or gift to my bother to the exclusion of daughters. To me, it seems violation of amendment to HSA 2005. If not by father, daughters are getting discriminated by mother which HSA 2005 might not have taken into account, I don't know. First of all, is it true that women can write will on such ancestral property but not men? In that case, what are my options? Can I challenge such a will? Thanks, Shruti

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6 Replies

kavksatyanarayana (subregistrar/supdt.(retired)) 09 February 2022

Who are the legal heirs of your grandfather? Only, your mother? What about her mother and siblings?

Shruti 10 February 2022

Legal heirs are mother and her two brothers. Her mother died before her father.

Dibyakanti Modak 10 February 2022

if the father of your mother was the absolute owner of the property then the property is not at all ancestral property. to call a property ancestral , the property has to go through 5 generations.
now if I consider your mother does not have any sister or brother and her mother is dead, then your mother is the sole owner of the property now. she can make any will on it. this is applicable for a man also.

you can challenge the will based on merit but to my understanding it will be difficult for you to win the case unless you prove that your mother was not at all good mental condition when the will was made.

Kay Bee 10 February 2022

If the property held by mother's father is self-acquired, it does not qualify as ancestral assets. So even if he has bequeathed it to her, as it's her own separate property & she can bequeath it to whosoever when pleases as she's its sole owner . You can challenge the will on usual legal grounds of incapacity, coercion etc..

Anaita Vas 10 February 2022

Respected Shruti,

A testator is a person writing a will. Although a will can be made in a straightforward manner by an individual stuck at home, it can be very hard to prove in court if the will is challenged by anyone after the testator's death, especially if the will is unclear.

There's no provision that states that women can write a will and a man can't.

Regards,

Anaita Vas