The most important amongst these legislations is the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, which codified the rules relating to succession and inheritance of property of an individual as well as joint family property. This article deals with the rights of a Hindu daughter in the family as well as parental property.
Individual property of a Hindu
A Hindu male and female have unrestricted right to bequeath their self-acquired property the way they wish through a Will. However, in case a Hindu dies without leaving a valid Will in respect of all properties or some of the properties, he is said to have died intestate in respect of such properties and his assets pass on to his legal heir as per the provisions of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956.
In case of the death of her mother, a daughter is entitled to a share equal to that of her brother. The father will also get the same share as that of his son/daughter. In case any of her brothers or sisters have died before the death of the mother, their children/legal heirs will get a share to which their deceased parent would have received had he/she been alive.
In case of the death of her father, a daughter is entitled to get a share equal to that of her brother. Her mother and grandmother will also be entitled to get a share equal to that of a son/daughter. Children of a predeceased son/daughter will be entitled in the same way to the property of the father had their parent been alive.
Rights of a Hindu daughter in the joint family property
The Hindu law recognises a peculiar concept called HUF, Hindu Joint Family, which means a family of persons who are lineally descended from a common male ancestor and are related to each other by birth or marriage. The people in a joint family are divided into two categories.
The first category comprises all those who come into the family by birth or due to adoption and are called coparceners. The second category comprises female members who come into the family by virtue of their marriage to a male member. All the coparceners are members, but vice versa is not true.
Before the amendment of the law in September 2005, only male members were treated as coparceners, but after the amendment of the law, daughters are also treated as coparceners w.e.f. 09-09-2005, and have the same rights as those of a son.
Before the amendment of the law daughter did not have any direct claim over the joint family property, but she was entitled to get her share out of her father’s share in the joint family on his death in the same way as if it were his individual property. To find out the share of the father in the joint family property, a notional partition was deemed to have taken place immediately before his death.
However, in case the male had no female heirs, his share in the joint family property would pass on to the remaining coparceners by survivorship. Section 6 of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, which deals with a coparcener’s right in the joint HUF property, was amended in 2005 w.e.f. 09-09-2005.
After the amendment, the daughter became a coparcener on her birth and gets all the rights attached with coparcenary, including the right to ask for partition of the joint property as well as to become Karta of the HUF.
It is interesting to note that even after the amendment, it is only the daughter born in the family who gets the coparcenary rights and not the other female members who come into the family by virtue of marriage. They are still treated as members only and are thus not entitled to ask for the partition. Though after the marriage, the daughter ceases to be a member of her parental HUF, she continues to be a coparcener.
After the death of a daughter, her share in the joint family property passes on to her legal heirs. The share which a daughter gets on partition of the Hindu Joint family becomes her individual property, which she is entitled to dispose of the way she wants.
It may be noted that a daughter is not entitled to gift her share in the Hindu Joint Family property while she is alive, but can bequeath her share in the joint family property through a Will. In case there is no valid Will, her share in the joint property will pass on to her legal heirs as per the provisions of Section 6 of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956.
Balwant Jain is a tax and investment expert. He can be reached at jainbalwant@gmail.com and @jainbalwant his X handle.
