Can wife claim husband property before or after divorce

96 votes

In case of Divorce from the Husband

Before Divorce
Under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, a wife has the right to maintenance and support from her husband during the subsistence of the marriage. This includes the right to reside in the matrimonial home and to claim a share in the husband's property if it is deemed to be acquired during the marriage by the husband and wife together. 
However, since a wife is not a coparcener in husband's joint family, she has no right or title to the ancestral property.
However, if the property in question is the husband's self-acquired property, the wife may not have a right to claim a share in it during the subsistence of the marriage. In such cases, the wife may only be entitled to maintenance and support from her husband.

After Divorce
Under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, a wife may be entitled to claim maintenance from her husband after the divorce. The maintenance can be in the form of a lump sum payment or a periodic payment. If the husband fails to provide for the maintenance, the wife may be entitled to claim a share in the husband's property.
Additionally, if the property is deemed to be joint family property or the property acquired during the marriage by the husband and wife together, the wife may have a right to claim a share in it after the divorce.

In case of Death of Husband during marriage

When the ancestral property is divided, each coparcener receives his or her own part. The ancestral property then becomes the coparcener's self-acquired property. If a coparcener dies intestate, his property is inherited by his wife, who is a class I heir. 
In terms of self-acquired property, the wife has no rights during the husband's lifetime. A wife is entitled to a share of her husband's self-acquired property after his death. If her spouse dies intestate, she will be entitled to a part of the estate (without making a will). If the husband does not leave any property to his wife in his testamentary will, the woman will receive nothing from the deceased husband's self-acquired property.

It is important to understand the property rights of women after divorce in India. For more information, you can contact me. 

LawRato LawRato

502 votes

Dear,

A wife is not legally entitled to her husband's self acquired property and can only enjoy her husband's self acquired property till her husband's death. A wife cannot claim her husband's property before or after divorce. At most, a wife can only claim money for her maintenance or alimony.

Advocate B. Srikiran LawRato

880 votes

It depends on the type of property,
If it's ancestorial then it is different
and if it is self earned ( by the husband) and sometimes a property is purchased with the income (money) of both Husband and wife.
All these factors need to be considered.

Advocate Syed Hashim Adil LawRato

674 votes

Yes, wife can claim the property from husband, once she have stated that she is not okay to share life with and wants divorce. and it will also depends on circumstances of the particular situation then the court will decide.

Advocate Sharath Chandra Murthy LawRato

126 votes

In answer to your query regarding ‘can wife claim husband property after divorce in India or before divorce’, here are four situations in which the wife can lay claim to the property of her husband.
Shared or jointly owned property – when a property is jointly owned by spouses, the wife will be a joint owner and may seek part claim on that property.  How much of the share in the property the wife will get will be decided by how the division of assets are fixed at the time of the divorce case proceedings. 
Maintenance amount – A wife can seek maintenance, after divorce, from her husband.  This includes financial support.
Intestate passing away of husband and inheritance rights – According to the Indian Succession Act, if the husband passing away intestate (without having made a will), the wife could claim a share in the property owned by her husband. 
Legal heirs - The children of the marriage are legal heirs even after a divorce and the wife can claim a share in her ex-husband’s property for their rights.

In case of property that is the husband’s self-acquired property, purchased by him and is in his name, the wife generally cannot lay direct claim to it, during or post divorce. But, with negotiation or mediation an agreement may be reached for division of assets that also include property.

Furthermore, if you need to educate yourself more, please read through our lawguides.

Advocate Chikirsha Mohanty LawRato

214 votes

In conclusion, the answer to the question: Can a wife in India claim her husbands property after a divorce is no. She can claim only for the property that she paid a monetary portion. After divorce, she can ask for maintenance to maintain a better standard of living. This is known as alimony.

Advocate Chikirsha Mohanty LawRato