My father : Late T. Venkateswarlu

905 votes

Please provide the complete facts, especially the adoption deed, date of adoption, service records, family details, and the agreement concerning the deceased employee’s benefits, so the legal position can be properly assessed.

Advocate Ravindra Anjaneyulu LawRato

888 votes

Your rights depend primarily on whether the adoption of the second son was a legally valid adoption and on the exact nature of your father’s property and service benefits. If the first wife’s son was validly adopted by another family, Section 12 of the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act generally severs his legal ties with the birth family from the date of adoption, subject to statutory exceptions. A registered adoption document also carries a statutory presumption under Section 16. Therefore, the adopted son’s claim against your father’s estate cannot be decided merely because he is the biological first wife's child. The date, deed, registration, ceremony, capacity of the persons involved, and circumstances of adoption must first be verified. If your father died intestate, the succession to his property is governed by the applicable personal law; under the Hindu Succession Act, Class I heirs succeed in accordance with Sections 8–10. You should collect the adoption deed, your father’s death certificate, service records/family pension or death-benefit records, property documents, legal-heir/family-member certificate, and any family settlement or agreement. Do not sign or accept any final settlement until the validity and legal effect of the adoption are examined.

Advocate Pavani Kumari LawRato