Property Dispute: Brother and Sister

794 votes

Hello,
For the query you posted, I would suggest the following:

As regards the facts presented by you, there are certain options availiable to you legally which may turn out to be helpful.

You can always file a partition suit wherein the property will be divided in accordance with your share and such a problem will stand abated.

You can as well come to an amicable settlement which should be the primary option.

I hope this answers your query.

Best
M.Far is

Advocate Mohd Faris LawRato

546 votes

Your Aunt has a share equal to your father in this ancestral property. You cannot force her to sell her portion, though you can demand legal partition and sell your share. Though, from a purely monetary perspective, that may not give you as much return as you may get if you sell the property as a whole and then divide the share. The best recourse will be to either postpone the sale of the house as per the wish of your aunt or to convice her to sell her share too. But since that seems very unlikely, you may start the partition proceeding which should force her to accept your demand as it will reduce the value of her share too. Contact me if you want to take these actions.

Advocate Prateek Kumar LawRato

920 votes

There are two kinds of properties: self-acquired and ancestral.

In case the property of grandfather was self acquired and he did not leave any will behind, then by law (Hindu Succession Act, 1956; S.6 r/w S.8) the property will devolve by what is known as intestate succession (Succession in absence of will). Under this succession the property would devolve upon class-I heirs which in this case would include, among others, the Son, Daughter and the wife of the deceased.

I'm leaving the succession of the ancestral property undisccused, as it is usually very unlikely to be the case. If however it is so, let me know and I'll discuss it.

Advocate Nikhil Sabharwal LawRato

523 votes

As per the information provided by you, the following picture emerges:

The house was owned by your grandfather and the he died intestate, i.e., without leaving any Will. Further, after his death he is survived by his widow, i.e., your grand mother and two children, i.e., your father and your aunt.

Thus, as per law, your grandmother, your father and your aunt have inherited the property in equal shares, i.e., 1/3rd Share each. If your aunt is not willing to relinquish her share then she at present is entitled to 1/3rd share in the property.

However, if she is not willing to sell the property, then the only option is to file a suit for partition whereby the provided is divided into three portion and if division is not possible then the property is sold through auction and each share holder gets 1/3rd share in the sale proceeds. As far as papers are concerned, certified copies of the documents can be procured from respective authorities if details of such documents are known.

Advocate Pulkit Agarwal LawRato