Whether to disinherit or Not Mention Son's Name in Beneficiary in Will

853 votes

Under Hindu law, you are free to bequeath your self-acquired property to anyone through a will. It is always safer to expressly state that you are intentionally excluding your son and his daughter from inheritance and that no share is being given to them, instead of merely omitting their names. This avoids future allegations that they were forgotten or that the will was executed under misunderstanding. Clearly describe each property, name only your daughters as beneficiaries, add a specific clause of exclusion, appoint an executor and ensure the will is properly attested by two witnesses. Registration of the will, though not mandatory, further strengthens its authenticity and reduces the scope of future challenge.

Advocate Madhvi Chopra LawRato

863 votes

Under Hindu law, you are free to dispose of your self-acquired property by way of a Will in any manner you choose. Your son or granddaughter do not have any automatic or compulsory right in your self-acquired property during your lifetime or after your death, if you leave a valid Will. Merely leaving out the name of your son and granddaughter and naming only your daughters as beneficiaries is legally sufficient. Even if you do not expressly mention them, the Will will operate strictly in favour of the named beneficiaries. However, from a practical and litigation-prevention perspective, it is usually better to explicitly record your intention. The safer approach is to clearly state in the Will that: • You have consciously and intentionally decided not to give any share to your son and his daughter, and • You are bequeathing your entire estate only to your daughters. This does not require you to give detailed reasons or allegations. A simple statement showing conscious exclusion is enough. Such a clause helps prevent future challenges where excluded heirs claim that their omission was accidental, due to oversight, lack of capacity, or undue influence. Express disinheritance is particularly useful if: • There are strained family relations, or • You anticipate a challenge to the Will after your lifetime. Registration of the Will is not mandatory, but a registered Will, executed when you are in sound mental health and attested by two independent witnesses, significantly strengthens its evidentiary value. One important caveat: if any part of the property you are dealing with is ancestral or joint family property, you cannot disinherit a son from his coparcenary share by Will. The above advice applies only to self-acquired property over which you have absolute ownership. In summary, while simply naming your daughters as beneficiaries is legally valid, expressly recording that you are intentionally excluding your son and granddaughter is the better and more robust option to avoid disputes and ensure your wishes are honoured.

Advocate Yuganshu Sharma LawRato

588 votes

You can simply omit his name from your Will and ensure to get your Will registered. That will be more than enough. There is no need to explicitly disinherit your son. You can however state reasons for leaving him out of the Will.

Advocate Shekhar Banerjee LawRato

986 votes

While making the WILL you can explicitly mention everything whatever you wish to include as your last testament. You can mention your daughters as the beneficiaries and can also mention about your Will of not giving anything to your son and his daughter. Both things can be stated simultaneously and it is always better to mention everything explicitly. We can make an elaborative WILL for you which shall include all the required information. For any further assistance please feel free to contact.

Advocate Jia Kapur LawRato

930 votes

Explicitly disinherit your son to prevent claims of oversight. State that he and his daughter are intentionally excluded and name your daughters as sole beneficiaries. Registering the Will in Delhi with a medical certificate of your sound mind adds legal weight and prevents future challenges.

Advocate Pankaj Bajaj LawRato