Can daughter claim father's property when father is alive?

After the 2005 Amendment, daughters became the equal sharer with sons in the ancestral property or Hindu Undivided Family (HUF) property by their birth. Even though the father can testate his entire self-acquired properties, he can’t testate his entire HUF or ancestral properties without including his daughters. So, can daughter claim father's property when father is alive? Let’s find out.

If a father testates his HUF or ancestral property without giving the right to his daughters then the daughters can claim their right in that HUF or ancestral property by challenging the Will when he is alive or even after he dies. I want you to know that in case the will is about the father's self-acquired property then, daughters can’t challenge that will.

In a nutshell, daughters can’t challenge the will of the self- acquired properties but can challenge the Will of ancestral properties in case their right gets affected by that Will.

To make it clear to you, a Hindu Undivided Family property is a property that is jointly held by the members of the HUF and the Ancestral property is a property that is inherited up to 4 generations of male lineage and stayed undivided during this time.

I hope you like my answer to “can a daughter claim on father's property”.

Property division is hard, especially after someone’s death. My cousins fought a lot after their father’s death. I remember one of my cousins asking, can daughter claim father's property if father died before 2005 and at that time I had no clue about it and hence could not help at all. Amendments have been made in 2005, so let me give you a brief explanation of the rules.

What rights were given to daughters in 2005?

Amendments were made to the Hindu Succession Act 1956 in 2005 and since then, daughters have been given equal rights as sons to get an equal share in ancestral property. 

Can daughter claim father's self-acquired property when father is alive?

A daughter cannot claim her father’s property if the father is alive and has transferred his self-acquired property to someone else. The rights of the daughter will actually depend on the case, so it is better to consult with a legal expert. So if you are wondering when daughter cannot claim father's property, learn that if her father has died before 2005 or has already drafted a will, she will have no claim over her father’s property.

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Hey Pal,

One of my friends, Anurupa, got married against the wishes of her parents. Hence, her father refused to provide her with any share of his property. During this time Anurupa visited a legal practitioner and enquired, “

Can daughter claim father's property against his will?”

To this response, the lawyer told that Hindu daughters would be entitled to inherit their father's property in the absence of any other legal heirs, according to a ruling by the Supreme Court on January 21. 

They would also receive preference over other family members in inheriting the property even if the father does not leave behind a will.

If the daughter is the only heir, she has a legal claim to the property through her biological relationship rather than through the male members of the extended family. The legal daughter will not be able to establish any claims if a will specifies that the property rights belong to the male heirs of the family. This could be a case when a daughter cannot claim father's property. 

Boys and girls will each be given an equal share of the father's possessions, according to the legislation.

The Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005 will not apply to female family members who have joined the family in other ways, such as marriage, despite the fact that it recognises the rights of married daughters in the father's property. This is because they cannot claim their father-in-law's property.

Hope this answers your question, “

Can daughter claim father's property against his will?”

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Hi there,

The Hindu Succession Act, 1956 was amended in 2005 to give daughters an equal right on their parent’s property as sons. But even after so many years of amendment, there are many parents who deprive their daughters of equal rights to their property. I have seen a live example of this when my best friend’s parents completely negated even the thought of including her in the share of their property when they were dividing their ancestral property among their children. But what was more surprising to me was that my best friend wasn’t even aware of daughters right in fathers property. There can be many girls and women like her, so, I want to share all that I know about the Supreme Court decision on property rights of daughter.

Yes, a daughter can claim father’s property when father is alive, in India. There are 5 such cases, 1 of which has been explained by Miss Jayati. She has clearly explained if a daughter can claim ancestral property if the father is alive. I am going to explain the other 4 cases.

• In case the property is self-acquired by father:

  If a father paid for a house with his own money, he has complete freedom to give it to anyone he wants. In this instance, if the father refuses to give her a part, the daughter will be unable to object.

• In case father dies without a will:

  If a father dies without leaving a will, his estate will be split equally among his lawful heirs. A male's heirs are divided into four categories under the Hindu Succession Act. In this instance, class I heirs, which include widows, daughters, and sons, receive the inheritable property first. 

• In case daughter is married:

  Daughters have been recognised as coparceners since the amendment in 2005, and her marital status has no bearing on her access to her father's property.

• If daughter was born or father died before 2005:

  She would have no claim to the ancestral property if her father died before 2005. Self-acquired property, on the other hand, will be distributed according to the father's will. However, a daughter's date of birth has no bearing on her right to her father's property, whether ancestral or self-acquired.

I hope I was able to share my thoughts properly on

daughters right in fathers property.

As Jayati rightly mentioned, the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, which originally didn’t offer equal rights to daughters in case of ancestral property (property that is inherited up to 4 generations of male lineage), was amended in 2005 to offer them equal rights in ancestral property. Let me share some situations where you, a daughter can/cannot claim your father's property.

If a father has purchased a property with his own money, then he can gift it to anybody he wants. In this case, if the father doesn’t give a share to his daughter, then she can’t raise an objection.

Only sons had a share in an ancestral property before 2005. However, after the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 was amended, both sons and daughters have equal rights to this property by birth. So, in such cases, a father can’t give such property to anybody he wants to. Daughters have a share in the ancestral property by birth. This was the supreme court decision on property rights of daughter.

The father needs to have been alive on 09-09-2005 (when the Hindu Succession Act was amended) for his daughter to claim a share in his property. If the father had died before 2005, she won’t have any right over the ancestral property. However, a daughter’s date of birth (if she is born after or before 09-09-2005) doesn’t make any difference to her right over her father's property, be it self-acquired or ancestral.

Before 09-09-2005, married daughters weren’t considered a member of HUF (Hindu Undivided Family). But after 09-09-2005, daughters have been recognised as a coparcener and their marital status does not make any difference to their right over the property of their father.

If a father dies intestate, then his property will be divided equally among all the legal heirs. As per the Hindu Succession Act, a male's heirs are classified into 4 classes. In this case, his property goes first to class I heirs, which include his daughters, sons, and widow.

Now you know the answer to your query on “can daughter claim father's property when father is alive in India”

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Now you know all about the daughters right in fathers property.