How is property divided among siblings when a parent leaves an unregistered will

• A will does not need registration to be valid under the Indian Succession Act
• Sisters can claim their share as per the will unless it is contested
• Unbequeathed assets are equally inherited by all legal heirs under Hindu Succession Act.

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Is an unregistered will left by a deceased parent legal and how is the property to be distributed among heirs under Indian succession laws? Today’s Ask Wallet-Wise explains how an unregistered will can be legally enforced for distribution of property among siblings.

Ask Wallet-Wise initiative offers expert advice on matters related to personal finance and money-related queries. You can email your queries to askwalletwise@nw18.com, and we will try to get a top financial expert to address.

My father passed away in 2022, leaving behind six daughters and five sons. The property he left behind has not been partitioned. He made a will but it was not registered. The sisters asked for their share in the property and moved court in 2024. They filed a case under the Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005. The property was purchased by my father out of his earnings. Please advise how we should move ahead?

Expert’s advice: The concept of ancestral property is no longer valid after the enactment of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, unless the property was acquired before the enactment of the law.  The properties acquired by your father out of his own earnings are his personal assets and not the assets of the Hindu Undivided Family (HUF).

Under the Indian Succession Act, a will is not required to be registered to make it valid and legally enforceable. Therefore, the will executed by your father is very much valid unless it is contested on some other grounds.

The Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005, which came into force on September 9, 2005, amended the 1956 Act to grant daughters equal rights by birth just like sons.

Your sisters can claim their share in the assets which your father had bequeathed in his will. Had your father passed away without leaving a will, which is called dying intestate, all the legal heirs, your sisters and brothers along with your mother (if alive) and paternal grandmother (if alive) are entitled to get an equal share in the assets left by your father as per the scheme of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956.

In case only some of the assets have been bequeathed by your father under the will, the assets that are not bequeathed will be inherited by the above legal heirs equally.