As a married woman, do I have any rights over my parents’ property?

Inheritance laws in India differ according to the religion of the property owner.

For several years now, women of all religious beliefs have had certain rights over their family’s property. Though, their religion has defined the extent of those rights.

Property laws in our country have progressed greatly from what they used to be a few decades ago, although they are still not entirely gender neutral.

Here’s the essence of the property rights granted by law to married daughters in India.

Under Hindu Law

• A daughter becomes entitled to a share in the family’s property by birth.
• Her rights to the parents’ property do not end after she gets married. A married daughter has the same rights as an unmarried one.
• A married daughter has the same rights in the parents’ property as a son.
• Where a parent dies without leaving a valid will, a married daughter’s share will be equal to the son’s.
• A married woman also has a right equal to her brother in any ancestral property of her family.
• A married daughter has the same duties and liabilities as a son in relation to the parents’ property.
• Any property inherited by a married woman is held by her as an absolute owner, unless otherwise specified in the will.
• Married women are free to dispose of the property that they inherit from their parents in any manner.

These laws have been laid out in the Hindu Succession Act, 1956. The Act applies to all women who are Hindu, Buddhist, Jain or Sikh by religion.

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Under Muslim Law

• A daughter receives half of the share of a son to their father’s estate, meaning that the son is entitled to twice the share of the daughter.
• Even if the father wants to give her an equal share through a will, existing laws do not permit it. Her share will be limited to half the share of her brother’s.
• She has absolute control over the property she inherits.
• She has the legal right to control, manage and dispose of her share in the property as she pleases, during her lifetime or after her death (by way of a will).

The Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act, 1937 governs the property rights of Muslims in India where there is no registered will. However, it is yet to be codified.

Under Christian Law

• In Christian law, daughters inherit equally with any brothers in their father’s or mother’s property, where the parent has died without leaving a valid will.
• The marital status of a daughter does not affect her rights to inherit from her parents’ property.

The Indian Succession Act, 1925 applies to the transfer of property of Christians, Parsis and Jews in India.

Over the years, various concerns regarding the inheritance laws in our country have been ironed out to make them less discriminatory towards women (like the amendment to the Hindu Succession Act in the year 2005 pursuant to which women are now treated at par with their male counterparts).

Yet, there are a number of difficulties in the application of these rights, including low legal literacy rates in women as a natural consequence of our society’s patriarchal mindset.

Patriarchy thrives when women remain uninformed of their legal rights, especially when it concerns their rights to their family’s property.

For this reason, the first step towards change must be to educate ourselves of our rights and appreciate our claim to the fair share.

[Disclaimer: This post is an attempt to raise awareness of laws affecting Indian women. The post is only for general information and is not meant to substitute legal advice.]