Rules Relating to Intestate Succession

An individual who passes away without leaving a will is referred to as intestate, and the transfer of his assets is known as intestate succession. Under intestate succession, the assets are passed down by the legislation or customs that govern the decedent. The Indian Succession Act delineates the process for distributing an individual’s belongings in the event of an intestate death. As per the relevant personal statute, the assets acquire vested rights. There are major issues when there are several heirs since some assets are more profitable than others.

Key Takeaways

• When a person passes away without leaving a valid and legal will, they are considered intestate, and the transfer of their assets or estate is referred to as intestate succession.
• Property can be transferred through inheritance. The right of an heir to inherit property upon the death of an ancestor through a line of succession is known as inheritance.
• An heir is a person who has the legal right to inherit assets following the passing of an intestate.
• Every religion has its regulations to cover intestate succession, some religion follows the succession act, while some follow their religious scripture.

The following mentioned are the rules relating to intestate succession:

A Hindu male’s heirs are divided into four classes: class I, class II, agnates, and cognates.

• Class I Heirs: They are the most favored heirs, consist of the mother, wife, son, daughter, and their offspring through the third generation.
• Class II Heirs: They are the father, brother, sister, and their offspring, as well as maternal and paternal uncles, aunts, grandparents, and grandmothers.
• Only in the event that there are no Class I heirs will property pass to Class II heirs.
• Property passes to agnates in the event that neither Class I nor Class II heirs survive.

Who are Agnates?

Agnates are two people who are linked to each other either by blood or adoption, only through men.

For example, If you think about a family tree, P is the oldest person we’re talking about, like a great-great-grandpa. S is his son, SS is his grandson, SSS is his great-grandson, and SSSS1 is his great-great-grandson. In this setup, SSSS1 is connected to P only through male relatives – his dad, grandpa, and great-grandpa. If none of these direct male relatives are around to inherit property, then it goes to other relatives related by blood but not necessarily just through males.

Who are Cognates?

Those who are not only linked to each other via men but are related by blood or adoption are referred to as cognates.

For example, Let’s say P is someone’s great-grandpa. F is their dad, FM is their grandma on their dad’s side, and FMF1 is their great-grandma’s dad. FMF1 is a cognate because there’s a woman (FM) in between him and P.

The heirs of a Hindu woman who passes away intestate are split into five groups. It is desired for the heirs in early categories to have precedence over those in later categories.

• The husband, son, daughter, and children of a deceased son and daughter are included in the first group.
• The second category comprises the husband’s heirs.
• The father and mother are in the third group.
• Their heirs are in the fourth and fifth categories, respectively.

Muslims do not have any written laws regarding succession. Their holy scriptures serve as their legal code to regulate intestate succession.

Rules of Intestate Succession Among Sunni Muslims

• The three types of heirs recognized by Sunnis are: Sharers (heirs of the Quran), Residuaries (agnatic heirs), and Distant Kindred (uterine heirs).
• The most favored heirs are sharers. Sharers are first given their Quranic shares. After giving them their shares, everything that remains goes to residuaries.
• Sharers exclude residuaries and distant relatives if their shares exhaust the entire inheritance.
• As long as there is an heir who falls under the sharer or residual class, the distant relatives are not eligible to succeed. However, there is one instance when distant relatives will inherit with the wife or spouse of the dead; there are no additional sharers or residuaries.

Rules of Intestate Succession Among Shia Muslims

Heirs among Shias fall into two groups, namely:

• Heirs by consanguinity.
• Heirs by marriage, such as those of a husband and wife,.

Heirs by Consanguinity

Consanguinity-based heirs are further separated into three classes:

• Class I: Parents and kids are included in Class I.
• Class II: Grandparents, siblings, and their offspring, among others, are included in Class II.
• Class III.: The deceased’s parents, grandparents, and uncles and aunts, both maternal and paternal, are included in Class III.

The first group excludes the second, and the second group excludes the third among the consanguineous heirs. If there are heirs in both categories—that is, heirs by marriage and heirs by consanguinity—then the claims in both categories inherit jointly.

The Indian Succession Act of 1925 is a federal law that is applicable to all individuals, unless they are subject to any specific laws that apply to them. The Act does not apply to Muslims or Hindus. However, this Act governs Christians and Parsis.

The Indian Succession Act of 1925 established the following rules for Christians’ intestate succession:

• Priority is given to the deceased’s spouse and his lineal descendants, such as children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, or their distant lineal descendants.
• When there are no lineal descendants, property passes to the deceased’s spouse and those who are kindred (consanguinity is the connection or relation of persons descended from the same stock or common ancestor).
• If there isn’t a kindred, the property descends to lineal descendants or those who are related to him.
• The whole property belongs to his or her spouse if there are no kindred or lineal descendants.

Rule of Escheat

Every community is subject to the escheat rule. According to this provision, property passes to the government if no heir is present.

If a Hindu dies without any will and without any heir, what will happen to his/her estate?

In a case where a person who has departed has no heir or no decedents, the government will undertake the estate of such person according to the applicable rule.

Do daughters have equal rights in inheritance as compared to son?

From birth, a son is entitled to share in joint family property under Hindu law. The Hindu Succession Act, 1956 contained gender discriminatory provisions which was succeeded by the Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005 to remove such gender discrimination in inheritance. Now, daughters have equal inheritance rights under the Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005.

Is there any difference between shares of inheritance in Muslim law?

Muslim does not make any gap between the rights of males and women. On the death of their ancestor, nothing can prevent both girl and male kid to becoming the legal heirs of inheritable property. But generally speaking, it’s discovered that the quantum of the share of a female heir is half of that of the male heirs. The reason for this is that, in accordance with Islamic law, a woman will receive maintenance and mehr from her spouse, while men will only receive the property of the ancestors for inheritance.

Does a criminal or convicted person possess eligibility to inherit under Muslim laws?

Under Muslim personal rules, an heir being a felon or a criminal does not always exclude him to inherit his portion of the property. However, under Hanafi law, if an heir is accountable for the death of the deceased whose property he is to inherit, irrespective of the crime being deliberate, he is disqualified to inherit. According to Shia law, an heir is only ineligible for inheritance if he deliberately caused the death of the decedent.

When does the property go to agnates?

The agnates have the right over the property when there are no heir in class I and class II.

Reference:

• Legal Studies, Class XI- NCERT
• INDIA CODE

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