Ancestral Property and Self-Acquired Property under Succession Laws in India

The succession laws of land help in the transfer of assets and wealth of a deceased person to his legal heirs in accordance with the respective succession acts. Under the succession laws there are two types of property that an individual can acquire in India.

Ancestral Property and Self-Acquired Property

Ancestral property or unobstructed heritage is a word heard and used by us in many occasions, the exact meaning of the term remains unknown to the majority. A proper definition of the term has not been given under any statute governing inheritance and succession, but relying on the judgements by the court gives us proper clarity.

The definition of ancestral property in common parlance is any property inherited from one’s ancestor and passed on through the generations.

Under the Mitakshara school of law of Hindu Succession principles, for a property to be an ancestral property, it must remain an undivided property and the right to ancestral property arises from the birth itself.

In the case of Sarvamma v. U. R. Virupakshaiah (2010) SCC Kar 16, the court held that the ancestral property is inherited up to four generations of male lineage and must remain undivided throughout the period of lineage. i.e., property inherited by a Hindu from his father, father’s father, or father’s father’s father is referred to as the ancestral property.

In general, ancestral property refers to a property that can be inherited for up to four generations, this property should have remained an undivided family asset until the fourth generation. A self-acquired and undivided property owned by a person’s great great grandfather eventually becomes an ancestral property.

When ancestral property is divided among members of a joint hindu family, it becomes self-acquired property in the hands of a family member.

The properties that do not fall under ancestral property are:

1. Self-acquired property;

2. Properties divided under partition deeds, family arrangements, etc.;

3. Inheritance of properties from mothers, grandmothers, uncles and siblings;

4. The properties inherited by a person under a Will or a gift.

Self-acquired property is any property not acquired as part of a joint family or ancestral property. A self-acquired property is a property that has been acquired by a person by using his own funds. It can also include those assets acquired under a Will, gift, or inherited from father, mother, brother.

Partition of Ancestral Property: A partition of ancestral property occurs when two or more family members want to claim ownership of their share separately. The partition can be done mutually through a partition deed or a family settlement, and if not done mutually, it occurs through filing a partition suit by anyone from the family.