As we mark International Women’s Day 2026, it is important to reflect on women’s rights and legal protections in matters of inheritance and property ownership. While legal frameworks continue to evolve, understanding women’s rights in areas such as joint property ownership, succession and will contestation remains essential.
Inheritance laws, particularly under Hindu law, govern how property passes to legal heirs and define women’s rights regarding such assets. Whether navigating the complexities of jointly owned property, contesting a will, or understanding one’s legal share, clarity on these issues helps women make informed decisions in both personal and legal matters.
Here’s a look at some inheritance-related queries women may have.
My husband and I jointly own an apartment in Gurugram. We do not have any children. My husband is critically ill and in a comatose state. If he dies without leaving a will, will his 50% share in the property devolve entirely upon me?
In the event of your husband’s intestate demise (without leaving a will), and considering he leaves behind no children, his 50% share in the property would devolve equally between you and his mother, if she is alive at the time of his death. However, if your husband’s mother predeceases him, his entire 50% share in the property will devolve solely upon you.
My father passed away in 2025. During his lifetime, he purchased two properties, one in Delhi and the other in Panipat. He died without leaving a will and is survived by me, my brother, and the family of my predeceased brother, which includes his wife and their two children. Under Hindu law, what are my rights in his property?
Under Hindu succession law, you and your two brothers would each be entitled to an equal one-third share in your father’s property. However, since one of your brothers predeceased your father, the one-third share that would have been his will devolve equally upon his legal heirs, his wife and their two children.
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My father passed away when we were quite young, and my mother did not remarry. My mother owns several properties she acquired herself and wishes that I alone inherit them after her demise. She wants to exclude my brother from the inheritance because he is in bad company and ill-treats her. What should she do?
Your mother can execute a valid will clearly stating that all, or specified, self-acquired properties will devolve solely upon you after her demise. Alternatively, she may choose to transfer or settle these properties during her lifetime in your favour, for instance, through a gift deed or another form of legal transfer, thereby removing them from the scope of intestate succession.
My wife recently passed away without leaving a will. We do not have any children. While she was alive, she had inherited a house from her father, which we were living in. After her demise, her brother is demanding that I vacate the house, claiming it now belongs to him. Will this house automatically devolve upon me after my wife’s death, or is my brother-in-law entitled to it?
Since your wife died intestate (without leaving a will) and had no children, and the house in question was inherited from her father, the property does not automatically devolve upon you as her husband. Instead, under Hindu succession law, such property devolves to her father’s heirs.
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Therefore, your brother-in-law may claim a share in the property as one of the heirs of his and your wife’s father. However, he may not necessarily be the sole heir, as other legal heirs of the father, if any, would also be entitled to a share in the property.
My friend Radha recently died in an accident. She owned a flat in her sole name, which she had purchased herself from her own earnings and not inherited from her parents or in-laws. Radha’s husband, Sudhir, and his parents had passed away a few years ago, and the couple had no children. Radha is survived by her mother, her father and her late husband Sudhir’s younger brother. After her death, both her parents claim that the flat should devolve upon them as her legal heirs. However, Sudhir’s younger brother claims that, since Sudhir predeceased Radha and they had no children, the flat should go to Sudhir’s legal heirs rather than to Radha’s parents. Who is entitled to the property?
The flat was self-acquired by Radha and stood solely in her name. Under the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, if a Hindu woman dies intestate (without leaving a will) and without children, and her husband has predeceased her, her self-acquired property devolves upon the legal heirs of her husband and not on her parents. Therefore, based on the facts provided, the flat would devolve upon Sudhir’s brother as one of the legal heirs of Radha’s husband, and not upon Radha’s parents.
These questions have been answered by Mona Dewan. She is a Managing Associate at ZEUS Law Associates, a full-service corporate commercial law firm. One of its areas of specialisation is real estate advisory and litigation practice