Concepts of Ancestral Property & Joint Family Property.

After joint family property has been distributed in accordance with section 8 on principles of intestacy, the joint family property ceases to be joint family property in the hands of the various persons who have succeeded to it as they hold the property as tenants in common and not as joint tenants.

The suit was filed by a Son for partition, in Devas, Madhya Pradesh, against his father and his father’s three brothers. He claimed a 1/8th share in the suit property on the footing that the suit property was ancestral property, and that, being a coparcener, he had a right by birth in the said property in accordance with the Mitakshara Law. It was ruled by SC that on the date of the birth of the appellant in 1977 the said ancestral property, not being joint family property, the suit for partition of such property would not be maintainable.

Concept of Ancestral Property

Property inherited by a Hindu from his father, father’s father or father’s fathers’ father, is ancestral property.

Any property acquired by the Hindu great grand father, which then passes undivided down the next three generations up to the present generation of great grand son/daughter.

1. This property should be four generation old.

2. It should not have been divided by the users in the joint Hindu family as once a division of the property takes place, the share or portion which each Coparcener gets after the division becomes his or her self acquired property.

3. The right to a share in ancestral or coparcenary property accrues by birth itself, unlike other forms of inheritance, where inheritance opens only on the death of the owner.

4. The rights in ancestral property are determined per stripes and not per capita. Share of each generation is first determined and the successive generations in turn sub divide what has been inherited by their respective predecessor.

5. Properties inherited from mother, grandmother, uncle and even brother is not ancestral property. Property inherited by will and gift are not ancestral properties.

6.Self acquired property can become ancestral property if it is thrown into the pool of ancestral properties and enjoyed in common.

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