Childless couples, singles: Identify heirs, write will, appoint an executor

If inherited from her father, it passes to his heirs; if from husband or father-in-law, to husband's heirs

A recent ruling by the Karnataka High Court has clarified that if a woman without children passes away, the property she inherited from her father will go to her father’s heirs.

“This judgement reiterates the position laid down in Section 15(2) of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 (“the Act”).  It states that in the case of a Hindu woman who dies intestate (without a will), the source from which she acquired the property is fundamental to determining its devolution,” says Priyanka Desai, partner, The Fort Circle. In other words, the property’s source determines who inherits it.

A Hindu woman’s inherited