Inheritance is a legal process of bequeathing of property to the legal heirs of the person. The term "legal heirs" has a very wide ambit. The Hindu Succession Act of 1956 provides a comprehensive list of legal heirs recognised by the law under Schedule I(First Class Heirs) and Schedule II(Second Class Heirs).
However, there is no mention of the inheritance rights of stepchildren. This blog explores the uncertainty in Indian law about whether stepchildren can inherit property.
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Do Stepchildren Have a Right to Inherit Property in India?
Inheritance rights of stepchildren in India is governed by various laws including Indian Succession Act, 1925, Hindu Succession Act, 1956, Hindu Marriage Act, 1956 or Muslim Personal Law(Shariat) Act, 1937 depending upon the succession, structure and religion of the family, type of succession etc.
For example, a child born out of a void marriage, though in fact illegitimate, by a legal
fiction (under Section 16 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1956) is considered to be the legitimate son of his father. However, this legal fiction only allows him a share in the self-acquired property of the father and gives him no coparcenary interests that a legitimate child would get by virtue of birth in the family.
Are Stepchildren included as Legal Heirs Under the Hindu Succession Act of 1956?
The Hindu Succession Act, 1956, under section 3(f) defines the term "heir" as any person, male or female, who is entitled to succeed to the property of an intestate under this act. The word step child has not been mentioned specifically under the provisions of this act, which means stepchildren, despite living as family members, lack the legal relationship necessary for inheritance rights.
However, it states that the children born out of annulled or void marriage will be considered legitimate, and they have the inheritance rights over the property of their parent's acquired property but no coparcenary rights that the other children will have through the birth in the family. This gives him no coparcenary interests that a legitimate child would get by virtue of birth.
Section 16(1) & (2) say that even if a marriage is void (invalid) or annulled (declared null) under Section 11 or 12 of the Act, the children born from such a marriage are still considered legitimate.
Can Stepchildren Inherit Property Under the Indian Succession Act?
Unless stepchildren are legally and formally adopted, they are not recognised as natural legal heirs and therefore do not have any right to inherit the properties of the step-parents in question under the Indian Succession Act, 1925.
The Juvenile Justice Act permits the adoption of stepchildren under its overarching framework whereunder persons of any religious background may seek to adopt a stepchild after satisfying the eligibility criteria laid out therein. Therefore, the step-children would not have any right as a coparcener in the ancestral or even self-acquired property of the step parent unless the same is specifically bequeathed by way of a will in their favour.
What Happens If a Step-Parent Dies Without a Will?
If a stepparent dies intestate (without a will) and the stepchild has not been legally adopted, the stepchild cannot inherit any part of the stepparent's property. In such cases, the property devolves upon the biological or legally adopted children of the deceased.
This is because, under the Hindu Succession Act, 1955, and the Indian Succession Act, 1925, the terms "son" and "daughter" refer exclusively to biological or adopted children. Stepchildren do not fall within the ambit of these terms and, therefore, have no legal right to inherit the property of their stepparents in the absence of a will.
Do Stepchildren Have Any Right Over Ancestral or Coparcenary Property?
The Supreme Court in Lachman Singh vs Kirpa Singh, (1987) 2 SCC 547 held that the words "sons" and "daughters" in the Hindu Succession Act, 1955 do not include stepsons or stepdaughters. If the Parliament had felt that the word "sons" should include "stepsons", it would have said so in express terms. Stepchildren do not have any right to ancestral property.
In another judgment from the Bombay High Court in Dudhnath Kallu Yadav vs Ramashankar R.Yadav and 24 Ors, Chamber Summons No. 495 of 2017 the court held that the expression "son" not having been defined under the Hindu Succession Act, the definition of "son" under the General Clauses Act may be appropriately referred to. In clause (57) of Section 2 of the General Clauses Act, the expression "son" includes only an adopted son and not a stepson.
As per Section 6 of the Hindu Succession Act, 1955 only sons and daughters have right over the ancestral property and not the stepchildren. Stepchildren will not have any right in the property since under the Hindu Succession Act 1956, a "stepdaughter" or a "stepson" do not fall within the purview of a "daughter" or a "son" and, therefore, they have no legal right to the ancestral property.
How Can Parents Ensure Stepchildren Get Equal Inheritance?
According to Section 30 of the Hindu Succession Act, any Hindu can dispose of, by Will or other testamentary disposition, any property, which is capable of being so disposed of by him or her, in accordance with the Indian Succession Act, 1925, or any other law for the time being in force and applicable to Hindus.
To ensure that the stepchildren also get equal inheritance along with the biological children, one of the ways is to execute a Will and through will ensure that the stepchildren also get their due share in the self-acquired property of the parents. Another way is adopting the stepchild following the provisions of the Juvenile Justice Act and in the case of Hindus, the Hindu Adoption and Guardianship Act, 1956.
What's the Difference Between an Adopted Child and a Stepchild in Inheritance Law?
Adoption is a legal process through which the adoptive parents assume all parental rights and responsibilities of the adoptive child permanently, severing the child's legal ties with the biological parents.
The rights of adopted children are exactly equal to those of biological children. They are entitled to a share in the property of their adoptive parents, just like biological offspring. However, after adoption, the child loses legal rights to inherit from their biological parents' self-acquired or ancestral property, unless biological parents specifically bequeath property through a will.
A stepchild is the child of one spouse from a previous relationship. Stepchildren do not have any inheritance rights in the property of a stepparent unless they are legally adopted by the stepparent. In the absence of formal adoption or a valid will executed in their favour, stepchildren are not entitled to claim any share in the stepparent's estate.
Can Stepchildren Challenge a Will or Inheritance Decision in Court?
Step children can challenge a will if the will was obtained by fraud or coercion or by such importunity that it took away the free agency of the testator. Such a will is considered to be void as per Section 61 of the Indian Succession Act, 1925.
The step child can challenge a will if it does not fulfil the rules for the execution of will under Section 63 of the Indian Succession Act. A will can also be challenged if there are suspicious circumstances involved.
The court in Bharpur Singh v. Shamsher Singh, 2009 3 SCC 687, gave a list of suspicious circumstances. Some of these circumstances are: the signature of the testator appears to very shaky and doubtful or not appear to be his usual signature, the condition of the testator's mind may be very feeble and debilitated at the relevant time, the dispositions may not appear to be the result of the testator's free will and mind, the testator used to sign blank papers, the Will did not see the light of the day for long, incorrect essential facts. The list, however, is not exhaustive.
Conclusion
The current legal framework present in India, although comprehensive regarding biological and adopted children, remains silent on the inheritance rights of stepchildren unless they are formally adopted or expressly included by testamentary disposition.
Until the legislature addresses this gap by broadening the definition of "legal heir" to reflect evolving family dynamics, the onus remains on individuals to secure the rights of their stepchildren through careful estate planning most notably, by executing a clear and specific will or pursuing formal adoption.
Therefore, legislative reforms are urgently needed to provide clarity and equity in succession law by explicitly addressing the rights of stepchildren.
Co- Author: Shambhavi, Intern
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
