Legal Dilemma: Rights of widowed daughter-in-law in coparcenary inheritance — Explained

livemint.com:

Can a widowed daughter-in-law demand her share or dissolution of her father-in-law in which her late husband was a coparcener?

Under Hindu Law, two categories of members constitute a HUF. The first category consists of those who are born in the family or come into the family due to adoption and are called coparcener and the second category comprises those who come into the family due to marriage who are called members. So fathers, sons, and daughters are coparceners whereas mothers, and daughters-in-laws are pure members. All coparceners are members but all members are not coparceners.

All the members have the right to be maintained from income and assets of the HUF but do not have any right to ask for a partition of the HUF assets whereas a coparcener has a right to ask for a partition of the corpus of the HUF.

As per Section 6 of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 as amended in 2005, on the death of a coparcener, a partition is deemed to have taken place immediately before the death of the deceased coparcener. The widowed daughter is not entitled to claim any partition.

If the deceased son had bequeathed his share in the HUF assets under a Will, his share would devolve as bequeathed by him. However, in case he has not bequeathed his share in HUF assets, his share will devolve to his legal heir as per the provision of the Schedule of the Hindu Succession Act. The daughter-in-law will get an equal share that of what each son and daughter gets. In case there is no son and daughter full share of the deceased son in the HUF will pass on to the widowed daughter-in-law. Thus the share of the deceased son will get carved out of the HUF corpus on his death and will be owned by his legal heirs as explained above.

Balwant Jain is a