Talking about women is always challenging, controversial, interesting and could be entertaining. Possibly, this is because men are yet to fully understand them and this gap in knowledge has led to the fear of the unknown and hence they have over eons raised generations steeped in patriarchy and all manner of obscurantist archetypes. There are obvious differences between men and women. But they are essentially complementary and as one French parliamentarian put it, vive la difference! Yet even in the midst of what we call civilized world, why is there so much exploitation of women? In spite of all the celebrations and speeches around Women’s Day why is there so much hesitancy to call out misogyny in every Indian household, however thinly disguised. Come to think of it, from the maid to her madam, from single mother to the successful career woman, from the mother to the mother-in-law, marriage as we practice it,has for centuries come in the way of a woman’s dreams, while the community covers the arrangement with every possible encomium, approbation and religious sanction. It certainly is a convenient arrangement for men, since it preserves and perpetuates all manner of privileges showered on them, which are taken as given just like the druidic privileges that all religions confer only on men!
But there are parts of the developed world where for decades now, a steady shift in financial and economic power has been underway. Today, more than half of all personal wealth in the U.S. is controlled by women.It’s an unprecedented financial empowerment that is only expected to strengthen with Gen X and millennial women anticipated to inherit 70 percent of the $1 trillion wealth transfer from their Baby Boomer parents.
But how should one judge the lot of women in India, a country that is in many ways progressive, modern, tolerant and yet by turns repressive and hostile? Women hold the highest political positions (prime ministership, the presidency, speaker of parliament, leader of the ruling party, leader of the opposition in parliament, several chief ministers of large states) and in theory they are protected by a variety laws promoting equality. Yet, majority of women are still victims of such trends as the dismal persistence of discrimination, violence and other forms of hostility against girls and women. A cultural preference for boys, combined with modern technology such as ultrasound scanners, allows parents to identify and abort unwanted female fetuses at a terrifying rate notwithstanding laws making such practice illegal. Millions of girls are missing from the demographic norm. India’s national records show increasing reports of crimes against women even in the current millennium. These include rape, abduction, dowry death, molestation and trafficking, with cruelty by husbands and relatives accounting for a large proportion of offences. Even among theso called enlightened communities, women hardly enjoy genuine economic freedom. For instance, it is estimated that less than 5 per cent of adult Indians die with a will. Guesstimates from experts suggest that the corresponding number for women is one tenth of this. While this could be the result of women not owning any assets, even those that own such assets, often abdicate this responsibility to their husbands or male members in the family thanks to protracted conditioning in a male chauvinist society.Our hypocrisy and cultural perversity, for instance, have seen that even the noble concept of Streedhan gets morphed into exploitative dowry system in spite of the fact that Section 14 of the Hindu Succession Act 1956 specifying what constitutes a woman’s absolute property. Hence it is essential that women know their inheritance rights and appreciate the importance of making a will.
Inheritance depends on whether it is testamentary or intestate (i.e., without will). When a person dies intestate, succession of assets is governed by respective personal succession laws, such as Indian Succession Act, Hindu Succession Act and Muslim Personal Law.
As per Hindu Succession Act, upon a Hindu male passing away without a will, his property should be distributed in equal to his widow, mother and each of the children. In case any child has predeceased, the children and spouse (only if the deceased child is a male – Alas!) will collectively get his share. If a male Christian dies intestate, wife has right to one third share in the estate of the deceased husband and two thirds shall go to the lineal descendants.
Woman also acquires rights over assets of spouse’s family through her husband. On the demise of the husband, she, along with the children can claim rights over the assets that would have been otherwise be inherited by her husband. However, this right is subject to the will/legal succession plan of the person whose assets are sought to be inherited.
Where the wife is holding property jointly with her husband, whether or not she has contributed to the purchase/acquisition of the property, she is entitled to the share of the property as mentioned in the sale agreement. In case the woman is divorced from her husband and held property jointly with the husband while she was married, then the portion of the property which is in her name will belong to her. However, the couple can decide on the utilization or ownership of the same, in the terms of the divorce.
When a woman passes away intestate, under the Hindu Succession Act, class 1 heirs, that is, husband, son(s) and daughter(s), including children of the predeceased son/daughter will inherit her assets. Where a woman is a widow at the time of her demise and has not made a will, then her husband’s legal heirs may have a right over her assets. On the other hand, when a Muslim woman passes away, if she has children, then the husband will get one fourthshare of her estate. If there are no children, husband will inherit half of her property.
In the case of a single woman (mother), if she dies without a will, her assets under the Hindu Succession Act, will benefit her legal heirs, that is, her children. If she does not have children, then legal heirs form the side of her parents will benefit.
It is essential to keep in mind that personal laws, which often govern a woman’s rights to inherit property, are rooted in religion and are rarely gender-equal. Consider the following instance:
Narayani Devi was only married for three months when her husband died, and she was ousted from her marital home. In the next 40 years, with the support of her parents, she studied and earned enough money to acquire substantial property. However, when she died in 1996, Narayani’s mother’s claim to her movable and immovable property was challenged by Narayani’s late husband’s family. And under the Hindu Succession Act (HSA) of 1956, the Supreme Court handed all her properties to Narayani’s husband’s nephews, to the marital family that broke ties with her. The provisions of the Act left her mother and father, who had supported her, empty-handed.
The above case – Om Prakash v. Radhachandran – is just one example of the HSA’s provisions working against the woman and her family, giving preference to her husband’s relatives. If the deceased was a man, the property would have remained within his family under the HSA’s provisions.
So there is no reason why woman cannot make her own will, when all it needs are pen & paper, list of assets, list of legatees and two witnesses. It is only then that she will be able to fulfil her cherished obligations in respect of her children, spouse, parents, caretaker/s, charity etc. Of course, she could also explore the option of stitching up a joint will with her spouse.
Why not leave love (assets) behind instead of disputes?
