Legal dispute on property inheritance.

The property is earned by your father or he inherited from his father? This is a very important point to know to decide what action you have to take.

1. If the property is purchased by your father our of his own earnings, he is the owner and he can decide the way he wanted and can give to any one he wanted. But he has to make a Will in which he can mention the names of the persons to whom he wanted to give his property and in what proportion. If he writes his self earned property to your stepmother she will be the legal owner of the property after the demise of your father.

2. If the property is inherited by your father from his ancestors, he can't write the Will as he likes and after his death, you will also be eligible for sharing the property with the children of your father with his second wife. If the second marriage is not registered and if the marriage is not legal they can't claim the part in that.

Action Plan:
Please contact a lawyer and explain to him the entire history. Then show him the papers what you have with you. If you have a known lawyer, you can go to him. He will definitely guide you properly. You should give clarity to him the points which are mentioned below.

1. How your father obtained that property?
2. Is the property documents contain the name of your mother also?
3, Is the second marriage legal and registered?

Once he gets the clarity, he will advise you and give you a road map to follow.

As per the property inheritance rules a person can give his own earned property to anyone he wishes. He is allowed to use that discretion on his property. So I do not see any merit in going to court on this matter. However there are some other aspects which are also to be considered in this case. Is the property owned by your father was totally from his earnings or a part of it came from the grandparents? If some part of it came from the grandparents then that part he cannot give to anyone he wishes rather that part goes equally to all the beneficiaries.

You have not given the further details of your case but I assume that your father had married with a second woman only after the proper divorce proceedings or death of your mother. If not then he would be chargeable for polygamy which is a crime under present law.

You have to discuss all these details with a lawyer and after considering the pros and cons he would be in a better position to advise in the matter.

When it comes to the dispute about property, there are many points that need to be understood before giving an answer.
Some of the clarification required from the author is:
- Is this your Ancestral property or bought by your father?
- The 2nd marriage of your father is legal?
- Was there any will, if it is an ancestral property and do you have a copy of it?

Give the answer from the guesswork and question raised by you:
i) Ancestral property means property inherited up to four generations in a line and shares equal rights or share in the property through birth. Such property cannot be deprived and you can file a case through a lawyer.
ii) If it is a self-acquired property i.e. bought by your father with his own money, he has the right to sell or give it to anyone he wants without any objection.
iii) If your father has married your stepmother legally, she may not have the right to her husband's property when he is alive as the right reserves with him but he can give it to her by will or make a will and give it to her.
iv) Do the property has a paper and you have a copy of the property and its sharing. If you have it, you can consider it to consult it with a good lawyer and look for more solutions or clarification before it is too late.

There are a few questions hovering in my mind before arriving at the solution to this perennial questions and some relevant points relating to disputes are missing. Kindly clarify the following points -
1) Is your mother still alive?
2) How could your father marry a lady when his wife is still alive and the same is the contravention of prevailing Hindu - marriage Law?
3) Does your step mother has any proof of her legal marriage with your father?
If the property is the ancestral that is earned by your forefathers, your father has no right to transfer the same to your step mother.
If the property has been purchased by your father with his own earnings, he has the right to transfer the same in favour of your step - mother.
However there are some major ambiguities and those should be resolved - especially the status of legality of marriage of your step mother.
To get the issue addressed, consult an experienced lawyer so that you can get right guidance in this regard.

You said that the property belonged to your father and mother. Then how your father alone can transfer it in the name of your step mother without the consent of your mother. That is one point that is to be considered when you go for legal recourse to this problem. Another thing is that until you go for a legal recourse you do not know what type of legal documents your step mother possesses regarding the property. Sometimes they would just pressurise you by telling that so you must ensure this and let them present the papers in the court on which they are harping.

I think there is no other way to sort out this dispute other than going to the court. Your lawyer would be able to guide you as there are intricate points in property case especially when a person has remarried.