Many homeowners I meet in South Delhi neighborhoods like Greater Kailash, Gulmohar Park, and Panchsheel Park assume one thing is automatic:
“If something happens to me, my house will simply go to my spouse.”
Unfortunately, that’s not always true.
If you haven’t made a Will, the law already has a plan for your property—and it may not match your expectations.
What Happens If There Is No Will?
For Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, and Buddhists, property succession is governed by the Hindu Succession Act. If a married person passes away leaving behind children, the property does not go only to the spouse.
Instead, it is divided equally among:
- The wife
- The children
- The mother
This means all of them become co-owners of the property.
For Christians and Parsis, succession is governed by the Indian Succession Act. While the percentage split is different, the outcome is similar: ownership is shared among legal heirs in fixed proportions, rather than passing cleanly to one person.
Why This Matters to Home Buyers
If you are buying a property where the husband or father has passed away, never rely only on verbal assurances from the seller.
One document is absolutely critical: the Surviving Member Certificate (SMC).
This government-issued certificate lists every legal heir of the deceased. If the SMC shows a mother, sister, or any other heir, each of them must sign the sale documents.
If even one legal heir is missing, the title is not clear—and that can create serious problems later, especially with banks, buyers, or resale.
A Small Oversight, Big Consequences
I’ve seen deals fall apart, bank loans get rejected, and families enter long disputes—all because ownership was assumed rather than documented properly.
Coming Up Next
In the next post, we’ll talk about why even a “Registered Will” may not always be enough to satisfy a bank or a future buyer—and what you can do to avoid that situation.