According to the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, the property of a deceased is distributed equally among sons, daughters, the wife and the mother. The Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act, 1956 governs the adoption of children and the maintenance allowance to the wife.Who is a Nominee?
As per the law, a nominee of a immovable property is a mere trustee entitled to receive the money/proceeds receivable by a deceased person on behalf of his/her legal heirs. The nominee will be in charge of the property only till the court decides who is entitled to the property as per the succession laws. To make it simpler, the nominee is only a caretaker of the property and not the owner of the property. He/she will only hold the asset as a trustee and will be legally bound to transfer the property to the legal heirs.
A society member can make a nomination which can be cancelled at any time. In case of death of the member, the society transfers the shares to the nominee or the legal heir/s. In case there is no nominee, then the society puts out a public notice inviting claims. And the nominee takes care of the property until the court decides who is entitled to the property as per the succession laws.
Who is a legal heir?
A legal heir of a deceased person’s property is the one who is mentioned in the will. The legal heir is entitled to be the real owner of the assets of the deceased. If the will is not made, the legal heir/s are decided based on succession laws which also defines about who gets how much share of the assets.
For example, if Mr. X would have mentioned that his brother Mr. Y will be the nominee of all his assets. But in his Will, Mr. X would have written that his children will receive his assets after his death or he would not have written a Will. In either case, based on the Indian Succession Act or Hindu Law or Mohammedan Law, the brother Mr. Y will receive all the assets but he will have to distribute it among the children of Mr. X. But in case, Mr. X has written a Will which says that all his assets belong to Mr. Y then Mr. Y will become the owner of the property.
To sum up, a nominee has the right to receive the property while a will decides who will eventually own the property.
What if there is no will?
If there is no will, then as per the Hindu Succession Act the property will pass on to Class 1 heirs who include spouse, children and mother of the deceased. In case of absence of Class 1 heirs, it would pass on to the Class 2 heirs comprising of father, grandchildren and siblings.
How co-operative societies define it?
According to the Section 30 of Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Act, 1960, in case of death of a member of a society, the shares of the person will be transferred to the nominee. However, such transfer does not imply transfer of the property contained under the shares of the society. The nominee acts only as a trustee for the deceased person’s estate.
Self acquired property
If a property is a self-acquired by a person, then after the death of that person, whether a “Will” is made or not, legal heirship determines the vesting of the deceased person’s property.
Inherited property
In case of inherited property rights of “Successors” of the deceased person overrides all other modes including Will. All members of the immediate family acquire the right to get equal share of the property.
Jointly-owned property
In case of joint ownership of a self acquired property, the surviving owner becomes the sole owner after death of the co-owner/s.
To conclude, it is advisable that merely nominating a property is not enough. To pass on your property to the right hands, as per your wish, making a “Will” would be helpful. However, even when there is a will made, there are chances that your inheritors may end up facing some legal issues that may arise. It is better to have a fair understanding of the rules and regulations pertaining to inheritance of properties.
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