class I heir
Under s.8 of the Hindu Succession Act, the property of a male Hindu dying intestate goes first to his Class I heirs. They take together, and their presence excludes every Class II heir. The list includes the son, daughter, widow and mother, the children of a predeceased son or daughter, the widow of a predeceased son, and certain heirs of further generations. The 2005 amendment added four more, bringing the list to sixteen.
Distribution follows s.10: the widows together take one share, each son, daughter and the mother take one share each, and the heirs of each predeceased child take that child's share between them. The father is a Class II heir, a common slip in answers. A Hindu female's succession follows the separate scheme of s.15.
Example
The deceased's mother, widow and two daughters are all Class I heirs, so each takes one-fourth and his father, a Class II heir, takes nothing.
In Indian law
- Sections 8 and 10, Hindu Succession Act, 1956, and Class I of the Schedule
See also
succession · intestate · coparcenary · per stirpes
Read more in the study notes
- Original petitions and execution petitions (Drafting, Pleading and Conveyance)
- Trust, partition, rectification and partnership deeds (Drafting, Pleading and Conveyance)
- Hindu marriage and the conditions of a valid marriage (Family Law I - Hindu Law)
- Joint family property and separate property (Family Law I - Hindu Law)
- Succession to a Hindu male dying intestate (Family Law I - Hindu Law)