One can acquire (or) own a real estate property through different ways. You can invest your hard-earned money and buy a property (or) you can acquire a property through a Will (or) you may get it through inheritance also.
We also often hear people saying that we own an ‘Ancestral Property’. What is the difference between a self-acquired property and an ancestral property?
When can we call a property as an Ancestral property?
An ancestral property is a property acquired by your great grandfather (Hindu) which has been passed down from generation to generation (your grandfather and father) up to the present generation (you) without being divided or partitioned by your family.
Great-Grandfather (Ancestral)
↓
Grandfather (Ancestral)
↓
Father (Ancestral)
↓
Children (Birthright ✔)
So, it has to primarily meet two conditions for the property to qualify as your ancestral property;
Then, what is a Self-acquired property?
Self acquired property is the one that you have purchased/ acquired from your own income / resources. It also includes property obtained or inherited as a legal heir or by Will or through a Gift deed.
You get a share (inherit) in your ancestral property by birth. In case of self-acquired property, you can inherit only on the death of the owner of the property. If your father owns a self-acquired property and also an ancestral property, he has the right to exclude you (son/daughter) from inheriting his self-acquired property. However, he can’t deny your share in the ancestral property.
If you would like to sell, dispose, or partition a property, are the rules for these two different kinds of properties same? What about the rules concerning inheritance / succession related to ancestral property based on your religion?
Below are some of the important points on Ancestral property;
Partition can be made by mere declaration to separate, Partition by Notice, Conversion to Another Faith, under Marriage Act, Partition by Agreement, Partition by Arbitration, Partition by Father, and Partition by Suits.
When a division / partition takes place between brothers after partition they will take equal shares in the property. If there are 3 brothers then each one will take 1/3 rd share in the property.
Yes, under Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act 2005 even daughter(s) are entitled to a share in the property along with their male siblings. At present, a daughter has the same rights in the property of her father on par with a son.
But, kindly note that Daughters cannot inherit ancestral property if father has died before 2005. Therefore, if a person (father) had passed away before 2005, the daughter cannot claim an equal share in the property. She is however entitled to a certain amount of maintenance if she is unmarried.
No – You need to get the consent of other members of the family to divide or sell the property.
A Karta (family head) can however sell an ancestral property without consent ONLY for:
Karta’s powers confirmed — The Supreme Court has reiterated that a Karta has broad discretion to sell joint family property for “legal necessity,” recognizing long-standing case law on family property management (SC, Sept 2025).
No – Property gifted by a father to his son could not become ancestral property in the hands of the son simply by reason of the fact that he got it from his father. It remains as a self-acquired property for you. If this property remains undivided for next four generations, even then it will not be considered as an ancestral property.
I believe that ancestral properties can not be WILLed selectively, ignoring few legal heirs, as each one of your legal heir has the right to get a share in the property.
Are the above rules applicable for a self-acquired property too?
As far as your self acquired property is concerned, you are free to dispose of it in any manner you like.
Can illegitimate children inherit ancestral property?
They can only acquire a share in self-acquired property and not in the ancestral property.
If an Hindu converts to other religion, will he/she has a claim in Parents property? Can they inherit the property?
A Hindu convert does not lose the right to inherit property under the Hindu Succession Act, 1956. For example : A Hindu Daughter after Converting to Islam not loses Right to Inherit Property. But her children will not inherit the property form their grand-parents.
Muslim Law
Under Muslim Law, there is no concept of Ancestral property (or) right of inheritance by birth. A person can leave behind a WILL on any type of property. The legal heir can inherit any type of property only on death of the owner of the property.
Christianity
The succession rules amongst the Indian Christians is governed by the Indian Succession Act, 1925. There is no concept of ancestral property under the Indian Succession Act. All types of properties owned by an Indian Christian can be willed away by him/her by executing a Will.
Conclusion :
It is very clear that law treats both types of properties (ancestral & self-acquired) very differently. So, it is very important that you identify a property as either self-acquired or ancestral one, so that you can plan division of your Estate to your legal heirs.
In case, you are a legal heir, identifying the type of property can help you claim a rightful share in your family’s ancestral property.
Continue reading other related articles :
(Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net & Facebook / Social Media Image courtesy : Homeonline.com) (Post first published on : 12-April-2017) (Post last updated on 20-Jan-2026)
This post was last modified on January 20, 2026 12:17 pm
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Dear shrikant,
Please suggest in following
I have ancestral land, which is distributed in 3, out of total land my grandfather got one piece by mutul deed but in this one land all 3 brothers names are mentioned out of 3 brothers 2 are died and there Children name are mentioned in 7 12 the 1 brother is in physical possation of land as two brothers shifted to city now there Children wants to sale land,but the 1 brother in possation Not agreed to sale it. he is just using land and his name is in 7 12 how can we remove his name from 7 12 and if not, how much share he can claim how to resolve this issue.
Dear Dnyaneshwar,
All legal heirs will have their respective share in the property.
Just because his name is given in Khatha/Patta (land record), it does not mean that he is the sole owner of the property.
As this is a family issue (sensitive one), you may try settling this dispute amicably.
You can get other legal heir names added to the Patta (7/12). Else, you may have to go to court and get the order.
Suggest you to consult any good civil lawyer.
Thanks shreekant for your prompt reply.
MY GRAND FATHE, IN THE YEAR 1972 ASKED US TO PAY VALUE/COST OF THE HOUSE. MY FATHER WAS INSANE SINCE 1953 AND DIED IN 1974. MY FATHER WAS NOT IN POSIION TO PAY THE COST, AS HE WAS INSAE IN 1972. WE ARE 4 BROTHERS. IST SON NOT PAID AND 2ND SON ALSO NOT PAID AND 4TH SON WAS IN STUDIES. SO, I PAID THE COST/VALUE OF THE HOUSE BUT REGISTERED AS PARTITION DEED ON HE NAME OF THE FATHER AND HE IS BEING REPRESENED BY MY MOTHER. BOTH DIED NOW.
MY QUESTION IS THAT WHEN OTHERS HAVE NOT PAID COST/VALUE OF THE HOUSE ARE ELIGIBLE TO CLAIM, THE SHARE IN THE HOUSE FOR WHICH I ONLY PAID COST/VALUE, IN THE YEAR 1972, PL CLARIFY?
Dear NARASING ji,
Do you have any documentary evidence that only you have paid the total purchase price?
Suggest you to kindly consult a civil lawyer.
Dear Sreekanth,
We have an ancestral property which is divided between my father, uncle and their 2 sisters.
Is it possible that I can include my name as one the heirs to this property as no one seems to be interested to do anything about it.
Also what rights do I have on the self acquired property of my father? Can I claim a share in this if my father makes a will in the name of any other person besides my only sister?
Please advise.
Thanks & Regards,
Dear Basu,
You are one of the legal heirs and have a claim of your Father's share in Ancestral property.
Regarding, self-acquired property, your father can gift or write a WILL in any individual names as per his wish. If so, you can not have a claim on it.
Related article :
Nominee Vs Legal heir who will inherit assets?
1. Kartar Singh belongs to Sikh family, having twenty acres agricultural land in village Aujala near Kharar. He was married to Naseeb Kaur and son named Bikar Singh was born to them. But after few years of marriage Naseeb Kaur died.
2. Thereafter Kartar Singh married again to Jeet Kaur according to Sikh ceremonies. Two sons named Gurdev Singh and Jora Singh and a daughter named Jasveer Kaur was born out of this wedlock.
3. In 1990, Kartar Singh died without making any will and without making partition of agriculture land. After the death of Kartar Singh, Gurdev Singh partitioned from his brothers. Agricultural land was divided according to natural succession.
4. On the basis of death certificate patwari/revenue officer entered mutation in the favour of three sons and mother Jeet Kaur. And Jasveer Kaur has relinquished her share in favour of brothers. In 1995 wife of Kartar Singh also died and her share was divided among her children according to natural succession.
Can you please tell me the share each one of them would get?
Dear RK,
I believe that the two son's of Jeet kaur, will get equal share from their mother's share of the property.
Dear Sir
I received self occupied house from my mother in 2010, don't know the purchased value & due to redevelopment of the society I got a flat for the same house & registered & stamp duty paid for the flat in feb-2014.
Now my question is what is the purchased cost to find LTCG?
Raj
Dear Raj,
I believe that Capital Gains come into picture at the time of Development agreement is being done itself. The purchase cost here is the at which your mother had acquired the property, you may check the Sale deed (which is in your mother's name) to know the acquisition cost.
In case, you wish to sell the Flat, you can claim tax exemption on LTCG (if other conditions are met).
Suggest you to kindly consult a Chartered Accountant in this regard.
Related articles :
How to save capital gains on sale of property?
LTCG on sale of property & recent court judgments
Hi Srikanth,
Would appreciate your response per Hindu law, to the following WILL and property division question:
1. Husband bequeaths property consisting of a house and plot, by WILL to Wife.
2. On the demise of Husband, Wife bequeaths the same to her 2 children.
In her WILL she specifies that after her demise, Property is to be divided 'accurately' into halves. Half house + half plot is to be 'equally' divided between both her children/heirs.
3. After her demise, the relative - chosen by the Mother as Executor of the WILL - 're-divides' the property as "he thinks fit." This occurs when heirs were in their 20s.
The house is allotted to Heir 1 and plot to Heir 2. An "Agreement to divide property of deceased in compliance with deceased's WILL", is signed by heirs and Executor and notarized, (not registered) giving effect to this new division.
However, NONE of the clauses in the Mother's WILL including that half house + half plot must be 'equally' divided between both her children' is taken into consideration/implemented in the Division Agreement.
Recently, Heir 1 has been informed that the Division Agreement is 'legally defective', and that the Mother's WILL 'OVERRIDES' the DIVISION AGREEMENT, because - NONE of the clauses mentioned in the Mother's WILL were implemented in the Division Agreement.
Question 1: Does the Mother's WILL override the Division Agreement?
Question 2: Is there any way to confirm this?
Thanks in advance.
Dear Mr Singh,
I believe that WILL overrides the Agreement.
However, the brothers can execute the Relinquishment deeds if they have to forgo the ownership in the property.
For ex : One brother can execute a relinquishment deed of his 50% share in the house to his brother and vice versa..
Kindly consult a civil lawyer.
Sincerely appreciate your response and time. Will further consult a Lawyer.
My grandfather had a self acquired property, my father married to a Christian girl (my mother) and converted to Christianity. In 1997 my father died, later on my grandparents died, and in 2014 my mother died. I married to a Christian boy, One of my sister married a Hindu boy, My eldest sister is not yet married. & my brother also married a christian girl.
Are we eligible for the share in our Grand father's property. He has made a Gift deed in my Uncle's name before his death. Please advice.
Dear Suchetha,
As the property is a self-acquired one, your grand-father can gift or sell that property to anyone as per his wish.
Also, as he gifted the property to your Uncle then no one else can have an ownership share in that property.
Hi Srinath,
My self and my sister divided my father property on mutually after his demise.while splitting our property we have mentioned that we will go in the usual path,but we didn't mention where it is located geographically.The usual path was in my sister land only,what if they stop us by stating that path was in her land.
Dear ROCKSTAR,
Suggest you to kindly consult a civil lawyer in this regard.
Thank you Mr. Sreekanth.
Hello Srikanth,
My grandfather died in 1997 , My mothers died in 2015. Mother is having 2 brothers alive.
My grandfather is having 1500 sq ft of house and 1.5 acre agriculture land in Satara (Maharashtra)
Which is he received by division with his brothers from his father (After great grandfather's death ). Grandfathers other brothers already sell all land in there lifetime.
My question is what will be what will be my mothers share as there is no will made by my grandfather. My uncle telling I will qualify only for 1/9 share.
My mother died after 2005 amendment can my mother qualify for 1/3 share ?
Dear Sachin,
As there is no WILL, the class - I legal heirs of your grand-father ie grand-mother, his sons and his daughter(s) will get the share in the property.
The legal heirs of the deceased legal heirs will get the share owned by the deceased.
You may consult a civil lawyer and can claim it through a partition suit.
Thank you Sreekanth !!!
Dear Sir,
I was a minor or 3 months when my parents expired and I was bought up by my grandfather appointed as my legal guardian by the the Court. He left a Will where he clearly mentioned about my property and belongings of me and his other sons. Grandfather expired in 1994 and I was 14 yrs old then , his eldest son my Uncle then forcefully took over all the property and threw me out of my own house and since he had hidden the Will left by my Grandfather we could hardly do much then. Back in 1997 he had to take out the Will and I got the copy from the bank. which he Registered in the court after 13 yrs from my Grandfathers death. In the Will it was clearly mentioned about my property and also that a new Guardian should be appointed by the court and his eldest son should get the Will executed after his death immediately which he did not do. I went to court and they found him guilty of the act and pressed charges of 11 sections under IPC to both my uncle and his 2 sons , then they took a stay order from High Court to evade arrest. Since the property was a single plot where his eldest son the accused owns the 1st part and the other 2 parts are in my name and my younger uncle. Now when I am trying to go to the property he is not allowing me to enter. The other 2 parts of the property between me and my Younger uncle is not yet divided by the Land office since we did not have the possession of the Will till now. Please advise what step should I take now to get the property in my name. My younger Uncle stays in USA and he is not causing any problem but the eldest son accused person is causing problem. Please advise how I can get my property in my name.
Dear Kumar,
Very sad to hear this!
But dont lose your heart, as you have the WILL, they cant do much against you. Its' just that they may be trying to scare you. Be bold!
Suggest you to kindly consult a civil lawyer and take this issue forward legally.
my dad has 4 acre ancestral property and he wants to divide it equally to 3 kids and himself with 1 acre each but 1 son is objecting saying he will accept it if dad's self acquired liquid property and cash is also divided NOW equally and he, the objecting person does not consider that they need their cash until they live. So how can we go around this objecting person, do we need this objecting person's signature to divide the 4 acre property, with registration etc..
Also my dad bought a 2 acre land in 1995 and registered it in his first wife's son when the son was 5 years old and now that son is above 18 years old, does my dad have any rights on that 2 acre property
Dear Ramesh,
I believe that you need to get the consent of all members of the family to divide or sell the property. You may have to convince him. You may consult a civil lawyer.
As your father has transferred/registered the self-acquired property in his fist wife's son, he will not have any claim on it now.
we tried mediation and consulting but nothing has worked, the objecting son says he wants everything equally or let it go to dogs, he is so adamant and he does not want to go court either. If we do the registration that WILL force him to go court, but do you think registration is NOT possible WITHOUT his consent ?
Dear Ramesh.. If so, there is no other choice but to go to the Court. The rest of you all can file a petition on property settlement, as suggested kindly consult a civil lawyer.