Does wife have rights to the husband's property after divorce?

 

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Does wife have rights to the husband's property after divorce?

A Short brief:-

In India, marriage is deemed to be a holy union of souls and because of this, the separation or divorce between the couple is frowned upon and brushed underneath the carpet. Diverse & numerous spiritual codes have extraordinary guidelines and techniques referring to divorce matters. But, as we shall see, none of them have a robust provision for entitling the wife to her husband’s assets & belongings. This is because our Indian tradition does not understand separate belongings for the husband and the wife as they are living under one roof among family members. The wife is seen as the family member and the question of having separate assets property is redundant. Divorce is a clamorous time in the lives of a married couple wherein they have to face emotional turmoil, which is further annoyed by a long legal procedure that is to be followed. 

 

What wife gets after divorce in India?

The wife can claim custody of her children & receive monthly maintenance and Alimony from her husband and hold over certain claims on her husband’s property in some matters. The claim over the Stridhan received at the time of her marriage is of the wife. All the property is divided on the basis of individual equity if it is not a contested divorce. The wife is legally eligible to claim over husband’s property if jointly owned by them at the time of divorce.

 

How much property wife gets after divorce?

In India, the woman typically doesn't have a right to assert her husband’s property except in exclusive circumstances. However, if the divorce isn't contested, the division of assets takes place upon terms set by both parties mutually.

FINANCIAL PROPERTY 

STRIDHAN

The wife can claim over movable property, the wife has sole rights over her Stridhan, (like Money, automobiles, and jewelry) that she may have acquired earlier than the wedding, at the time of her marriage, and at the time of delivery of her children. Possession of this Stridhan can be retained even after the separation and the divorce. This consists of both movable and immovable belongings. Hence, if the in-law's gift the bride some assets, she can stake her sole declaration upon it at the time of divorce. But, there may be a catch to this. If the husband has contributed to the acquisition of his wife’s Stridhan, She can declare possession upon it up to the extent to which he had contributed money for purchasing it.

PRATIBHA RANI VS. SURAJ KUMAR: The Hon’ble Supreme Court laid down the Distinction between dowry and Stridhan and held that the woman is the sole owner of her Stridhan and has absolute control over it.

Surendra dixit vs. Smt. Seema Dixit: the assets which were given by her father, maybe the dowry however basically constituted as her Stridhan. In any such case, the husband becomes a trustee on behalf of his spouse. He becomes liable to return her Stridhan to his wife.

What rights does a wife have if her husband dies?

The wife cannot declare her claim on financial assets like BANK ACCOUNTS, INSURANCE, AND INVESTMENTS of the husband if he's alive however she can make a claim on this sum, after the husband’s demise because the wife is deemed to be a Class I heir. The wife has the same rights to assert her share inside the assets as other heirs. She can inherit it if her husband has not prepared a will, or in case a will has been prepared, the spouse was no longer excluded from it. If the husband remarries without dissolving the first marriage, then the legally wedded wife is entitled to his assets.

·  OSWAL GREENTECH VS. PANKAJ OSWAL: A mere nomination does not allow the ownership rights over the asset, the nominee merely holds the asset on behalf of the other heirs. Therefore, even if the spouse turned into not a nominee, she remains a legal heir and can declare a claim over the financial assets only after her husband’s demise.

 Does wife get house if husband dies?

Immovable assets which include a residence, have been financed via a mortgage taken collectively by the husband & wife, they are able to sell the property at the market charge and claim their respective stocks. If one of the spouses wants to keep the residence, they could choose to buy the opposite’s share and repay the left amount. But, if only one Husband is paying the credit for the home loan, then that he is the sole owner of that property.

Wife share in husband property after divorce

The wife can only claim the ownership of any belonging, property, or asset which was gifted to her at the time of her marriage, during the marriage, and after the marriage, She does not have any claim to her husband’s assets, be it ancestral or self-acquired but can only be claimed after her husband's demise.

It’s common, to cut out financial strain and tax burdens on one of the parties in the wedding, the husband and the wife with combined funds may buy property at the same time. In In this kind of situation, the wife can claim her percentage as much as the volume of her contribution, if she is able to show her equity in the bills made for the acquisition of the aforesaid asset.

Another situation is when the property is purchased from one party’s self-earned money and later registered in the name of the other party. In this situation, the law recognizes the titleholder as the actual owner of the said property. So, if the property purchased by the husband self-earned money then the husband is the sole owner of the property and, the wife can't declare her right on the said property unless and until she proves her contributions during the time of purchase of the said property via bank statements. However, if the wife did not contribute a single penny to the purchase but has her name on the registered document, she might not be entitled to claim the said property.

The wife can only claim the share onto the jointly purchased property until the decree of divorce passed by the Hon’ble court. At the time of divorce, she is eligible to claim maintenance for her child & alimony from her husband but cannot claim his property share.

• AKASAN CHIN VS. PARAVATI

• RAJENDRA SINGH VS, TULSA BAI

OTHER CIRCUMSTANCES IN WHICH THE HUSBAND'S PROPERTY MAY BE KEPT

The wife is permitted to keep her "Meher," or "dower," which comprises all properties provided to her by her husband and his relatives, under the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986.

To determine an equitable distribution of assets at the time of divorce, the Court may also examine the pre-nuptial agreements made at the time of marriage. Pre-nuptials and post-nuptials are not defined by any of the marriage laws; nevertheless because they are essentially contracts, they can be made legally binding under the Indian Contract Act of 1872. The only stipulation is that it must have all of the necessary elements of a legitimate contract. However, because prenuptial agreements are considered to be against public policy, they are usually regarded unenforceable under Section 23 of the Indian Contract Act, 1872.

SUNITA DEVENDRA DESHPRABHU VS. SITA DEVENDRA DESHPRABHU: The prenuptial agreement was reviewed by the High Court of Bombay in Goa in resolving the case of the parties' separation.

KRISHNA AIYAR VS. BALAMMAL: The court refused to uphold the validity of the parties' agreement that permitted for future separation.

SHEELA KK VS. N G SURESH: The Kerala High Court ruled that a divorced wife has no time limit to claim property left to her by her husband.

MANGATMUL VS. PUNNI DEVI: It was clarified that upkeep must also include a provision for living quarters. A basic necessity for a roof over the wife's head must be included in the concept of maintenance.

APPI REDDY vs. SMT. B. P. ACHALA ANAND: Under personal laws, a divorced wife has the right to live in her marital house, according to the Supreme Court. A wife who is entitled to maintenance has the right to his roof and protection, which may include a separate dwelling in specific situations.

 

FINAL REMARKS

 

As we can see, marriage is a sacred institution in India, which is one of the likely reasons why there is a gap in the rules that would allow a wife to claim her husband's property after a divorce. No individual by marriage obtains any interest in the property of the person to whom he or she marries, according to Section 20 of the Indian Succession Act, 1925. As a result, in the vast majority of cases, She will not be able to claim a share of her husband's property following their divorce. When it comes to divorces, the law stipulates that the wife is entitled to alimony, which must be paid by the husband. There is, however, no legal provision that gives a wife the right to her husband's property. Specific bills on this subject have lapsed due to the fact that they were regarded to be "animals.", on the other hand, Upon her husband's death, a wife's inheritance to her husband's property normally occurs, according to the numerous rules controlling inheritance and succession.