Property Belongs To Whom?

Yes, financially speaking he stands to loose in the bargain. But, i would not say he is entirely at fault - as he has spent/done the construction etc on the premise that the house would be his. The parents should have thought of all this, but practically speaking we dont like to talk of finances /separate entitlements etc when the family is together. When the children are well settled it just takes a little
thought of their parents' blessings /welfare and do what is right.

 

It is now time for your aunt to convince her son, as the daughters u say are open to discussions and settlement. Before talking to her son, they can take the help of a legal practitioner as to what would be the correct division of property and the procedure to go about it, bringing out details of the various investments. Hope for a peaceful settlement of the above issue.

 

@SeekingMind : I commented that roles and responsibilities in Indian families are enmeshed and not discrete. And I was talking of a general trend and not of this case in particular. In India all types of permutations and combinations exist and hence I would not be able to comment on a particular case.

All I wanted to say in this case is that an equal division amongst the 4 heirs is not fair to the son considering the fact that he financed the construction of the house. And I stand by my words. Please read the entire post where I have stated that such an enmeshing of finances is not right. It invariably leads to bad blood in the long run. If parents use such financial help from their children then they must ensure they file a will spelling out a fair mode of division which is communicated to all. Unfortunately in India parents don't do this because many feel that dangling the carrot (their assets) will insure their comfort in old age.

I in my life have seen all types of parents and children. And if there is one lesson I have learnt recurrently it is - never to comment on anybody's family circumstances if an outsider tells me about it - anybody who has not lived with the family for an extended time is an outsider and may not always know the internal dynamics of the family and there I rest my case.

 

1)what would be the value of total property
2)what is the financial status of 2 daughters?
3)If the daughters are financially ok and got there fair share during marriage,then daughters shouldn't even fight for the house.If I had enough to live my life peacefully and then one of the sibling is greedy then I don't fight for the property and I would take care of my mother in my capacity.If needed,would ask brother to send some money monthly to support mother other than that wouldn't get into legal battle.
4)as a brother - me and my sister lives here in US and my brother and other sister lives in India.We support my parents financially and the other two support them physically.Even my elder sister bought apartment to my other sister who is struggling financially.If I were brother and well off,I wouldn't fight for the property and will do fair share.if he had love and respect on that particular property which he dreamed of staying in that then he needs to discuses with sisters other options.He would only do when sisters are not financially well off.If sister are doing ok then the brother might not have any concern to worry about there financial well being of sisters.
5)all this boggled down to the amount dad spent on daughters marriage.If the dad spent fair share and the sisters are financially ok then they shouldn't think of asking for share in that house.

 

Legally......If it was on father's name and he dies without a will...then irrespective of who paid for it,the property is shared equally between the mother and all of father's children.
Even if the son had bought the land too...doesn't matter.

The only thing that matters is....whose name is on the property papers.
Even if the son claims the property is his,for him to get it on his name,he would have to get a no objection notes from all legal heirs. It is not so simple.

My dad had bought a huge piece of land on his father's name (because not doing so was considered disrespectful to the father).The land was worth a fortune at the time of his death.It was divided equally between his many siblings(mother was dead)....with my dad getting the worst piece as he wasn't there at the time of the division.

 

@SeekingMind : As per the law all assets of the father will be distributed equally between the wife and the children. And my point was elaborated by @Priya16 . A fair distribution (settlement out of court) would take into consideration what responsibilities (if any) the son and daughters fulfilled. Many times the son does not physically help but helps financially. And how much was spent on the daughters' and son's education, wedding etc. How much they in return contributed. And I find it callus to point out that the son refused to come and stay. Yes such sons exist. But I have never heard of such sons constructing a house in father's name also. Many a times people are in such a professional situation that they cannot come for long. I find such name calling unnecessary.

This problem usually occurs when the property price goes up exponentially and nobody wants to let go of the juicy bit. OP everybody in US is not rolling in money. Do you know how much the son sacrificed to get this house built? The son would also want a fair return on his money He also has a family.

The son is money minded. Correct. What about the daughter? I would call a daughter who took care of her parents for getting a slice of her parents property an equal if not a bigger opportunist.

 

What is morally right is not so easy to decide.
The house was paid for by the son.The land was paid for by father.
The land should belongs to all heirs.
Did the son support his parents financially single handed?
Did he help financially in his sister's weddings?
Did the sisters get married with fat dowries?

Ideally....if no fat dowries were paid ....the land price only should be assessed by assessor and the sisters given their share by the brother.

Irrespective of what happens...the mother should have a right to stay in the house.I bet the court would grant her that if she chooses to go the legal route.
The brother should let the sister stay if she can give in writing that she will not lay claim on the house .