All property on DH n FIL name

who paid for the property you bought? (DH or you or both equally contributed or unequally?)

 

Is it because the bank officer needed someone to co-sign to get the loan ?

Or did your fil contribute too ? Your DH took loan or paid in full ?

After marriage is always better to buy as a couple to avoid conflict.

Removing your fil name now might cause animosity and negative feelings so better to be cautious the next time.

 

Both of these are not true, to the best of my knowledge.

**When I bought a house in India, I gave my Mom POA, but she did NOT have to be a co-owner
** When we (husband and I) bought a house for in-laws, we decided to register in my name to avoid complications, and expectations to add co-owners. We said, that the loan was sanctioned in my name. I gave POA to my FIL and he registered the house for us. No issues. I have a a different last name too.

 

Op,tell you husband "If you don't want to add my name,then say so openly,don't make silly excuses".

 

Il's,
Correct me if am wrong..Actually when we bought a house..My FIL was given POA for bank loan..We understood that 'only blood relative of the property owner can be POA' if you are applying for bank loan.is it right?

But POA need not be co owner..am sure about it,as only DH is the owner of that property.

 

I see many mails on this topic. I am not a lawyer, and speak only from my own personal knowledge and encounters with lawyers in India and overseas. Do confirm with your lawyer on these points I make and do not take decisions based on what I say! Meanwhile I hope this is useful as background.

1. on PoA: this is just a legal authority given to another person to act on one's behalf. It can be general PoA, covering ALL matters (such as handling bank accounts, shares, insurance, property etc- basically everything one can do for oneself) , or a specific one covering only a specific matter (such as buying a house). We can give PoA to ANY person, friend, relative or even just your lawyer. Go to a lawyer and they will draft the PoA and register it for you. I actually do not understand why Indian bank officers advise on it, unless they do so informally. They are often not legally qualified to advise.

2. on inheritance rights in India under Hindu law: this is a vast topic and has undergone continuous changes. Of relevance here is the right to husband's property. In a nutshell, any property solely in the name of one's husband can be claimed, in the worst case, equally by his MOTHER, WIFE and CHILDREN. Note NOT by husband's father. Any property solely on the wife's name can be claimed equally by husband and children only (not inlaws, not her parents). There is more to it, but this will suffice for the current discussion.

3. There is some confusion in India even today on what the SECOND name on a property title means. According to some tax accountants, the first holder is the one who is liable to pay all dues on the property (such as taxes, including income tax on any income from it). On whether the property devolves to the second holder automatically on demise of first, I have got conflicting opinions- in summary, it can be challenged in court by interested parties. Till a few decades ago, property was generally bought on the husband's name only- he was employed, could take loan etc, and adding the non-earning wife's name automatically was not known (talking only of middle class salaried persons, not ones in business etc). Instead the inheritance law I discussed in 2 above was supposed to provide (some) protection to the dependents. Note mother is considered an equal dependent.

4. The woman/wife (even mothers and MILs nowadays) having their own SELF-EARNED income and savings in recent decades has confused this picture. In my opinion, the laws have not caught up with this adequately, and families (and individuals) are handling the situation in their own ways.

5. In addition, as many in the middle class now travel to and live in Western countries, as witnessed in this group itself, and experience property buying and spousal rights in those countries, there are attempts to fit that experience to Indian property buying. This leads to interesting situations, as we are seeing here.

Honestly, I believe the parents themselves are often not very clear about the law, and try to do what they can to protect themselves as they see it, and there could be, and often are, unintended consequences. What is fair is for another discussion.

I also have some things to say about joint accounts and the law- again for another day!

 

Quick correction to point 2 in my previous post:
what I described are intestate laws, ie what happens when there is no will.
If a will is made, the will overrides these (with some caveats).