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"Don't Write Your Property to Your Children While You're Still Alive"

Parents, whatever you intend to give to your children, think carefully before giving it...

There are countless parents in our country who, thinking that their children are their world, toil hard, save their wealth, write it all down to them, and then stand helpless.

Advocate S. Sreenivasa Raghavan of the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court provides detailed information on the important things that parents should consider when writing their property to their children.

"Due to old age, when parents are unable to manage their property, it is a practice for them to write it in the name of their children.

Writing a will is one way for property to go to children after their death.

If you want to write the property to the children as a sale deed instead, the stamp duty and registration charges will be high. Moreover, the person who receives the property has to pay this fee.

Therefore, to reduce this expense, children transfer their parents' property to their name through a gift deed called 'Inaam Settlement'. This gift deed is also referred to as 'donation deed' or 'gift deed'. Parents can donate their property to their children, husband to wife, wife to husband, or siblings to each other. The cost of this is less than the cost of selling property to someone.

If parents write their property as a will, the property will only go to the children after their death.

But if parents write their property to their children through this gift deed, it will come into effect immediately after they write it. In this way, children can transfer property worth lakhs and crores of rupees to themselves at low cost," explained the difference between will and gift deed. He also explained how to deal with problems after writing a gift deed.

"A person can change their will as many times as they want until they die. For example, if a person writes a second will, their first will is automatically revoked. If the money due to him is not received when selling his property (Sale deed), he can approach the court to cancel the property transfer.

But once a gift deed is written to someone, it is written. It cannot be revoked. If you want to revoke it anyway, the parents have to go to court.

However, according to Section 23 of the 'Senior Citizens Welfare and Maintenance Act', which is for the benefit of 'Senior Citizens' aged 60 and above, if parents write their property to their children through a gift deed and want to take it back, the Revenue Divisional Officer (RDO) has the authority to cancel that gift deed.

Parents can submit a petition to the RDO to cancel the gift deed they have given. If his investigation reveals that the children who received the gift deed have neglected the parents, failed to provide care, failed to pay for medical expenses, or evicted them from the house, the RDO will recommend to the Sub-Registrar to cancel that gift deed. Through him, that gift deed will be canceled. Appeals against this judgment cannot be filed in lower courts. A writ petition must be filed in the High Court.

The important thing here is that this Section 23 states that this gift deed can only be canceled if the parents have specified in the deed that the gift deed given to them will be canceled if the children fail to take care of them.

Therefore, parents should remember to mention this in the gift deed," said Sreenivasa Raghavan, explaining the difference between will and gift deed. He also shared his views on how the judiciary and society can help parents who want to give their property to their children through a gift deed.

Below -

"`When senior citizens over 60 years of age come to the registration office to give a gift deed, the registration should only be done if the words 'This deed will be canceled if the son or daughter fails to take care of me' are in the deed.

Even if it is not written explicitly, it is said that the essence is implicitly contained in the deed (Either expressed or implied), as if to say, if an amendment is brought to Section 23 of the Senior Citizens Welfare and Maintenance Act, the purpose for which this Act was brought will be fulfilled.

Since the RDO does not have a deep legal background, a special court like a Consumer Court can be established with retired judges instead of him, and he can be given the authority to cancel the gift deed.

Parents should not blindly sign the gift deed, but should sign after adding the words 'This deed will be canceled if my son or daughter fails to take care of me'.

The judiciary can use social media, newspapers, magazines and television to create awareness among parents aged 60 and above.

Most importantly, gift deeds given to children who cheat their parents, misappropriate their property and abandon them should be revoked and they should also be given imprisonment," said Sreenivasa Raghavan, sharing some words for parents.

"`It is my opinion that parents should not write their property to their children while they are still alive. Write a will and register it.

It will automatically go to them after you.

Similarly, when a husband or wife writes a will, it is important to mention that his/her property should go to the children only after the death of his/her spouse.

Otherwise, the spouse of the person who wrote the will may be affected after his/her death.

Even after earning, saving, and raising children in every way, educating them, finding them jobs, and getting them married, it is not good to write down the remaining property to them and stand helpless," emphasizes Advocate Sreenivasa Raghavan.... (With thanks to Advocate S. Sreenivasa Raghavan…..)

Courtesy: Vimarsanam 13.12.2024