• Is son only remembered in trouble times

Respected Sir/Madam, Am the elder of one brother and three sisters. My Father got my first sister marriage paying hefty dowry to groom, which had led into financial turbulences and I was blamed for all. My father sold one of his houses and later I had to separate from my parents as I was continuously being blamed by my father for selling the house. I haven’t taken a single penny from him. Since then, there were no talks between us for years expect for few occasions during 2nd sister marriage. 

After 7 years, my mother called me up saying that Father has complaint of chest pain. Then I immediately took my father to the hospital and got operated with Angioplasty. Luckily I had nominated by father for dependent Mediclaim policy and had to pay 20% of total bill.

In a month, he was diagnosed with stomach cancer and he had been through several complications for a year and almost every fortnight we had to rush to the hospital for various treatments. Everytime, I only had to pay the hospital bills which were not covered by insurance policy and every one of my family members were started talking to me. Also, I had to turned down the good job offer out of city considering the condition of my father and my brother was not settled down financially. After being through the trauma for a year, my Father had expired and I had performed all funeral customs without any hesitations.

Post the funeral customs of my father, had a dispute with sisters and mother joined them blaming me that I had taken care of my father only in the interest of getting my legal share from my father’s assets. My mother than started telling that she will be on her own with rents from the father owned house and also told she had been told my father to give equal share to my sisters as well and but there is no will prepared by father.

From then, my mother stopped talking to me again and at every occasion keeps on telling that she will distribute the only house owned by father with equal share to the sisters as well. I convinced myself that I had completed my responsibilities towards father by getting the best treatment without any compromise though it had disturbed me financially and professionally. 

But the unexpected things by my own mother joined by sisters, disturbed me a lot personally. At this moment of agony, raising the question as how sister’s can walk away with equal share from one and only house without taking any responsibility of my father’s hospitalization expenses and funeral customs though my father got their marriages with very well settled families by paying hefty dowries.My brother is also not settled financially.

Request you to kindly advice me
Asked 10 years ago in Family Law
Religion: Hindu

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4 Answers

1) you have done your duties as son . legally speaking once your father died intestate ie without any will your mother , you, your brother and sisters have equal share in property .

2) if your mother desires to give equal share to sisters there is nothing wrong in her suggestion .

3) you cannot expect your sisters to bear hospital expenses , funeral expenses of your father .

the fact that your father got them married and paid dowry is no ground to deny your sisters equal share in property . if your father wanted to deny them share he could have left a will bequeathing entire house to you .

Ajay Sethi
Advocate, Mumbai
96719 Answers
7798 Consultations

first of all i would like to tell you that you are lucky to have got chance to take care of your father for this i would say you are blessed as most of us do not get a chance to do this work.as far your property is concerned since there is no will of your father ,the property will be divided among your,mother,sisters ,you and your younger brother

Rajeev Bari
Advocate, New Delhi
1506 Answers
92 Consultations

Dear client,It is a great thing that you have taken care of your father when he needed you the most. Sisters are not required to pay the hospital bills. According to law your sisters shall get equal share of property that is the property shall be divided into you, bro

ther, mother & sisters.

Smita Shah
Advocate, Hyderabad
12 Answers
1 Consultation

legal status is that you all will get equal shares

Avdhesh Chaudhary
Advocate, Greater Noida
565 Answers
20 Consultations

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