Youcan sell your undivided share in property
engage a detective agency to trace the daughter
Selling undivided property when one of the legal heirs is not reachable
We a family of four - Mother, daughter and 2 sons live in a house for past 25 years.The house is in the name of my father who died 15 years back. We're from his second marriage and from his first marriage there is a daughter. The first marriage was annulled by divorce some 30 years back. The legal heirs include the daughter from first marriage, 4 of us from the second marriage and my father's parents who are no more alive. So currently there are 5 co owners of the house. We wish to sell the house to a 3rd party. The daughter from the first marriage is unreachable and we heard from distant relatives that she might be living abroad with her husband. We might be able to reach her mother but she was not co operative and unwilling to talk last time we tried some 10 years back. How do we proceed with the sale- do we send a notice to last known address or advertise in a newspaper? The sale is necessary as the house is more than 35 years old and becoming unlivable day by day. For further context it falls under Chennai jurisdiction.
Asked 4 years ago in Property Law
Religion: Hindu
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5 Answers
Without her presence full share in the property can not be transferred.
If she remains untraceable then you can transfer undivided 4/5th share in the property.
Yes you can do the aforesaid by sending notice to the LKA and paper publication and proceed
- As per law, after the death of your father intestate , his property would be devolved upon all legal heirs equally i.e. each will have 1/5 th share in the property .
- Since, the daughter of the first marriage is traceless , then you can lodge a missing compliant before the police for getting a certificate , as disappearance of 7 years is considered as dead.
- However, if you dont want to adopt this way, then you should issue a legal notice on the last known address.
- If no response, then legally you can proceed to sell the same in her absence.
- However, you all can sell their respective share legally.
In the event of the other legal heir is not traceable then you may have to file a suit for partition making her as the sole defendant, send summons to her last known address and get the summons published in a local newspaper ls after which, if she is not turning up to court then the court may set her exparte.
You can get the preliminary decree confirming your shares in the proeprty nd then file a petition for final decree for dividing the proeprty into five equal shares and to allot four such shares to you four people.
Based on the court judgment you can get the share of property allotted to you by court registered and sell your share of property leaving behind her share just like that.
You cannot sell her share of property for any reason, let she claim her share at any stage in future or not, it is not your botheration, but selling her share along with youir shares would be considered as an illegal act under anti land grabbing act.
