Who inherits when a Hindu dies without a will?
Class I heirs inherit, all at once and to the exclusion of everyone else: the widow, every son and daughter, and the mother. Each takes one share — except that all widows together share a single share between them, rather than one each. Sons and daughters take exactly the same amount.
The Class I list
For a Hindu man dying without a will, section 8 of the Hindu Succession Act 1956 gives everything to Class I heirs: his widow, his sons, his daughters, and his mother, along with the children of any child who predeceased him.
His father is not a Class I heir. Neither are his brothers or sisters. They only inherit if no Class I heir survives — which surprises many families.
The multiple-widow rule, which is easy to get wrong
Section 10 distributes per capita, with one exception. All widows collectively take one share, divided among themselves. So two widows and one son is one quarter, one quarter, one half — not one third each.
This is the single most common arithmetic error we see in family settlements, and getting it wrong invites a challenge years later.
Daughters
Daughters are Class I heirs on identical terms to sons and always have been under this Act. Since the 2005 amendment they are also coparceners in ancestral property by birth.
The Supreme Court held in Vineeta Sharma v Rakesh Sharma (2020) that this applies regardless of whether the father was alive on the date of the amendment, settling years of conflicting judgments.
When a Hindu woman dies without a will
Section 15 sets out a different order. Her sons, daughters and husband take equally first.
There is an important wrinkle: if the property was inherited from her parents, and she leaves no children, it reverts to her father's heirs. If inherited from her husband or father-in-law, it reverts to his. This depends on where each asset came from, so it is a question of fact rather than a formula.
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Last reviewed 2026-08-22. This is general information, not legal advice. Institution requirements change — confirm before you file.