Joint Family and Coparcenary

FAMILY LAW II

1. JISHIN JAFAR
FAMILY LAW II

2. TherearevariousformsofbusinessorganizationsinIndia.
HinduUndividedFamilyisaveryspecialkindofbusiness
organization.Thesefamilybusinessesareworkingona
largescaleinIndia.Thatiswhyitbecamenecessaryfor
thecountrytocomeupwithauniformlaw.Thislaw
coversconcernslikeKarta,Coparcenary,Coparcenary
Property,etc.

3. Hindu Joint Family
AHinduJointFamilyisanextended
familyarrangementwhichhasenormouslegal
importanceinIndia.Theunderlyingimportanceofa
jointfamilyisthatitchecksitsoriginbacktoone
commonancestor.Moreover,withthebirthsand
deathsofmembers,jointfamiliescancontinuetill
eternity.

4. Schools of Thought
TheancientSchoolsofHindulawsareoftwotypes.
Thesewereinexistenceevenpriortothecodificationof
HindulawwiththeHinduSuccessionAct,1956.
1.The MitaksharaSchool
2.The DayabhagaSchool

5. 1.The MitaksharaSchool
IntheMitaksharaSchool,theallocationofparentalpropertyis
basedontheruleofpossessionbybirth.Moreover,amancan
leavehispropertyinhiswill.Thejointfamilypropertygoesto
thegroupknownascoparceners.Therearethepeoplewho
belongtothenextthreegenerations.
Hence,thejointfamilypropertybypartitioncanbe,atany
time,convertedintoaseparateproperty.Thereforein
MitaksharaSchool,sonshaveanexclusiverightbybirthinthe
jointfamilyproperty.

6. 2.The DayabhagaSchool
IntheDayabhagaScheme,theallocationofpropertyis
extremelysimple.Ifamandiesintestate,hissonsgeta
properpartofhisproperty.Ifhehasashareinthe
commonpropertywithhisbrothersthentheproperty(a
shareequaltohisown)ofthebrotherswillbeseparate.
Moreover,thepropertyisdividedinto4parts.

7. Coparcenaryand the Property
Coparcenaryisatermwhichisgenerallyusedinmatters
relatedtotheHindusuccessionlaw.Coparcenerisaterm
usedforapersonwhoassumesalegalrightinhisparental
propertybybirthonly.Tounderstandthisinabetterway,
weneedtofirstunderstandthetermHinduUndivided
Family(HUF).

8. Intheeyesofthelaw,aHUFisagroupoffamilypeople,
whoarethelinealdescendantsofacommonancestor.This
groupincludestheeldestmemberandthreegenerationsof
afamily.Moreover,allthesemembersareknownas
coparceners.
Accordingtothelaw,allcoparcenersgetsalegalright
overthecoparcenarypropertybybirth.Buttheirsharein
thepropertykeepsonchangingwithnewbirthsanddeaths
inthefamily..

9. ThislawapartfromHinduscontrolsthepeoplefrom
otherreligiousbackgroundslikeJainism,Sikhism,
andBuddhist.Itisessentialtonoteherethat
coparcenaryappliestobothancestralandtheself-
acquiredproperty.
However,unlikeancestralpropertywhereall
coparcenershaveequalrightsovertheproperty,a
personisfreetomanagehisself-acquiredproperty
withhiswill.

10. Questionof Thought
Whatdoyoumeanby‘DoctrineofSurvivorship’?
Answer:Theconceptbasicallystatesthatthepropertywill
bedevolveduponthedeathofthecoparcenertohisnext
survivinggeneration,irrespectiveofconsideringwhohis
heiris.

12. Reference
1.Family Law Lectures -Family Law -IISaxenaPoonam
Pradhan.
2.Family Law, ParasDiwan, 8th ed, Allahabad Law Agency,
Faridabad, 2008.
3.https://www.toppr.com/guides/legal-aptitude/family-law-
II/joint-family-and-coparcenary/