Rajiv K. Luthra is the founder and senior partner of Luthra and Luthra Law Offices. This column provides general observations on applicable laws. Due to paucity of space, it does not and cannot substitute legal advice specific to an issue. Readers are requested to consult their lawyer for specific legal problems. The author and publisher shall not be responsible in case any damage or loss is caused to any person as a result of any action taken on the basis of the opinion expressed here. He can be contacted at gbhushan@luthra.comI own properties/deposits and would like to draw out a will in favour of my family members. How do I go about preparing the will? How can I make my wife an associate member of the flat, owned exclusively by me?T S RamaswamyA Will is a legal declaration of the intention of the testator (person making the will) with respect to the property, which he desires to be carried into effect after his death. It can be made on a blank paper by any person of sound mind not being a minor and caused without any fraud or coercion or by such importunity as takes away the free agency of the testator. Hence, you may draw up a will yourself in which you can specify what you bequeath to whom. The intention of the testator should be clear and unambiguous to enable the court to put it into force. The testator has to sign or affix his mark to the will and the document has to be attested by two or more witnesses not benefiting under the will. No stamp duty is required to be paid on a will. Also the registration of the will is optional by virtue of Section 18 of the Registration Act, 1908, although it is recommended that the will be registered, for which you would be required to pay a registration fee to the Registrar.In order to make your wife an associate member of the flat, you can transfer a certain percentage of the flat to your wife by either executing a gift deed or a sale deed. Section 123 of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882, stipulates that a transfer of a gift of immovable property must be effected by a registered instrument signed by or on behalf of the donor and attested by at least two witnesses. Further the donee, in this case your wife, has to accept the gift. A sale of immovable property is a transfer of ownership in exchange of a price paid or promised. Such a transfer can be made only by a registered instrument. Further, in case the flat is in a Society you will have to get the name of your wife included in the Society upon complying with the requirements of the Society by-laws, rules/regulations in this behalf.I heard of a ‘‘self-created’’ Hindu undivided family (HUF). Is there such a thing? V PrashantThe expression HUF is used in the revenue statutes, whereas in personal law the expression ‘‘Hindu joint family’’ is used. It consists of all lineal descendants from a common ancestor, and includes their wives and unmarried children. The existence of the common ancestor is necessary for bringing a HUF into existence and for its continuance a common ancestor is not necessary. An HUF, created by the individual coparcener’s own volition, has, in he past, been sufficient to make such self-created HUF as a separate taxable entity. The HUF is purely a creature of law and cannot be created by act of parties save insofar that by adoption or marriage, a stranger may be affiliated as a member thereof. In the absence of proof of division, the legal presumption is that every Hindu family is a HUF. However, a male, who separates from his father or brothers may become the head of a new HUF, if he has a family. Such separation may be through partition. The Hon’ble Supreme Court has held that one male can form with females (such as his wife and his daughter), a joint Hindu family. However, the character of the property (being ancestral property) cannot change by a division thereof amongst the members.
