Here is what you should know about family law disputes and settlements before you act or reply to anyone. Legals365 is the legal platform of Advocate B.K. Singh and associates, based in Delhi NCR.
In short. Family disputes in India are handled under different laws depending on the problem: marriage, maintenance and custody go to the family court; property and partition among relatives go to the civil court; elderly parents can approach the Maintenance Tribunal under the Senior Citizens Act 2007. Many disputes are best closed by a written family settlement or court-annexed mediation rather than a suit.
Family disputes are rarely just legal problems. A quarrel over the parents' house is also about who looked after them, a fight over a child is also about a failed marriage, and a complaint about an abusive son is also about a mother who does not want him jailed. The law has remedies for all of these, but they are scattered across many statutes and forums, and picking the wrong one wastes years.
This page is a map. It explains which court or authority handles which kind of family problem, how family settlements work and when they need registration, what elderly parents can do under the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act 2007, how disputes about children and property between relatives are decided, what the law currently offers LGBTQ+ couples and couples in live-in or inter-faith relationships, and when mediation is the better route. For specific problems such as divorce, maintenance or custody, it points you to the detailed page on that topic.
- Law
- Family Courts Act 1984; Hindu Marriage Act 1955; Special Marriage Act 1954; Hindu Succession Act 1956; Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act 1956; Guardians and Wards Act 1890; Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act 2007; Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005; BNSS s.144; Registration Act 1908
- Forum
- Family court for marriage, maintenance and custody; civil court for partition, declaration and injunction; Maintenance Tribunal (SDM level) for senior citizens; magistrate for DV Act cases; High Court for writs and protection; court mediation centres
- Time limit
- Depends on the remedy: partition has no fixed limit while co-ownership continues, but declaration and cancellation suits must be filed within 3 years of the cause of action; senior citizen applications should be decided within 90 days; appeals are time-bound
- Documents
- Family tree, title deeds and mutation records, death certificates, wills, marriage and birth certificates, bank and income records, earlier complaints and orders, any written family arrangement
What family law covers
Family law in India is personal law plus a set of secular statutes. Personal law, mostly codified for Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and Buddhists and partly uncodified for Muslims, Christians and Parsis, governs marriage, divorce, succession and adoption. Secular laws such as the Special Marriage Act 1954, the Guardians and Wards Act 1890, the Domestic Violence Act 2005, the Senior Citizens Act 2007 and section 144 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita 2023 (maintenance) apply to everyone.
In practice a 'family case' can mean almost anything: a divorce, a maintenance claim, custody of a child, a partition of the ancestral house, an elderly father seeking to remove a son from his flat, a sister claiming her share after the father's death, a couple facing threats from relatives, or a family business that has split along family lines. Each of these goes to a different forum under a different law.
The first job of a family lawyer is therefore to sort the problem into its legal parts. A widow whose in-laws want her out of the house may have a domestic violence claim, a succession claim and a property suit all at once. Choosing which to file first, and where, often decides how quickly she gets relief.
The main family laws
Family Courts Act 1984
Family courts have exclusive jurisdiction, in the areas they cover, over suits about marriage and matrimonial status, property of spouses, injunctions arising out of the marriage, legitimacy, maintenance and guardianship or custody. Section 9 requires them to attempt settlement first.
Hindu Succession Act 1956
Governs inheritance for Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and Buddhists. Since the 2005 amendment, daughters are coparceners in joint family property with the same rights as sons, and the Supreme Court confirmed in 2020 that this applies whether or not the father was alive on the date of the amendment.
Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act 2007
Lets parents and senior citizens claim maintenance from children or relatives through a Maintenance Tribunal, and lets a senior citizen have a property transfer declared void under section 23 if it was made on the condition of care that was not provided.
Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005
Protects any woman in a domestic relationship, including wives, mothers, sisters, widows and women in relationships in the nature of marriage, with protection, residence, monetary and custody orders from the magistrate.
Section 144, BNSS
The old section 125 CrPC. A wife, children and parents who cannot maintain themselves can claim monthly maintenance from a person with sufficient means who neglects or refuses to maintain them.
Guardians and Wards Act 1890 and Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act 1956
Govern guardianship and custody of minors and of their property. A natural guardian needs the court's permission to sell or mortgage a minor's immovable property.
Which family problem goes where
| Problem | Main law | Where it is filed |
|---|---|---|
| Divorce, annulment, restitution | Hindu Marriage Act, Special Marriage Act, other personal laws | Family court |
| Maintenance of wife, children or parents | BNSS s.144, HMA s.24 and 25, HAMA s.18 and 20 | Family court (or magistrate where no family court) |
| Domestic violence, residence in the shared household | Domestic Violence Act 2005 | Judicial Magistrate |
| Custody and guardianship of a child | Guardians and Wards Act, HMA s.26 | Family court |
| Partition of family property | Hindu Succession Act, CPC | Civil court (district court or High Court by value) |
| Elderly parents neglected or harassed | Senior Citizens Act 2007 | Maintenance Tribunal headed by an SDM-level officer |
| Will, probate, succession certificate | Indian Succession Act 1925 | District court or High Court |
| Threats to a couple from relatives | Article 21, Article 226 | Police, and High Court for protection orders |
| Mutation of inherited property | State land revenue law, municipal rules | Tehsildar, revenue office or municipal body |
The family court: what it hears and how it works
Family courts hear matrimonial cases, maintenance, custody and guardianship, and disputes about property between spouses. They do not hear partition suits between siblings, will disputes or tenancy matters between relatives; those go to the civil courts. In Delhi, family courts sit in the district court complexes at Tis Hazari, Saket, Karkardooma, Rohini, Dwarka and Patiala House. In Noida they sit at the Gautam Buddh Nagar court complex in Surajpur, and in Ghaziabad and Gurugram at the district courts.
Family courts are less formal than ordinary civil courts. The judge is expected to attempt settlement, often by sending parties to a counsellor or the court's mediation centre, and proceedings in matrimonial matters are often held in chambers. The Family Courts Act says a party is not entitled as of right to be represented by a lawyer, but in practice the courts routinely allow advocates to appear, and most parties do use one.
Because the same judge may hear several cases between the same family, consistency matters. Allegations made in a maintenance petition will be read alongside a custody application and a divorce petition. What you say in one family case should be true in all of them.
Family settlements: settling property without a suit
A family settlement is an arrangement among members of a family to divide or confirm their shares in property so as to end or avoid disputes. Courts in India favour them, and will usually uphold a fair, voluntary settlement even if a member got a little more or less than the strict legal share, as long as the parties had at least an arguable claim and no one was defrauded. A settlement can cover land, flats, a family business, bank deposits and jewellery.
Registration depends on what the document does. If the written document itself creates, transfers or declares rights in immovable property, it must be registered under section 17 of the Registration Act 1908 and stamped, or it cannot be used as evidence of those rights. If the family had already settled things orally and the document only records that past arrangement, as a memorandum of family settlement, courts have held that registration is not needed. The line between the two is fine, and a badly worded memorandum can end up unregistered and unusable. Our page on family settlement deed drafting covers the drafting choices.
Stamp duty on a family settlement depends on the state, and some states offer concessional rates for settlements or transfers within the family, so check the current rate before you sign. After registration, apply for mutation in the revenue or municipal records, or the transfer of membership in the society, so that the settlement shows up where buyers and banks will look.
Partition, relinquishment and inheritance among siblings
When a parent dies without a will, the property passes by succession law: for Hindus, under the Hindu Succession Act, the widow, sons, daughters and mother of the deceased take equal shares as Class I heirs. Each heir becomes a co-owner. Nobody can sell the whole property without the others, and any co-owner can ask for partition. If siblings agree, they sign a registered partition deed, or those who want to step out sign a relinquishment deed in favour of the others.
If they cannot agree, any co-owner can file a partition suit in the civil court. The court first passes a preliminary decree declaring shares, then a final decree dividing the property by metes and bounds, or ordering a sale if division is impractical. Partition suits are slow, and the property often stays frozen for years, which is why settlement is usually better for everyone.
Daughters often ask whether they can claim a share after marriage. They can. A married daughter is a Class I heir to her father's self-acquired property if he died without a will, and since 2005 she is a coparcener in joint family property too. A will changes the picture: a person can leave self-acquired property to anyone, and the heirs' remedy then lies in challenging the will. Our page on wills, succession certificates, probate and inheritance explains that route, and the page on succession certificate documentation covers claiming deposits and shares.
Elderly parents: maintenance, protection and eviction of abusive relatives
Parents and senior citizens who cannot maintain themselves from their own earnings or property can apply to the Maintenance Tribunal under the Senior Citizens Act 2007 for a monthly allowance from their children, or, for a childless senior citizen, from a relative who will inherit the property. The Tribunal is headed by an officer not below the rank of Sub-Divisional Magistrate, the application is meant to be decided within 90 days of notice, and an appeal lies to the Appellate Tribunal, usually the District Magistrate, within 60 days. The Act caps the monthly amount the Tribunal can order, so check the current limit, and lawyers are not allowed to represent parties before the Tribunal, which keeps the process simple.
Section 23 is often more useful than maintenance. If a senior citizen transferred property, by gift or otherwise, on the condition that the transferee would provide basic amenities and care, and the transferee fails to do so, the Tribunal can declare the transfer void. The condition is easier to prove if it is written into the deed, which is a good reason to include it whenever parents gift a house to a child.
Delhi's rules under the Act also provide a procedure for evicting children or relatives who harass senior citizens in their own property, through the district administration. The Supreme Court has said this power must be balanced against other rights, such as a daughter-in-law's right of residence in the shared household under the Domestic Violence Act, so eviction is not automatic. Parents can also claim maintenance under section 144 of the BNSS, approach the police senior citizen cell, or, in the case of an elderly woman, use the Domestic Violence Act against abusive relatives.
How to approach a family dispute, step by step
Most family disputes, whatever their subject, go best when handled in this order.
Sort the problem into its legal parts
Write down what has happened and what you want: money, a share in property, protection, custody, or simply peace. Each goal points to a different remedy and forum, and you may need more than one.
Collect the papers
Gather title documents, mutation records, wills, death and marriage certificates, bank records, messages and any earlier complaints. In family property matters, a family tree showing every heir is the starting point.
Check time limits and urgent risks
Find out whether anyone is about to sell the property, remove you from the house or take a child out of the city. Urgent risks call for an immediate injunction, a protection order or a caveat, before any negotiation.
Try a structured settlement
Talk through a lawyer or a neutral elder, or use pre-litigation mediation at the court's mediation centre. Put any agreement in writing, and register it if it affects immovable property.
File in the right forum if talks fail
File the case that gives you the relief you most need first, in the court or authority that has jurisdiction. Keep the allegations specific and consistent across all proceedings.
Follow through after the order
Get certified copies, apply for mutation or transfer, enforce maintenance orders that are not paid, and close parallel cases if there is a settlement. Many family wins are lost at this stage through inaction.
Marriage, maintenance and domestic violence in brief
Disputes between spouses are the largest share of family litigation, and each has its own page. A spouse who wants to end the marriage and cannot get agreement files a contested petition; see divorce, contested divorce and matrimonial cases. Couples who agree on separation use the faster joint route explained on the page on mutual consent divorce.
Money claims between spouses, and claims by children and parents, are covered on the page on maintenance and alimony claims. Cruelty, dowry demands and domestic violence, including the right of a woman to live in the shared household, are covered on the page on dowry, domestic violence and cruelty cases.
The point to take from this page is that these remedies interact. A maintenance order affects the divorce settlement, a residence order affects who can sell the flat, and a criminal complaint affects whether any settlement is possible. Plan them together.
Children: custody, guardianship, adoption and a minor's property
In every dispute about a child, the court's first concern is the child's welfare, not the rights of either parent. Custody can be decided in the divorce case or in a separate guardianship petition in the family court, and the court can give one parent custody and the other visitation, shared parenting or video contact. Grandparents and other relatives can also apply where the parents are unable or unwilling to care for the child. The page on child custody, visitation and guardianship explains how these cases run.
Adoption is governed by the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act 1956 for Hindus and by the Juvenile Justice Act 2015 and the CARA Adoption Regulations for others and for adoptions through agencies. Since the 2021 amendment to the Juvenile Justice Act, adoption orders under that Act are made by the District Magistrate rather than the court. Inter-country and step-parent adoptions have their own procedures, so check the current regulations before starting.
A minor's property needs care. A parent who is the natural guardian cannot sell, mortgage or gift a minor's immovable property without the court's permission under section 8 of the Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act, and a sale without permission can be set aside at the minor's instance. When a parent dies leaving a share to a minor child, any family settlement or sale involving that share must go through the court.
Legal support for LGBTQ+ family matters
Consensual same-sex relations between adults are no longer a crime after the Supreme Court's 2018 decision reading down section 377 of the IPC. In October 2023, however, a Constitution Bench declined to read same-sex marriage into the Special Marriage Act and left the question to Parliament, so same-sex marriages are not currently registered in India. The government set up a committee to look at practical rights of queer couples, and banks have been told there is no bar on queer partners opening joint accounts or nominating each other, though practice varies, so check with the bank.
In the meantime, couples can protect each other through ordinary legal tools: a will leaving property to the partner, nominations in bank accounts, insurance and investments where permitted, joint ownership of a home, a power of attorney for medical and financial decisions, and a written cohabitation agreement on how property will be divided if the relationship ends. A will is especially important, because without it the partner has no right of inheritance and the property goes to blood relatives. Our page on will drafting explains what a valid will needs.
Transgender persons can obtain a certificate of identity from the District Magistrate under the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act 2019, and the Act prohibits discrimination in education, employment, healthcare and housing. Where an LGBTQ+ person faces threats or confinement by their own family, the High Court can grant police protection under Article 226, and the police are bound to act on a complaint of wrongful confinement or criminal intimidation.
Live-in, inter-faith and inter-caste couples
Adults who choose to live together, or to marry across religion or caste, are protected by Article 21, and the courts have repeatedly said that families, community bodies and the police cannot interfere with that choice. Where a couple faces threats, the usual steps are a written complaint to the SHO and the DCP, and, if that does not work, a writ petition in the High Court for police protection. Delhi and the neighbouring High Courts hear such petitions regularly.
Inter-faith couples who do not want to convert can marry under the Special Marriage Act, which requires notice to the Marriage Officer of the district where one of them has lived for at least 30 days, and a 30-day objection period before solemnisation. Couples marrying under a personal law should still register the marriage, because registration certificates are needed for passports, visas and later proceedings; Delhi has made registration of marriages compulsory.
A woman in a live-in relationship in the nature of marriage can use the Domestic Violence Act for protection, residence and maintenance, and children born of a long live-in relationship have been treated as legitimate for inheritance from their parents. Whether a particular relationship qualifies depends on its facts: how long it lasted, whether the couple shared a household and presented themselves as married, and so on.
Mediation and settlement in family disputes
Mediation works better in family disputes than in most other areas, because the parties usually have to keep dealing with each other: as co-parents, as co-owners, or simply as relatives at weddings and funerals. Court-annexed mediation centres in Delhi, Noida, Ghaziabad and Gurugram handle matrimonial, maintenance, custody and partition disputes, and the courts refer cases there routinely. Pre-litigation mediation is also available before any case is filed. Our page on mediation, conciliation and Lok Adalat explains the process in general.
A good family settlement is specific. It names each property and what happens to it, says who pays what and when, lists every case that will be withdrawn, and sets out what happens if someone does not perform. It is signed by every family member whose rights are affected, including adult children where joint family property is involved, and any minor's share is dealt with through the court.
In family property disputes that reach Advocate B.K. Singh's office, the settlement that holds is almost always the one where every heir signed, the document was registered where registration was needed, and mutation was completed promptly. Settlements that leave out one sister living abroad, or that stay as an unregistered paper in a drawer, tend to come back as litigation a decade later.
When a family dispute turns criminal, and when it should not
Some family disputes do involve crimes: forging a parent's signature on a sale deed (sections 336 to 340 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita), misappropriating a widow's jewellery (criminal breach of trust under section 316), physical violence, or threats. In those cases a police complaint or an FIR is appropriate, alongside the civil remedy.
Many family disputes, however, are civil at heart, and turning them into criminal cases rarely helps. Courts and the police are wary of property quarrels between siblings dressed up as cheating or trespass. A criminal complaint filed mainly to pressure a relative into a settlement often ends in a closure report, a quashing order or a counter-complaint, and it hardens positions in the civil case.
Ask yourself what you actually want. If it is a share in the house, the partition suit and an injunction against sale will get you there. If it is protection from violence, the Domestic Violence Act or the Senior Citizens Act will act faster than a criminal trial. Use criminal law where there is a genuine offence, not as a negotiating tactic.
How the answer changes with the parties
Family members abroad. NRI heirs and spouses can take part through a power of attorney executed abroad and attested at the Indian mission, or apostilled where applicable, and courts often allow evidence by video. A family settlement or relinquishment deed signed abroad must still be stamped and registered in India within the time allowed after it is received.
Hindu Undivided Families and family businesses. An HUF is a separate tax and legal unit managed by the karta, and partition of an HUF has its own rules, including a partial partition being disregarded for income tax purposes. Where a family business is a partnership or a company, a dispute between relatives may belong before the civil court or the NCLT rather than the family court, depending on the structure.
Muslim, Christian and Parsi families. Muslim succession follows personal law with fixed shares, and a Muslim may bequeath only up to one third of the estate by will without the heirs' consent. Christians and Parsis inherit under the Indian Succession Act 1925. The family court and civil court structure is the same, but the substantive answers differ.
Leasehold and authority property. For DDA, L&DO, Noida, Greater Noida or GDA property, a family settlement or partition also needs the authority's mutation or transfer, which has its own forms and charges. A partition of a leasehold plot may need the authority's permission to subdivide.
Documents to keep ready
Family and status
- Family tree listing every heir with addresses
- Death certificates and legal heir or survivorship certificates
- Marriage and birth certificates
- Identity and address proofs
Property
- Sale deeds, allotment letters and the full chain of title
- Mutation, khatauni or municipal records
- Wills, codicils and any earlier family arrangement
- Loan, tax and society records
Money and care
- Bank statements and income proof of the person who should pay
- Medical bills and expenses of an elderly parent or child
- Records of who has paid property tax and maintenance
Earlier disputes
- Complaints to the police or senior citizen cell
- Orders and pleadings in any earlier case
- Messages and letters showing threats, refusals or agreements
A made-up example: an elderly father, a gifted flat and three children
Here's a made-up example. Mr Sharma, aged 78, lives in Dwarka in a flat he bought in the 1990s. Five years ago he gifted the flat to his elder son on the understanding, written into the gift deed, that the son would look after him and his wife and let them live there for life. The son moved in, then began to restrict their movement and stopped paying for medicines. The younger son and a daughter living in Pune wanted to help but did not want a public fight.
Mr Sharma applied to the Maintenance Tribunal under section 23 of the Senior Citizens Act to declare the gift void because the condition of care had failed, and asked for maintenance in the meantime. Because the condition was written into the deed, the Tribunal had little difficulty with it. The elder son, faced with losing the flat, agreed in a settlement recorded before the Tribunal to move out and give up his claim.
The family then signed a registered family settlement in which the flat returned to Mr Sharma, his wife was to live there for life, and the property would pass equally to the three children under a fresh will. The example shows two things: a written condition in a gift deed protects parents, and a family settlement afterwards stops the same dispute recurring at the next death.
Mistakes to avoid and what to do this week
The common mistakes in family disputes are acting on emotion before checking the papers, filing in the wrong forum, signing an unregistered settlement that later cannot be enforced, leaving out an heir, gifting property to a child without a written condition of care, and letting mutation lapse so that the records still show a dead parent years later. Another is posting about the dispute on social media or the family WhatsApp group, which tends to end up in the court file.
This week, draw up a family tree with every heir, collect the title and mutation papers, and write down what you want from the dispute in one or two sentences. If there is an urgent risk, such as a threatened sale, eviction or removal of a child, deal with that first. If you want the papers checked before you act, the team of Advocate B.K. Singh at Legals365 can review them and tell you the next step.
Frequently asked questions
What cases does a family court hear?
Matrimonial cases such as divorce and annulment, maintenance, custody and guardianship of children, and disputes about property between spouses. Partition suits between siblings, will disputes and tenancy cases go to the civil court instead.
Can elderly parents evict their son from their house?
Often, yes. If the house belongs to the parents, a son living there is usually only a licensee, and parents can seek his removal through a civil suit or, in Delhi, through the procedure under the Senior Citizens Act rules. The right of a daughter-in-law to residence under the Domestic Violence Act must also be considered.
How can a senior citizen claim maintenance from children?
By applying to the Maintenance Tribunal under the Senior Citizens Act 2007, which is headed by an SDM-level officer and is meant to decide within 90 days. Parents can also claim maintenance under section 144 of the BNSS before the family court or magistrate.
Does a family settlement deed need to be registered?
If the document itself creates, transfers or declares rights in immovable property, yes, and it must be stamped. If it only records an oral settlement already made, courts have held registration is not required. The wording decides which it is, so draft it carefully.
Can a married daughter claim a share in her father's property?
Yes. If the father died without a will, a married daughter is a Class I heir to his self-acquired property with the same share as a son. Since 2005 she is also a coparcener in Hindu joint family property.
Can same-sex couples marry in India?
Not at present. In October 2023 the Supreme Court declined to recognise same-sex marriage under the Special Marriage Act and left the issue to Parliament. Couples can still protect each other through wills, nominations, joint ownership and powers of attorney.
What can a couple do if their families threaten them?
Make a written complaint to the SHO and the DCP, and if the police do not act, file a writ petition in the High Court for protection. Courts treat the right of adults to choose a partner as part of Article 21.
Is mediation compulsory in family disputes?
Family courts are required to attempt settlement and usually refer cases to counselling or mediation, but no one can be forced to settle. Pre-litigation mediation is available before filing and is often quicker and cheaper than a suit.
Can a parent sell property that belongs to a minor child?
Not without the court's permission. Under section 8 of the Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act, a natural guardian needs court permission to sell, mortgage or gift a minor's immovable property, and a sale without it can be set aside.
Can a gift deed to a child be cancelled if they stop caring for the parents?
Under section 23 of the Senior Citizens Act, the Maintenance Tribunal can declare a transfer void if it was made on the condition of providing basic amenities and care and that condition was not met. A condition written into the deed makes this much easier to prove.
Do I need a lawyer in the family court?
The Family Courts Act does not give parties an automatic right to a lawyer, but courts routinely permit advocates and most parties use one. Before the Senior Citizens Act Maintenance Tribunal, lawyers are not allowed to represent the parties.
How long does a family property dispute take?
A partition suit that is fought to the end can take many years, often longer than matrimonial cases, and the property stays frozen meanwhile. A registered family settlement or a mediated agreement can close the same dispute in weeks or months.
Need help with Elder Law? Send your papers or a short note of what has happened. An advocate from the team of Advocate B.K. Singh will read it and tell you the next step.
