Father has given entire compensation received on our elder brother death to stepmother. My Mother died in 1996, My elder brother in an accident passed away 1998. My Father got compensation of 10 lks on my brother's death. After that My father remarried. Now the whole property, part of which was bought with my Brother's compensation, is fully given to My stepmother. Can I and my sister have any claim?
The compensation amount received was the exclusive property of your father, as he received it in his personal capacity as the legal heir of his deceased son. This amount is not a bounty but a rightful compensation for the loss of love, affection, and support of his young son. As your father is alive, he has the exclusive right to that amount, and you, as his living child, do not have any legal claim to it.
Even though you too have suffered the loss of the same love and affection, your father is the absolute owner of that money. The compensation is not a joint Hindu property, as it was received by your father in his personal capacity.
Therefore, you are not entitled to claim a share in the compensation amount. Your father has the absolute right to transfer it to his second wife by way of gift, and she becomes the owner of the entire compensation.
