Law of Inheritance for Parsis Rules of Inheritance

Mumbai has one of the oldest Parsi communities in India, and its succession law looks different from everyone else's. A Parsi who dies without a will leaves a widow, a son, a daughter and a mother. You might expect a fraction like one-third for the widow. The Parsi rule is simpler and more even: the widow and each child take equal shares, and each living parent takes half of a child's share. Why that formula, and what happens when the family tree is less tidy?

In two minutes

For Parsi intestacy, Chapter III of Part V (ss.50–56) divides the estate equally among the spouse and each child, gives each parent half a child's share, and applies a ladder of next-of-kin when there are no descendants (Indian Succession Act 1925).

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