Inheritance Share Calculator (Hindu Succession Act)

Quick answer: Under Section 10 of the Hindu Succession Act 1956, the widow (or all widows together), each son, each daughter and the mother each take one equal share, and the family of each pre-deceased son or daughter takes one share between them.

Not legal advice. This calculator covers only a Hindu, Buddhist, Jain or Sikh man who died without a will, and only his Class I heirs, one generation of branch deep. It does not cover wills, Muslim, Christian or Parsi law, Mitakshara or Dayabhaga joint family (coparcenary) questions, agricultural tenancy rules, or a woman's property. For a real division, take advice from a lawyer and go by the land records.

How the shares are calculated

Section 8 of the Hindu Succession Act 1956 sends a man's property, when he leaves no will, first to the heirs in Class I of the Schedule. Section 9 says they all inherit together and shut out everyone else. Section 10 then splits the property:

• Rule 1: his widow, or all his widows together, take one share.
• Rule 2: each living son, each living daughter and his mother take one share each.
• Rule 3: the heirs in the branch of each pre-deceased son or daughter take one share between them.
• Rule 4: in a pre-deceased son's branch, his widow and his living sons and daughters get equal portions. In a pre-deceased daughter's branch, her living sons and daughters get equal portions.

So the formula is:

N = (1 if any widow) + sons + daughters + (1 if mother alive) + (number of branches of pre-deceased children with at least one heir)
Each son, daughter and the mother = 1/N. Each widow = 1/(N × number of widows).
Each person in a branch = 1/(N × people in that branch).
Area of a heir = total area × share. The calculator keeps every share as an exact fraction and checks that they add up to 1.

Worked examples

• Widow, 2 sons, 1 daughter and mother; 1 acre (43,560 sq ft). N = 1 + 2 + 1 + 1 = 5. Each of the five people gets 1/5 = 8,712 sq ft = 20 decimal = 12 katha 1.6 chatak = 0.605 bigha. Check: 5 × 1/5 = 1.
• Widow, 1 son and a daughter who died before him leaving 2 children; mother not alive; 1 bigha (14,400 sq ft). N = 1 + 1 + 1 = 3. Widow 1/3 = 4,800 sq ft (6 katha 10.67 chatak); son 1/3 = 4,800 sq ft; the daughter's branch 1/3 is split between her 2 children, so each gets 1/6 = 2,400 sq ft (3 katha 5.33 chatak, about 5.51 decimal). Check: 1/3 + 1/3 + 1/6 + 1/6 = 1.

Dayabhaga, Mitakshara and West Bengal

Hindus in West Bengal traditionally follow the Dayabhaga school. Dayabhaga has no survivorship: a man holds his share of family property as his own, and on his death it passes to his heirs. Section 4(1) of the Act overrides the older rules of Hindu law on matters the Act covers, so a man's separate property and his Dayabhaga share both go to his heirs under Sections 8 and 10, as shown here. Section 6 (coparcenary rights, including the 2005 rights of daughters by birth) applies only to joint families governed by Mitakshara law. For Mitakshara coparcenary property, his interest is first worked out by a notional partition under Section 6(3), and only that interest is divided this way. Joint family questions need a lawyer.

Why a woman's property is not covered

A Hindu woman who dies without a will is governed by Sections 15 and 16, which use a different order of heirs (children and husband first, then the husband's heirs, then her parents). Under Section 15(2), property she inherited from her parents, or from her husband or father-in-law, goes back to that side of the family if she has no children or grandchildren through a pre-deceased child. Because the answer depends on where each piece of property came from, this calculator does not try to work it out.

After you know the shares

1. Get a legal heir certificate or a succession certificate (a civil court issues succession certificates) naming every heir.
2. Apply for inheritance mutation at the BL&LRO (Block Land and Land Reforms Office), online through banglarbhumi.gov.in, so the record of rights (khatian) shows each heir's share.
3. Check the fee with the mutation fee calculator. Under Notification 676-LP dated 1 March 2019 there is no BL&LRO mutation fee when land passes from a parent to a child by inheritance. The waiver names only parents to offspring, so a widow, mother or grandchild may be charged the normal fee; confirm at your BL&LRO office.
4. If the heirs want to split the land on the ground, they can sign a registered partition deed. Under Section 22, if one heir wants to sell an inherited share, the other Class I heirs have the first right to buy it.

Sources and effective dates

• Hindu Succession Act 1956 (Act 30 of 1956), Sections 2, 4, 6, 8, 9, 10, 15, 16, 22 and the Schedule, as amended by the Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act 2005 (in force from 9 September 2005): India Code. Text copy used to check the wording: Indian Kanoon.
• Dayabhaga has only succession, not survivorship: BCAJ, Succession of property of Hindus.
• Mutation fee waiver for parents to offspring: L&LR Department Notification No. 676-LP/5M-33/15 dated 1 March 2019 (text on wbxpress).
• Land units as used across this site: 1 bigha = 20 katha = 14,400 sq ft; 1 katha = 16 chatak = 720 sq ft; 1 decimal = 435.6 sq ft; 1 acre = 43,560 sq ft. See the land measurement converter.
• Rules last checked on 15 October 2026.

Rates and conventions last checked: 15 October 2026.