2024-05-14 11:34:39
New Delhi: The death of any loved one is tragic. The death of a woman’s husband is like a frost for her. A similar fate happened with Smriti. Her husband died unexpectedly. Her husband’s untimely demise not only caused her emotional shock but also created a financial crisis. After the departure of her life partner, Smriti is now facing a lot of problems. These also include many financial problems. Part of these financial problems are her husband’s loan liabilities.
Will the loan have to be repaid from Stridhan?
Smriti had inherited some gold and gold jewelery from her parents. Apart from this, he had also bought many jewelery studded with gold, silver, platinum and precious stones. Many of these jewels were purchased by her with her own income, or received as gifts from her parents, brothers, husband or in-laws. She is unsure about her rights over the jewelery and is worried whether she will have to sell them to repay her husband’s debt. What should they do in this situation?
what does the law say
The jewelery that Smriti has is defined as ‘Stridhan’ in the language of law. Smriti is legally protected as a woman. Her jewellery, as well as other gifts that may have been given to her by her husband, parents or in-laws, are entirely her property. She is free to use these in any way she sees fit. They have full rights over their jewellery. Such property may, at most, be protected by the husband, but if he uses it for any other needs, he is still expected to restore it. Whether a woman’s husband is alive or not, Stridhan cannot be used to repay his loan.
How to repay the loan
Smriti may have to find other means to repay the loan. Because if this is not done, a third party can claim the property of the deceased person. Her right to inherit any property of her husband will be available only after he has paid off his debts. Therefore, she should take responsibility of the situation and find out whether her husband’s insurance policy, investments or any other assets will be enough to repay the debt. She will have to evaluate which of her assets she can sell to repay the loan.
If needed, you can also sell jewelry
In case of falling short of assets, she can use her jewelery to repay the debt. However, her creditors will not be able to make a valid claim on her stridhan. They will have to waive off the dues recoverable from the deceased husband, but they will not be able to compel payment to Smriti. However, it can be difficult to establish ownership of your jewelery for keepsakes as such documents are usually not maintained or verified by the houses. She can make an inventory of her jewelery and seek two independent witnesses to certify that these are part of her stridhan.
Content Courtesy- Center for Investment Education and Learning (CIEL).
Girija Gadre, Aarti Bhargava and Labdhi Mehta have contributed in preparing it.