Senior citizens are lining up to revoke their wills after being abandoned by their children.
What’s happening? Many senior citizens who bequeathed their wealth to their children are now approaching revenue officials to revoke their settlements. They allege being neglected and not being taken care of. They cite provisions in the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007, that mention care by children as mandatory.
- In the past two years, 240 petitions to the Act were received in Chennai, and 209 were resolved. Across Tamil Nadu, it was almost 8,500 petitions with 6,125 resolutions.
- One issue is that the settlement doesn’t comply with a recent Supreme Court ruling that it should be conditional with a reason they were gifting the property to their kids. Some have approached the Chief Minister’s Cell.
Who said what? Advocate Adhilakshmi Logamurthy said senior citizens prefer settlement deeds over a will to avoid the need to probate the will. Another advocate Valliammal Kannadasan said legal services and NGOs should educate people about the Act and the court ruling. V Sivakumar of Help Age India said they have been creating awareness among senior citizens.