History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v4.c63.t2.447

v4.c63.t2.447

The general principle is that an heir is legally bound to provide out of the estate taken by him as heir maintenance for those persons, male or female, whom the late owner was morally or legally bound to maintain. For example, if there is no ancestral property the father-in-law who possesses only selfacquired property is not legally bound to maintain his daughter-in-law (widow of a predeceased son); but on the death of the father-in-law, his heir i. e. son, widow, or daughter would be legally bound to maintain a widowed daughter-in-law.1566a The Bombay High Court, however, adds the condition that the predeceased son must have been in union with his father when he died; vide 23 Bom. 608.