Property Law in India has undergone tremendous changes in the past few decades. From the whole issue about women being denied property rights to the emergence of a new branch in property law, that is, intellectual property rights, it has come a long way. One such aspect is the transfer of property for unborn persons. This is one of the most interesting aspects of the whole branch of transfer of property, as it theorizes the transfer for the benefit of an individual who does not yet exist. This subject still has a lot of grey areas, which need to be analyzed and looked into. Through this research paper, I have attempted to explain in detail the provisions laid down in Section 13 of the Transfer of Property Act, along with some leading case laws related to the provision as well. This paper also attempts to analyze the relationship between S.13 and other related provisions as given under the Transfer of Property Act, 1882 (hereby referred to as the TP Act.)
A transfer of property cannot be made for the benefit of an unborn person as the definition in Section 5 of the TP Act is limited to living persons. However, the transfer to an unborn person can be made complete if the following conditions are followed, which are given in Section 13 of the TP Act: –
1. Interest of the unborn person must be preceded by a prior interest.
2. When the prior interest comes to an end, the unborn person must be in existence and he must have the interest as soon as he gains majority.
3. The interest created in favor of the unborn person must be the whole of the remaining interest of the transferor, that is, a life interest cannot be created in favor of the unborn person.