Family Property Dispute and Alleged Fraud by Maternal Uncle

This issue concerns a long-standing family property dispute involving my grandfather, my mother, and my maternal uncle.

My uncle has been involved in dishonest and fraudulent activities since a young age. He has a history of theft, borrowing money irresponsibly, pawning household items for cash, avoiding loan repayments, and creating problems for the family. At one point, while my grandfather was still alive, he allegedly created fake documents claiming that his father had died and used them to mortgage family property for money. Because of his debts, lenders would frequently come to my grandfather’s house demanding repayment.

For more than 25 years, my mother took care of my grandparents financially and medically, especially because my uncle did not support them properly. My mother handled their hospital expenses, surgeries, medicines, and overall care whenever they were unwell. During rainy seasons, my grandparents would stay at our house because their home in Thiruverkadu, Chennai, would become heavily flooded.

Our family also trusted my uncle with a Honda car worth around ₹3–3.5 lakhs. He misused the vehicle for personal purposes and later caused a major accident that completely damaged the car. He never informed us and disappeared to Bangalore afterward. Despite this, our family did not demand compensation because he was a relative.

During the COVID period around 2021–2022, my grandparents were found living in extremely poor conditions without proper food, water, or care. My mother and brother admitted them to the hospital and took care of them during recovery. After discharge, they stayed at our house for several months. Even though my grandparents often argued with my parents because they had a love marriage, our family still continued helping and supporting them.

At one stage, my grandfather himself requested that important property documents be brought from the Thiruverkadu house and kept safely at our home. My mother, grandmother, and I collected and brought those documents. However, after another family argument, my grandparents left our house and later filed a police complaint claiming that we were withholding their documents. We returned the documents through the police station.

For many years, my grandfather repeatedly stated that my uncle deserved no share in the property because of his actions and even said he wanted to send him to jail. He often told my mother that she was the one who truly cared for him and therefore deserved the property.

However, during my grandfather’s final days before his death in 2023, the house was unexpectedly transferred into my uncle’s name. This shocked our family because it completely contradicted what my grandfather had always said earlier. Due to my uncle’s past history of fraud and manipulation, our family suspects that pressure, coercion, manipulation, or misuse of my grandfather’s mental and physical condition may have been involved, though we do not yet know the exact truth.

Now my uncle keeps delaying and misleading us by saying he will “give a share later,” while also claiming that my grandfather did not want us to receive any share. The property that we believe rightfully includes my mother’s share is currently under his control, and our family is considering legal action because of the suspicious circumstances and his past fraudulent activities.