The Bombay High Court has ruled that a wife can recover pending maintenance (alimony) from the estate left behind by her deceased husband, but she has no right to seek an enhancement of the amount after his death.
The case involved Varsha (62) from Maharashtra, who married Naren Goregaonkar in 1974 and separated in 1977. The couple had no children. When their divorce was granted in 1980, a court directed Naren to pay Varsha monthly maintenance of Rs 6,000.
Naren died in March 2012. Varsha later approached the family court seeking recovery of arrears from his estate and also asked for an increase in maintenance citing rising costs and medical expenses.
In February 2023, the family court allowed recovery of the pending amount but refused to raise the maintenance. Hearing her appeal, Justices Bharati Dangre and Manjusha Deshpande upheld that view, warning that allowing enhancement after death could lead to unnecessary litigation.
The court also observed that if the husband’s heirs increased the value of the property through their own efforts after his death, the former wife cannot claim a share in that growth. However, it noted that if assets were accumulated during the husband’s lifetime, the wife could seek her share in those assets, while heirs are not obliged to share their subsequent financial growth with the former spouse.
