Steps Of Wealth Distribution Making a Will

Surah Al-Nisa 4. Verse 11 -14 & 176

Allah instructs you concerning your children: for the male, what is equal to the share of two females. But if there are [only] daughters, two or more, for them is two thirds of one’s estate. And if there is only one, for her is half.

And for one’s parents, to each one of them is a sixth of his estate if he left children. But if he had no children and the parents [alone] inherit from him, then for his mother is one third. And if he had brothers [or sisters], for his mother is a sixth, after any bequest he [may have] made or debt. Your parents or your children - you know not which of them are nearest to you in benefit. [These shares are] an obligation [imposed] by Allah. Indeed, Allah is ever Knowing and Wise.

“Learn about inheritance and teach it, for it is half of knowledge, but it will be forgotten. It is the first thing that will be taken away from my nation”

- Prophet Muhammad (Ibn Majah)

The following is the sequence of spending and distribution of Mirath after the death of a person. 1: Funeral expenditure(modest) 2: Payment of debts/ loans 3: Pending commitments

4: Will - upto 1/3 of what remains 5: Distribution among heirs as prescribed

CALCULATING SHARES

Step 1: Write the name of deceased, the date and year of death, the distributable wealth among heirs (last box in the above process).

Step 2: List down all relatives who were alive at time of death of the deceased. Identify if any relative qualifies for extended Residuary [Res] Asbah category by writing “R” in front of them (male relatives through chain of males – see definitions). Step 3a: Go through table 1 and assign shares to each applicable heir based on the appropriate conditions.

Step 3b: For the following 5 relations, if both male and female are present then ignore the females while assigning shares from table 1 and place (“) in their column. Their share will be extracted from table 2. These 5 relations are: 1) son [S] & daughter [D], 2) son’s son [SS] & son’s daughter [SD], 3) son’s son’s son [SSS] & son’s son’s daughter [SSD], 4) real brother [RB] & real sister [RS], 5) paternal brother [PB] & paternal sister [PS]

Step 4 (this step can be skipped if “share from 24” column is used in Step 3): Find the lowest common multiple (LCM) of the denominators of the assigned shares and multiply each numerator with that factor. In all cases the denominator will be 24 or less. Eg: if assigned shares are 1/6, 1/2 and 1/8. Then the lowest common multiple (LCM) of the denominators 6, 2 and 8 is

24. The respective numerators will then be 4, 12 and 3 out of total 24 shares (common denominator).

Step 5: Calculate the remaining shares. Add all assigned numerators and subtract the total from the common denominator. In above example the assigned shares are 4, 12 and 3 out of common denominator of

24. The sum of numerators is 4+12+3= 19. The remaining shares are 24-19= 5.

Step 6: Move from left  right on table 2. Assign all remaining shares to the 1st applicable category.

If the category is among the five relations as mentioned in step 3b then males will get twice as much share as females in that category. In this case, multiply the number of males in the category by 2 and add it to number of females. Divide the assigned shares by this number and give 2 portions to males and 1 to each female.

Eg: 2 Sons [S] and 2 Daughters [D] are assigned 12 shares. Multiply number of males by 2 (2 x2 = 4), then add to number of females (4+2=6). 12 shares will be divided in 6 (each portion is 2 shares) and then each males gets 2 shares each and female gets 1 share. In the end each son gets 4 shares and each daughter gets 2 shares form total 12 shares (ratio 2:1).

Step 6b: If the shares are assigned to extended Residuary [Res] (Asbah) category while using Table 2, then use Table 3 to find out closed Res in relationship who shall receive these shares.

Step 7: You should now have all the shares distributed among appropriate heirs. All other relatives of the deceased do not get any share in mirath. Now calculate each individual’s portion by dividing the shares in each category by the number of individuals in that category. Eg: If share of wife is 6, then for someone with 2 wives the share of each will be 3 out of 24. At times dividing the share will lead to a number with decimal, such as dividing 13 shares in 6 individuals with lead to 2.166/person.

To avoid this you can multiply the whole column (all shares) by the number of divisions that are need.

Eg: 13 x 6 = 78. Then each share will be 13 out of total 78. Keeping it in whole numbers make it simple and easy to understand. Step 8: Find the share in terms of wealth ($, acres of land, %, etc.). The following formula is used:

(Share of the person / Total shares) x (total wealth) = Wealth share of each person Source: alhudainstitute.ca

Disinheritance of beneficiaries

Allah has ordained inheritance in the 4uran. You do not have the authority, as a believing Muslim, to disregard it. Doing so would mean you are doing an injustice. Example:

Idrees is a Muslim who has three adult children. He has not spoken to them in 10 years after a rough divorce with their mother. He wants to disinherit his children. Instead, he wants to give everything to the Masjid. Idrees cannot do this in Islam. Even though giving money to the Masjid, by itself, is beneficial, he cannot do this for more than 1/3 of his estate. The rest must go to his rightful heirs in Islam. Failure to do this would make him unjust. Also, he and his children should make efforts to communicate. Muslims should also never cut off family ties.

ADOPTION

Islam does not prohibit adoption. However, this comes with a caveat. Adoption is a legal fiction. You cannot make your adopted child the same as your biological child for all purposes.

The issue of adoption is specifically mentioned in the 4uran at 33:4-5: Adopted children are not true children, and you call people by the names of their true fathers. Muslims can give adopted children wealth from the wasiyyah. However, they cannot treat the child as exactly the same as a biological child for all purposes. In the United States, the legal fiction of adoption has wide implications. Those should be controlled in an Islamic Estate Plan. What if adoptive parents want to give more than what they can give in the wasiyyah? Consider structuring a gift in a way that does not violate the Islamic Rules of Inheritance. Don’t forget Debt

It is vital to pay off debts after death before any distribution of inheritance. Debt is a complex subject in Estate Planning and among families and businesses. Unfortunately, many Muslim families do a poor job of keeping track of what debts they owe and what debts are owed. A strong recommendation in the Quran to write down debts is often not followed.

O you who have believed, when you contract a debt for a specified term, write it down. Most of the time, not writing down every debt in the family is not a big deal. However, when it comes to relationships after death, the presence of debt can be toxic to relationships. This is more often true if the arrangement is not clear to the survivors. Lifetime Gifts

With some exceptions, Islam does not regulate gifts that you give during your lifetime. So, for example, if you want to give a gift to

your child, even if non-Muslim or otherwise not eligible to inherit, a friend, a spouse, you can do so. While this may seem simple enough, this can allow for some opportunities for structuring gifts in estate plans. Some Muslims may transfer ownership in business entities, real estate, and other assets. A Muslim’s ability to give gifts does have restrictions. The concept of “final sickness” is one of them. For example, an elderly man on his deathbed gives away everything he owns to his nurse. People sometimes do wacky things on their deathbeds. Another prohibition is that Muslims cannot give gifts with the intent of injuring the Islamic inheritance rights of another individual.

Source: islamicinheritance.com