Home
Discover Islam
Quran Recitations
Lectures
Fatwa
Articles
Fiqh
E-Books
Women
Boys & Girls 
Enter Question
View By Subject
Fatwa Of The Week
Selected Fatwa
Fatwa CenterFather declined his share in his late son's estate
Question
After my husband died, my five daughter's, my son, myself, and my father-in-law were declared inheritors to my husband's property. My father-in-law declined his share. Although we have not divided the property, is it possible for my brothers- and sisters-in-laws to claim my father-in-law's share of our property after he dies?
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.
Firstly, you should know that there is a difference between a gift (Hibah) and a bequest (Wasiyyah). If your father-in-law, by declining his share during his life, means that it is a gift and he is not ill with a fatal illness (i.e. that is likely to end in death), i.e. if he gifted his share to your children and this gift fulfills the conditions of the gift in the Shariah, then his share becomes the property of those to whom he gifted his share and his heirs have no right to claim it after his death because it is no longer his property.
However, if he means, by declining his share, that it becomes their property after his death, then this is considered a bequest and not a gift. So if your children are not among his heirs – as is the case at present – then the bequest made in their favor is valid, but it must not exceed one third of the estate. What exceeds one third of his estate belongs to his heirs, and they are entitled to claim it. In other words, if your father-in-law declined his share to your children and it does not exceed one third of his estate at the time of his death, then this share becomes your children's property and his heirs have no right to claim it as long as the bequest was proven. If the bequest exceeds one third of his estate, then his heirs are entitled to claim the amount that exceeds the third or to decline it in favor of your children.
Allah knows best.
Search Fatwa
Fatwa Subject
