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Father’s Wish to divide his properties equally among his children

Answered as per Hanafi Fiqh by Fatwaa.com

Assalamu Alaikum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatu

1. My mother passed away on September 2010,
2 .My father passed away October 2018 leaving three daughters and a son as heirs
3. Properties are earned by my father but He bought all in my mother’s name
4. When my father was Alive he wished that his properties should be equally divided among his
children that is one son and three daughters

My question is

As he is no more. Is his wish still to be honored ( That is to divide his properties equally among his children that is one son and three daughters )
and if not how should the inheritance of the deceased be distributed ?

Answer

Wa’alaykum as Salam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu,

Many people put physical assets on the names of others for tax benefits. This does not mean that ownership transfers to them, unless they explicitly mention it. If there is no proof that your late dad intended that the properties be for your mother, they will form part of his estate.

A person loses ownership of his wealth as soon as he takes his last breath. When a person dies, ownership immediately transfers to the heirs. Your father was only authorized to gift during his lifetime. The desire of your father is now null.

If there are no other heirs besides the three daughters and one son, the estate will be divided into five shares. The son will get two shares and each daughter will get one share.

If from his side, the son wants to honour the desire of his late father and re-distribute that extra share, then that is entirely upto him. He cannot be forced to forfeit the additional amount which Allah ordained for him.

And Allaah Ta’aala knows best

Wassalaam,

Ismail Moosa (Mufti)

References

{وَإِنْ كَانُوا إِخْوَةً رِجَالًا وَنِسَاءً فَلِلذَّكَرِ مِثْلُ حَظِّ الْأُنْثَيَيْنِ} [النساء: 176]

أحوال الأخوات لأب وأم. وأما للأخوات لأب وأم فأحوال خمس:

…ومع الأخ لأب وأم للذكر مثل حظ الأنثيين، يصرن به عصبة؛ لاستوائهم في القرابة إلى الميت.. (السراجي في الميراث – ص: 25 ) 

This answer was collected from Fatwaa.com which is an excellent Q&A site managed by Mufti Ismail Moosa from South Africa. .

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