Q: My sister died in 2004 and she had £365000 in her account cash and interest accumulated to £40000 making a grand total of £405,000.00. This had been divided amongst 17 members of family without paying Zakaat since 2004. She died in 2006 what is your opinion?
A: Did the mayyit pass away in 2004 or 2006? Is the question pertaining to the zakaat that was not discharged on the money after the demise of the deceased till the time of distribution or the zakaat that was not paid on the wealth before the deceased passed away?
Answered by:
Mufti Zakaria Makada
Q: The marhum died in 2006 and monies in bank account since then. We won the court case in Nov 2014 (8 years later). So no zakaat was paid for 8 years and previous years from 2000 t0 2006 as she suffered from alzaimers disease. Can Legal expenses, agents fees for conducting the case, etc be decuted from the estate?
A: The entire amount will be distributed among the heirs according to the stipulated shares of inheritance. Thereafter each heir should remove the interest amount from his share and give it to the poor without the intention of receiving any reward. If the deceased did not make a bequest that the zakaat be paid, then it is not compulsory upon the heirs to discharge the zakaat on behalf of the deceased. If the mayyit had made a bequest that the zakaat be paid, then the zakaat will be paid from one third of the estate for those years that the mayyit remained alive and did not discharge the zakaat. Zakaat will not be paid on the wealth after the demise of the mayyit till the time the estate was wound and distributed.
It is permissible to deduct the legal expenses, agents fees, etc before distributing the wealth among all the heirs provided all the heirs agree and it is detected from the share of each heir in proportion to his share (e.g. If one heir is going to receive 1/6th of the estate, then only 1/6th of the debts will be excluded from his share).
And Allah Ta’ala (الله تعالى) knows best.
Answered by:
Mufti Zakaria Makada
Checked & Approved:
Mufti Ebrahim Salejee (Isipingo Beach)
Q: The solictors fees and agents fees for conducting the court case for 8 years. Some of the heirs are refusing to pay. This is not right. Both costs must be paid. Fortunately a reserve has been kept aside to cover the costs by the legal team. Can we deduct both costs without the consent of the heirs?
A: Since all the heirs have mandated you to act on their behalf to release their share of the estate, it will be permissible for you to pay the legal charges and fees from their wealth. However each heir will be liable to pay that amount of the fees in proportion to his share (e.g. If one heir is going to receive 1/6th of the estate, then only 1/6th of the legal charges will be paid from his share).
And Allah Ta’ala (الله تعالى) knows best.
Answered by:
Mufti Zakaria Makada
Checked & Approved:
Mufti Ebrahim Salejee (Isipingo Beach)