Assalamualaikum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh
Muhtaram Mufti Sahib
May Allah Ta’ala keep you with aafiyat and prolong your shadow over the Ummat. Aameen
Two brothers are partners in a property which generates monthly rentals. The one partner passed away recently (May Allah Ta’ala forgive him).
Questions:
- Now that the one partner has passed away, does it mean that the living partner and the heirs of the deceased partner automatically become joint partners?
- How should the property actually be distributed now? Can the one party purchase the other 50% share from the other party?
- The other living partner (who is blind) wishes to give his 50% share in the property to his 3 daughters. Can he do this? If yes, does he require consent from the heirs of the marhoom partner? Also, how should he actually do this transfer? If he merely has a document drawn up wherein he wilfully transfers ownership (gifts) his share to his daughters and has an independent person sign on his behalf or merely verbally mention this in the presence of perhaps 2 witnesses, will this be in order?
- The blind person also has a personal house (he is the sole owner) which he also wishes to gift to his 3 daughters. How should he actually complete the hiba (gifting) process, considering that the title deeds are also in his name? If he does not transfer the house onto their name but merely gifts it to them in the presence of witnesses and has it duly signed perhaps as well, will this be sufficient?
Jazakallahu Khairan
Was Salaam
Ziyad Hussain
Answer:
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.
1) Yes, the heirs of the deceased will own the deceased person’s share of the property in proportion to what each heir will inherit.
2) The property does not have to be distributed. The surviving brother and his nephew/nieces (deceased brother children) can remain as partners to the property and have the rental income in proportion to their shares in the property. If the 50% shareholder or any shareholder wish to purchase the remaining shares, he may make an offer and if the shareholder agree, he may purchase their shares.
3) The surviving partner (blind person) is at liberty to gift his shares of the property to his three daughters. He does not require the consent of the other partners (heirs of the deceased) to do so. In gifting, the father should offer his share to each daughter and each daughter should accept the gift. This should be documented and kept on record. It is advisable to have the gifting witnessed and also recorded.
4) The father may gift his personal house to his three daughters as explained in point 3 above. While it is advisable to transfer the property onto his three daughter names in his lifetime, it is not necessary to do so especially it being a costly affair. Recording the transfer and placing it in ones will, will suffice.
And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best
Mufti Arshad Ali