Q: My sister lost her husband and she has two kids viz 7 ear old son and 11 year daughter. The husband left behind his business and two buildings; one residential and one commercial where the business is running. However, these two buildings have been orally given to him by his father. There is no written proof of transfer. The father of the deceased is alive and has huge property. He has another son who has some psychological problem hence unable to make any decision.
We have temporarily transferred the business in the name of the children under the guardianship of the mother so that no one can cause any harm to the business.
My question is how will the law of inheritance apply in this case?
A: The business will be part of the estate irrespective of it being put on the children’s names. If the deceased left behind his father, one wife, one son and one daughter, and no other shar`ee heir then his estate will be divided into 72 equal shares and distributed as follows:
Father will receive 12 shares
Wife will receive 9 shares
Son will receive 34 shares
Daughter will receive 17 shares
And Allah Ta’ala (الله تعالى) knows best.
Answered by:
Mufti Ebrahim Salejee (Isipingo Beach)