Our multilingual team has an exceptional understanding of Sharia law as it relates to Wills and estate planning. We will help you understand who can benefit from your estate, as prescribed by the Qur’an and ensure your Will is valid under Sharia law and your country of residence.
The lawyers at TWS Legal Consultants are registered with the UK Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) / Dubai Legal Affairs Department and are active members of STEP. We have over fourteen years of experience in providing innovative solutions to complex Wills and UAE estate management requirements. Our expert Sharia Wills Lawyers/ Draftsmen can assist you with drafting your Sharia Will and witnessing it correctly.
Before dying, a Muslim must have put plans in place to ensure clarification of the following upon death:
Our lawyers will ensure all these factors are addressed.
A Sharia Will can include bequests and legacies, instructions and assigning of rights. It should be in written form and unambiguous. Two witnesses should be present when the Will is signed.
Beneficiaries to a Sharia Will are prescribed in the Qur’an and consist of legal heirs and non-legal heirs. A Muslim making a Sharia Will is free to give one third of their estate to someone not legally inheriting from them. However, two-thirds of the estate must be distributed to legal beneficiaries pre-ordained by the Qur’an. The proportion of the estate the legal beneficiary will receive depends on his or her relationship to the testator.
For example, a Muslim woman, Aafa is married to Zamil and has two children, a girl called Fatama and a boy, Yusuf. Her parents are alive and she has siblings.
Aafa can tell her lawyer that she the entirety of her estate to pass to her legal heirs. The distribution under Shari’ah law would be as follows:
Aafa has the option of bequeathing one-third of her estate to someone not already inheriting from her but this is not necessary and if she has not gifted the 1/3 in the first instance, she is free to change her mind at a later date.
When making a Will, the testator will appoint an executor (al-wasi) to administer the estate and carry out their wishes.
Our team of Wills and succession planning lawyers have been advising Muslims on Sharia Wills and other private client matters for over fourteen years. To book a complimentary consultation, please contact us:
