Fatwa ID: 08383

 

Written by Maulana Abdurrahman Mohammad

 

Question:

 

My Wife passed away in 2022. She left behind £6500. However, we owed a sum of £10000 to the local council for a housing benefit overpayment.

 

The council contacted me after her death asking if she had left money to settle the fee. I told them that we were already paying back the money as it was being deducted from our Universal Credit entitlement every month. Due to this arrangement being in place, I told them that there was no lump sum to give them.

 

I am still paying the debt back. As for the £6500, it was very quickly used up on funeral costs and other things I had to manage at the time including my children’s Islamic school fees, etc.

 

My question is does the £10000 debt make any inheritance void? I am still paying back the debt that was officially sought from her by the council, for some reason it was her name on all the housing benefit letters and they specifically sought it from her after she passed away. However I see it as a shared debt since we were both living in the property at the time and both were working. Am I okay to go ahead and clear the debt and not worry about any inheritance that would have been owed if it wasn’t for the debt? Please clarify for me as I am worried that despite clearing debt I need to also worry about who the inheritance is owed to.

 

 

 

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

 

 

Answer:

 

When a person dies, their wealth is first used to pay for their shroud and burial. Afterward, the remaining wealth is used to pay off all debts. Then one-third of what remains will be used to carry out wills and bequeaths. Finally, the remaining wealth is divided among the inheritors. If a person does not leave behind enough money to pay off their debts, it would be best if someone steps up and pays on their behalf.

 

 

If the loan was taken out in your wife’s name, she would be solely responsible for it. If it was taken out in both of your names or with you as the cosigner, you would also be obligated to pay off the loan. What matters is who made the agreement with the lenders and signed the papers. If there is not enough money to pay for her funeral or pay off her debts, her assets would have to be sold to settle the funeral costs and debt, and then her will and inheritance are carried out.

 

 

In your case, you mentioned that all her money was used up for funeral costs. If anything remains, use that to settle her debts, even if it requires selling her financial assets. If all her wealth is used up on funeral costs and debts, there is no inheritance to distribute. Please continue to help her settle her debts and pray for her forgiveness.

 

 

Our scholars, may God have mercy on them, said: There are four ordered rights connected to the estate of the deceased. The first is to begin with his shroud and preparation for burial, without extravagance or miserliness. Then his debts are paid from all of his remaining wealth. Then his wills are carried out from one-third of what remains after the debts. Then the remainder is divided among his heirs in accordance with the Quran, the Sunnah, and the consensus of the Ummah.

 

 

 

Only Allah (عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ) knows best.

Written by Maulana Abdurrahman Mohammad

Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah

Darul Ifta Birmingham

 

 

 

 

 

References:

 

قال علمائنا رحمهم الله: تتعلق بتركة الميت حقوق أربعة مرتّبة، الأوّل: يُبدأ بتكفينه وتجهيزه من غير تبذير و لا تقتير، ثمّ تُقضى ديونه من جميع ما بقي من ماله، ثم تُنفّذ وصاياه من ‫ثلث ما بقي بعد الدين، ثم يُقسم الباقي بين ورثته بالكتاب و السنة وإجماع الأمة.

(As Sirājī Fī Al-Mīrāth, 15-29, Maktabah Al-Bushrā)