Fatwa ID: 06845
Answered by: Maulana Ubaidur Rahman
Question:
Could you kindly answer the following inheritance query?
Scenario: My Grandmother Fatima passed away in the year 2006 after which my Grandfather Ibrahim experienced severe dementia, they had only one son (my father).
Before my grandmother passed away, a power of attorney was written to my parents by my grandparents along with a written will and assets for my parents for the house they lived in and owned in the year 2005 when both grandparents were in good health.
Summary of the will – As long they were alive, they would continue to live in their house and the event, they were to pass away, it would then be inherited by my parents. In the case they were to pass away also, then it would be transferred to us siblings upon reaching a mature age. However, this became legally invalid when my grandfather re-married.
Summary of the power of attorney – The power of attorney was also written at the same time as the will for my grandparent’s assets including the house to be transferred to my parents in the case of death or illness in their lifetime.
Due to my grandfather remarrying in 2008, the will had become invalid, so the power of attorney was used to transfer the house to my parents’ names in approximately 2009 before my step-grandmother came to the UK from India.
Both remained living in the house till March 2019 when he passed away. My step-grandmother continued to remain in the house until January 2020 and then moved into a flat within the same month.
We also have some ancestral land in India which my grandfather wasn’t the owner of as it had my uncles who also lived in India. After my grandfather passed away, the land is now in the process of being sold in which my father will be getting a share from it also.
Questions –
1) Does Salma (my step-grandmother), have a share of the inheritance of the house that my grandfather used to live in as the power of attorney was signed for it to be transferred to my parents during my grandparent’s lifetime?
2) What share of the inheritance and any other assets left behind would my stepmother receive from the house by my grandfather?
3) Would you value the house when distributing the inheritance from the time my grandfather passed away (March 2019) or what it’s worth now (October 2023)?
4) Do my parents have any other financial responsibilities towards my step-grandmother? If yes, could you explain in detail?
5) Does my step-grandmother also get shares from the ancestral land? If yes, what percentage and according to what value? (the value at the time of when my grandfather passed away or at the time of being sold).
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
Answer:
When the husband passes away whatever is in his estate and possession will get passed on to his inheritors, except that which he has willed, which can go in the direction he chooses if he has chosen before his death in a bequest. This can be up to 1/3 entirely of his overall assets.
When a man has more than one wife, they will share the inheritance equally between them, a ¼ each. This excludes the sum or article which was given to each of them in their dowry/mehr respectively.
The wife receives ¼ share each fixed with the children present. It can not be changed. The power of attorney relates to a person or group of people being appointed to take over a person’s assets as they experience issues which reduce them from the state of power to make decisions for themselves, such as dementia or late-life illnesses.
The stepmother does have a share in the inheritance. She would receive ¼ of his overall assets and nothing more which is stipulated, apart from what was due to her or given.
The value of inheritance at the time of distribution will be according to the time the deceased passed away.it is from these assets that the deceased’s funeral expenses will be paid for, the debts if there are any present and the will will be completed and attended to. It is then from this wealth that the inheritance will be deduced and appropriated[2].
The inheritance will be distributed amongst the inheritors only after payment of funeral expenses, payment of their debts; and execution of the deceased’s will. These are very important to attend to, and only after that may the inheritance be addressed according to the rules and principles of Shariah[3].
Your parents do not have any other financial responsibilities towards your stepmother apart from making sure she is well and safe. The step-grandmother is not entitled to receive more than ¼ of the overall assets, but everyone should be mindful and conscious of her health and well-being.
Only Allah Knows Best.
Written by Maulana Ubaidur Rahman
Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah
Darul Ifta Birmingham
[1] Surah Talaaq: 65,2.
[2] Azeez ul Fatawa, page 737, volume 1, Fatawa Darul Uloom Deobond.
[3] The Islamic Law of Succession, Darus Salaam, p.413.
