WRITE AN ISLAMIC WILLS FOR ESTATE PLANNING AND INHERITANCE
HOW TO WRITE AN ISLAMIC WILLS Everything you own is known as your estate or property. Writing a wills is important for it indicates who should get a certain portion of your possession. Money, gold, jewelry, house, and even clothes can be distributed in a will. It is crucial in all communities for if you die without writing a wills, the estate wills be divided as per the law and may not be according to your wish. Also, the absence of a wills leads to court cases and fights for custody of the estate. Islam believes in equity, equality, and justice. And hence, writing an Islamic wills is important.
Quran & Sunnah guidance on Islamic Inheritance
KEY COMPONENTS OF AN ISLAMIC WILLS An Islamic will distribution is different from the English versions and must be keenly devised. It is important as:
It is a religious task for everyone to divide everything one own in their life to avoid disputes after the death The English rules for intestacy (no wills for an estate) are not ideal according to our religious laws. Therefore, if you live in a non-Muslim country, you should prepare an Islamic wills before demise so the asset is distributed justly If your children are younger than 18, and your partner has died, you can provide them a better future by choosing their legal guardians in the will. THE IMPORTANCE OF INHERITANCE IN ISLAM + WILL A will is a legal document that decides everything about your estate and what will happen to it after your death. It is important as it may help your family avoid disputes. Without a will, the division becomes laborious and stressful. And may remain undissolved for years. As talked about earlier, not having a will means that law will divide your estate among your family and it may be not what you would have done. Most importantly, a will reduces the inheritance tax payable by your family.
Learn More About Islamic Inheritance Calculator
PROCEEDING WITH THE FORMULATION OF A WILL In cases, where you have a small family and you don’t intend to divide your assets in anyone other than your nuclear relatives, testaments are quite simple. In the presence of second families, or people, other than family, that depends on your financial help, proper planning is required. The living will in Islam is formulated in two major steps:
Planning it out: talk to your family and friends about your idea of distribution and listen to their amendments. Also, list out everything you want to divide and try to be fair and just Writing the will: three categories of testaments exist depending on the nature of your will and wishes of the estate division. A simple will is when the candidates come from your nuclear family. A complex will is formulated if your marital or family status is different than usual. Lastly, if you want to donate some of your property to trusts, a specialist will along with tax planning is under consideration. EVALUATING THE ASSETS In this process, you are to calculate how much you own including cash and material estate. The Islamic inheritance calculator can help calculate the number of shares in no time. If the estate surpasses a set amount you need to consider strategies that avoid tax. Some of these are:
Inter vivas; it is to be incorporated if formulated seven years or more before one’s death Donating one-third of a large asset to charities. Many countries do not ask for taxes on charities and donations THE NEED FOR A SOLICITOR Making a will is a personal choice and you can definitely do it on your own. But to make sure it follows the legal acts and statements, professional help is beneficial. Some of the points to remember are:
The writer must be over 18 years of age He/she must be in the right mental state To be legal, a will must be in a written format If you re-structure your will, you need to mention the most updated and final version For a will to be functional, it must be signed in the presence of two witnesses who are neither your husband/wife nor a legal facilitator. These two witnesses must attest the will as well YOUR FINAL MOMENTS Your will should include your burial instructions and it must be following the Islamic laws. This section includes who is not allowed to see or touch your dead body, where do you want to be buried, etc.
DIVIDING THE ASSET You are the master of your will and can give anyone whatever you want but somethings must be kept in view.
The family must be given a fair and legal share and can always exclude distant relatives A residuary clause deal must be mentioned in the will that talks about the estate in the absence of any surviving relative THE BENEFICIARIES Your will must include at least 4 people who are given the task of executing the will as per your wish. These people can be lawyers but if you don’t want to pay someone, friends and family will also do.
WITNESSES The people you trust must be there when you are writing a will as your witnesses. These cannot be your beneficiaries or spouses. According to a sharia-compliant will, one man’s witness is equal to two women’s statements. It is important to note that any of your inheritors is not supposed to be your witness.
YOUR WILL MUST BE UP-TO-DATE A will’s validity can be affected by multiple minor or major factors including marital and family status. You must review your will every now and then in case you want to make any change. If a major change is required, a new will must be written. In the case of minor changes, a Codicil is sufficient. A codicil is when you add or remove something minor from an existing will. But never do it by crossing anything out in the written format, otherwise, the will becomes illegal.
SECTIONS OF AN ISLAMIC WILL According to hadith on will in Islam, it must contain the following sections:
Your testimony Your debts and from whom should it be collected if you fail to pay it before death If someone has kept his/her things with you, who shall collect it Sadqah or donation in the name of ALLAH (it must not be more than 1/3rd of the total estate Final signatures and dates Amendments, only if required along with signatures and dates For a detailed guide, you can utilize Islamic will template USA Islamic will 1/3.
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