Making a bequest to an heir

Egypt's Dar Al-Ifta

Making a bequest to an heir

Question

" dir="rtl" align="right">We reviewed request number 307 for the year 2006 which includes the following:
My father passed away leaving a wife and children. He left a notarized property which he had bequeathed to all of his heirs except one son who, unlike the other heirs, had taken many things from his father during his lifetime. The father wanted the estate to devolve on the other heirs for the sake of equity. Is this will valid?

Answer

It is valid for a person to make a bequest to an heir or to other than an heir in up to one third of his estate according to the opinion of some scholars chosen for fatwa and the opinion implemented in courts.
It is permissible to make a bequest in up to more than one third of an estate though the will is not executable except with the consent of rest of the heirs.
The ruling
If the property is from one third of the estate, then it exclusively belongs to those to whom it was bequeathed with the exception of the debarred son. But if it makes up more than one third of the bequest, then it is mandatorily executable in up to one third of the estate's value and not in the surplus except with the consent of all of the heirs provided they:
- Are adult;
- Sane;
- Do not dispose of their property under duress;
 - Are knowledgeable of what they are authorizing.
 If some of the heirs but not all consent to the surplus, the excess portion is executable from the share of those who consented and not from the share of the others.
The above answers the question and Allah the Almighty knows best.
 
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