A type of bequest

Egypt's Dar Al-Ifta

A type of bequest

Question

margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt" dir="rtl">We reviewed request number 1064 for the year 2006 which includes the following:
Before my husband passed away, he bequeathed to me an apartment and a store in a five storey building which he had erected. The bequest was notarized. Am I entitled to take this bequest and am I entitled to inherit in my husband's estate?

Answer

It is permissible for an heir or a non-heir to receive a bequest in up to one third of the estate. According to the opinion of some scholars that is chosen for fatwa, it is incumbent to execute a bequest that is made in up to one third of an estate must be. This is the opinion expressed in law no. 71 for the year 1946 CE.
 
The ruling
The fact that your husband notarized the bequest means that it came from a man in full mental capacity and that it is a valid bequest made before witnesses. Therefore, you are entitled to receive the bequeathed property — the apartment and store — provided it is within one third of the estate. This does not eliminate your entitlement to one fourth of your husband's estate (after deducting the bequest) if he does not have a son or to one eighth of the estate (after deducting the bequest) if he has one. If the bequeathed object exceeds one third of the estate, then you are not entitled to take anything of the excess portion except with the consent of the rest of the heirs.
Allah the Almighty knows best.
 

 

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