Wasiyyah (Bequests)

Q: What is the ruling of a wasiyyat or will it only be opened and read after death? Is it fard or wajib or mustahab? 

Q: An old lady died. Before her death she said that all her gold ornaments should be given to a mosque. She has one elder and one younger brother. She used to take care of them. Now her brother and sister is financially suffering. The sister is a widow and 85 years old with no child and the brother is 70 years old with 3 daughters. Can her brother and sister take some amount of the jewellery for their living and medical expenses. How much can they take?

Q: I would like to know the ruling on wills from non-Muslim parents. I understand that one cannot recieve any money or possessions stipulated in the wills of non-Muslim parents unless it is less than 1/3, but if the will stipulated that the living parent gives the money or possessions throughout the life until it is paid is that permissible?

Q: We are in the process of winding up my father's estate, who passed away a couple of years ago, and are unclear on a specific scenario we have picked up.

My father had a number of investment policies which were registered under his name but, as required with most investments, had listed certain individuals as beneficiaries in the event of his death. The beneficiaries he listed were his wife and some of his children (so the people that naturally would qualify to inherit from his estate in any case).

The question I have around this is, according to Islamic law, should the person listed on the investment as beneficiary inherit the payout or should the investment be included in the estate and the total from the estate be distributed according to the Islamic law of succession and inheritance?

I hope I have provided sufficient detail to enable you to make an informed decision.

Q: If a man said in his will that his 1 daughter must live in his house and give the rent to his other daughter, who is a widow and the other heirs agreed to it, is it permissible?

Q: "A" nominated the name of "BC" in immovable property during his life time at the society records, stating that after his death "BC" will be the owner of the immovable property, in the presence of his other legal heirs/family members and the other legal heirs knows the same, thereafter "A" died, whether the nominees "BC" will be the sole co-owners of the said immovable property or other legal heirs of the deceased will have right over the said property, as per Islam, Please answer.

Q: If a widow with several sons (no daughters) passes away and she previously made a verbal request in the presence of all her sons that her estate (only money) should be divided unequally between them (she specified how much each should receive), should this be obeyed or should the estate be distributed equally among the sons?

Q: I have two brothers and a sister and there is inheritance from my mums house to be distributed. My mother mentioned before passing away that we split the inheritance equally. If we all decide to split the inheritance equally is this fine or do we have to do it according to Sharia where my sister gets 1 third and each of us 2.

Q: I live in the UK. Is it permissible for me to do wasiyya of 20% of my wealth to non-Muslims in the UK when I pass away?

Q: In the last will and testament of the deceased, it is instructed that the whole balance on one of the bank accounts of the deceased be deemed undischarged Zakaat and the whole balance on another bank account be deemed interest received and the two balances be disposed with in accordance with Shariah. Would the deceased’s instructions be tantamount to a bequest and consequently can only be limited to one-third of the gross value of the estate and, if so, what, if the total of the two balances and other bequests made exceed one-third? Please clarify.