Inheritance

Q: I have only one daughter. I own a house and no bank balance.

1. Can I gift the house, my complete property to my daughter in my life and give full control over it to her? Can we stay with her in that house only after giving her the full control over it? I have heard that a gift can be given from 1/3rd of the property and a gift can be given to non heirs.

2. If I don't give the gift, what will be the shares of my only daughter and wife?

3. I had two brothers and two sisters out of which one brother has passed away. So what will be the share of my remaining brother and two sisters in my property?

4. Will my nephews and nieces inherit from my property as their father is no more?

NOTE: Please answer all these questions in the light of my case as I have only one daughter and no sons.

Q: My 30 year old daughter, after divorce allowed her children to live with their father and she continued with her education. I had paid a sum to her university for her fees. Allah willing, she died during the semester and the university refunded the money.

My question is: Shall I keep this money or regard this as her inheritance? 

Q: With regards to a sum of R30 000 left behind in a will of a deceased individual, for the following purposes: Zakaat, outstanding fasts, outstanding salaah and donations for madressas/mosques. Is there a specific ruling that can guide one how the money should be divided in such a circumstance?

Q: Please tell me how will the inheritance of a rental income from Mauritian rupees be paid to the inheritors:

1. Should it be given in Mauritian rupees currency before it is changed into rands? Or can it be distributed in rands after the exchange is made?

2. What is the division of inheritance for a wife, three sons and a daughter of marhoom be?

3. How will R5000 be divided to the above heirs?

Q: A person passed away. He was survived by a wife, 7 sons and a daughter. At the time of his demise, the Marhoom’s estate had cash, Kruger coins, a number of properties and a business in which some of his sons were assisting him.

After the demise, the estate was not distributed. With mutual agreement, all heirs continued with their respective responsibilities that they carried out during the lifetime of the deceased. i.e. running of the business and looking after the property portfolio.

No fixed wages were stipulated for anyone (as was the case during the life of the Marhmoom).

Everyone continued to draw money from the business and properties for their expenses, at their own discretion. It is expected that everyone will be moderate in their spending and that they will consult with any major decision.

Subsequent to the demise, a few properties have been purchased and two sons have started businesses.

Zakaat is currently being paid on the entire estate and not individually. As a precautionary measure it is paid well above the actual due amount.

This arrangement is working out fairly okay, however, at times some heirs have voiced their feeling that they want this partnership to be dissolved and the estate to be divided.

Questions:

1. Is the above partnership arrangement acceptable?

2. Is it fine to continue paying Zakaat as a collective?

3 What advice can you offer on how matters should be taken forward?

Q: My father left an agricultural land of 64 acres. We are 4 brothers, 8 sisters and a mother. How much acres will each brother and sister get and what is the share of the mother in acres?

Q: Rent received from a house left in inheritance, the inheritors are:
wife
three baaligh sons and
one na-baaligh daughter
...all are living together presently sharing in the household items and meals together.

1. Can this rent money be used to buy all the groceries monthly? Can it be used to pay water and electricity bill?

2. When the sons marry and live on their own... and if the wife is left with one baaligh son and the na-baaligh daughter, how will the rent money be used correctly to fulfill the rights of all the heirs properly?

3. Sassa money, social grant from the government for two children, one is baaligh and one is not baaligh... It comes under the mothers responsibility for the children... Is it sinful for the mother to use some money from there for the household needs like food or house-hold cleaning items like washing powder or detergents?

4. Money kept in Al barakah bank for two children, one baaligh and one not baaligh... On a three month investment account which has profits every three month...the money is kept there for safe-keeping as the children are still minor to handle their own money in saving it... Is it OK if it's kept in the bank and the time it's needed and withdrawn then the profits on the original amount be given as charity... or is it better to just withdraw the money and close the bank account?

Q: If a girl's father dies and then the property gets sold, and her father verbally, and signed to say that she should inherit the property and she should use her own discretion on how to split the money. Meaning her father has signed to leave it to her. In that case does the 2/3 and 1/3 apply?

Secondly, considering the business franchise and the actual property are two separate inheritance, say her father has R1 million debt when he dies, does that R1 million come from the business account/money or from the sale of the property? But emphasized is the fact that if it is signed and verbally said.

Q: I would like to ask about when a person dies and leaves behind inheritors: I have understood each inheritor gets part ownership in each item the person has left behind. Say for example that his spouse now owns 1/8 of every spoon, every chair etc he has left behind.

Rather than keeping shared ownership in everything, the inheritors will then generally agree to a distribution of the things amongst themselves. But if one inheritor is an underage child, who should accept the distribution on his behalf?

Also, the inheritors tend to agree to give certain things (such as clothes, books) in charity and throw away certain things that nobody wants. But a child cannot give his share away in charity. Does this mean that they would have to save all of these items until the child grows up before giving them away or throwing them away? Or is there any way around this?

Q: My husband passed away and we have been given the details of the inheritance which I have to the best of my knowledge and with what I have had in my control given to the inheritors. I have one question regarding his private pension, this was basically set up and usually the wife gets the payments if the husband passes away. Does this money then belong to just the wife or do I have to share it with all the inheritors?