Wasiyyah (Bequests)

Q: Marhooma passed away at that time she had 5 sons and 7 daughters when she passed away. Part of what she left was jewellery… In her lifetime she used to say the jewellery is for her daughters/or my wassiyat is this jewellery must be given to my daughters, but she never give it to them while she was alive and passed away.

Will the jewellery be given to the daughters only or will the sons inherit as well? In both scenarios keep in mind wassiyat and hiba.

Also after marhooma passed away, will anyone be liable to pay zakaat on the jewellery if it wasn't distributed for years? 

Q: Please could I get clarity on the following regarding wills:

If a person wants a particular relative to receive a particular item upon his/her death, can this be done? (For instance, items that are currently in use that cannot be given during one's life e.g. a car, jewellery, sentimental items, etc.)

Can a person write in his Islamic will that upon his demise, such and such item of his should be given to person A? 

Q: If a man has no children, can he allot all his inheritance to his one adopted child?

If a man has no children but has nieces and nephews, so he adopts a baby. Now, he has some inheritance on his name also. Their child, being a female got married. And now the man is willing to transfer the inheritance to his child completely as his brothers didn’t help him even a little in building the inheritance nor did the nephews and nieces. But the man had heard that inheritance could not be transferred to the adopted child. So, is there any possibility that the man can inherit all his property to his only adopted child legally by Islam, or if not then is it possible for the man to sell all the property to the child’s husband and the child’s husband then shifts the property to the man’s child name? Please help me in this regard. 

Q: If a person had done a wassiyyat to give all his wealth to his nephew five years ago. Last year, he made a wassiyyat to give all his wealth to the mosque. Which wassiyat should be considered, the first or last? 

Q:

1. My grandmother passed away last week. Before she passed away, her will was to give her savings (money) to charity. However my grandmother has 3 daughters and my grandfathe... My mother is the eldest of the daughters, however she is not psychologically sane and my grandfather has dementia. How do we distribute it?

2. Do we divide it amongst the daughters and ask them if they want to give it to charity if they don't need it or do we just give the whole amount to a charity organisation? 

3. If we have to give it to the daughters and my grandfather, what do I do in the case of my mother and grandfather as they not psychologically sane. Does the grandkids get the amount as well?

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?