Just as inheritance has causes and impediments, it also has conditions that should be fulfilled. They might be summed up in the following three:
First condition: The death of the person inherited
This means that the owner of the inheritance should have died, since his property cannot be inherited while he is still living. The death of the owner of property might be:
In reality, i.e., he really dies and this is confirmed by observation or the testimony of just witnesses;
In judgment, i.e., a judge passes a judgment of his death, like in the case of a missing person when there is no hope of finding him.
Second condition: To learn that the heir is living after the inherited person's death
It means that the heir of the deceased person should be alive at the death of the owner of the inheritance. This might be:
Actually, in the sense that his being alive is proven by sight or the testimony of just witnesses.
Potentially, i.e., to regard that he is probably living at the time of the death of the owner of the inheritance; like in the case of pregnancy, where the fetus is probably living in the sense that if it is separated (from the mother’s womb) and stays alive, then, the right of inheritance would be affirmed to it.
However, if it is not known that the heir is living after the death of the inherited person, like the case in which all members of a family die in an accident, then, naturally, there would be no question of inheritance among them.
Third condition: The absence of all the impediments of inheritance (previously mentioned in the topic).
If these three conditions are fulfilled, along with its causes, the inheritance will be established, and the heir will have a share in the inheritance of the deceased owner.