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Fatwa CenterInheritance of a son who was undutiful to his father
Question
Assalamualaikum!
My question is re: property: There is a home of 200 yards. The father (owner of the home) has two sons. Can the elder brother share any part even if he left the home along with his wife many years ago. The younger son served his father till his death and put in all the expenses including the treatment and death expenses. Most importantly, few of the the elder brother sons did not know his grandfather. Please provide me with your answer based on your knowledge in islam.
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad 
is His slave and Messenger.
All the properties of the father become an inheritance for all his legal heirs as soon as he dies according to their legal share after the payment of any debts and legitimate wills that he had made.
The share of the elder son is like the share of the younger son in the house and in any other inheritance. This right does not change just because the elder son had left his father’s home a long time ago, or that the younger son was kind and dutiful to his father while the elder was not.
As regards the expenses of treatment and funeral that the younger son had spend on his father, then if the father was rich and the son volunteered with what he spent, then he has no right to ask for it. However, if he had spent that with the intention of asking for it later, then he has the right to take what he had spent from the inheritance before its division.
However, if the father was poor, then spending on him becomes an obligation on the son who is well off among both sons, and if the elder son is well off, then the younger son is entitled to take back half of what he had spent from the elder son.
Finally, if there is a dispute in such matters, the case should be taken to an Islamic court if any or to any authority that acts on its behalf, like Islamic centers or the trustworthy scholars.
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