Search In Fatwa

Inheritance of a Wife, Son, and Daughter

Question

Assalaamu ?Alaykum; Please calculate the inheritance according to the following information
-Does the deceased have male relatives who are entitled to inherit:
(A son) Number 1
(A full brother) Number 2
-Does the deceased have female relatives who are entitled to inherit :
(A daughter) Number 1
(A wife) Number 1
- Additional information
:
I need help with regards to an assignment I need to submit. My question states that the deceased left 1/3 rd to his illegitimate son. And disowned his own son. Deceased is survived by wife, a son, a daughter and 2 full brothers.

Answer

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.

If the deceased did not leave behind any heirs other than those mentioned in the question, then his wife gets one-eighth as her prescribed share due to the presence of the children (direct heirs); Allah Says (what means): {But if you leave a child, then for them [i.e. the wives] is an eighth of what you leave, after any bequest you [may have] made or debt.} [Quran 4:12] The remainder will be divided between his son and daughter; the male gets twice the share of the female. Thus, the estate should be divided into twenty-four shares; the wife gets one-eighth (three shares), the son gets fourteen shares, and the daughter gets seven shares.

As for the two full brothers, they do not get anything from the inheritance because they are prevented by the presence of the son.

It should be noted that the division of inheritance is a very serious and quite complex matter. Therefore, it is not adequate to divide the estate without referring the case to a Sharee'ah-court, if available, in order to secure the interests of both the living and the dead.

It is not clear to us what was meant by the questioner’s statement: “the deceased left the third (of his estate) for his illegitimate son and disowned his rightful son.” Anyway, a bequest made in favor of a non-heir is valid as long as it does not exceed one-third of the estate.

Allah knows best.

Related Fatwa