Q. My wife’s father died in 1979, leaving behind his wife, one son and two daughters, but no other heirs. Her mother died about ten years ago, and her brother a few months back. At the time of his death, her brother was a widower, but he had three sons and three daughters. No inheritance has been divided, and there is a house still registered in my wife’s father’s name. Please advise on the division of this inheritance.
A.K.
A. The Prophet emphasized that inheritance should be divided among the heirs without delay. Delay causes problems, and these could lead to long-running disputes between brothers and sisters. Many families think it is better to keep things running as they were during the lifetime of a parent, particularly when there is a business that brings income to the family. Yet such thoughts are wrong. It is still possible to keep the business running, with each of the heirs knowing exactly what his or her share is and the amount of income they receive from the business. Without division some heirs lose their rights, and they often begin to nurse a long-lasting ill feeling toward their close relatives. Hence the Prophet’s advice: “Divide the inheritance even though it may be only a tooth stick, or a miswak.”
Be this as it may, it is important in the case we are looking at to divide the inheritance without further delay, because there are now secondary heirs, i.e. the son’s children. If it is not divided, someone’s rights might be lost and this will land the whole family in problems. Fortunately, the case is not too complicated now, but it could become so if left unsolved for much longer.
The father’s estate should have been divided in the following manner: One-eighth to his widow, and the rest to his children, divided into four shares - two for the son and one each for the two daughters. The mother’s estate should be divided among her children in four shares - one to each daughter and two to her son. This assumes that at the time of her death, the mother also had no other heirs, such as either of her parents who might have survived her. Since the mother’s inheritance follows the same lines, this means that when she died, the house, as well as any other money or property left by either parent, belonged to your wife and her sister and brother, with each of the two women taking one quarter and their brother taking one half.
As your wife’s brother died, his inheritance should go to his six children. It should divide into nine shares, with each son taking two shares and each daughter taking one share. This applies to all his estate, including half the house he inherited from his parents. This means that the ownership of the house left by your father-in-law is: One quarter to your wife, and one quarter to her sister. The other half belongs to her brother’s children divided between them on the above lines: Two shares for each son and one for each daughter.