Home  ›  Ilm Hub  ›  Answers  ›  Can an executor live in the deceased's house
Ilm Hub

Can an executor live in the deceased's house?

Not without the beneficiaries' agreement. Occupying estate property without accounting for its value is a conflict.

This is legal information only. For advice on your own circumstances, speak to a lawyer.

Not without the beneficiaries' agreement. Occupying estate property without accounting for its value is a conflict.

The Canadian position

Not without the beneficiaries' agreement. Occupying estate property without accounting for its value is a conflict.

Provincial law governs the detail, so confirm the position where the estate will be administered.

The Islamic position

The fixed shares apply to the net estate after funeral expenses, debts and any bequest capped at one third.

Where a Canadian instrument has no classical counterpart, treat it as a contemporary question for a qualified scholar.

Researched — the schools differ

All four schools want the same qualities in a wasi — adulthood and legal capacity, Islam, integrity and the ability to do the job. They differ on what failing one of them does. Three schools treat them as conditions of validity, so an appointment that fails one is void. The Hanafi school treats the appointment as valid and puts the remedy in the judge’s hands.

All four Sunni schools researched and sourced. Reviewed 2026-08-19. Full positions, evidence and sources — Who may be appointed wasi (executor and guardian).

Related madhhab issue: May the wasi be paid out of the estate?.

Note

This is legal information only. For advice on your own circumstances, speak to a lawyer.

Citations & sources

Every factual claim on this page traces to a source below. Details change — check the original source before relying on any figure, fee or legal position. Anything under “further reading” is related material, not a source for what is stated here.

Canadian legislation & government
  1. Administering estates — Government of Ontario
Further reading — Treadstone Law
  1. Estate accounting to beneficiaries ontario — Treadstone Law
  2. Executor sell house without beneficiary consent ontario — Treadstone Law
  3. Estate trustee accounting beneficiaries ontario — Treadstone Law
  4. Executor estate accounting periods ontario — Treadstone Law
  5. Wills & estates practice — Treadstone Law