Islamic law does not permit removing a fixed heir's share. Canadian law generally permits disinheritance, but with real exceptions — and in British Columbia the exception is wide.
The Canadian position
Ontario protects testamentary freedom strongly; the Court of Appeal in Spence v. BMO Trust upheld a will disinheriting a daughter. A dependant support claim remains possible where the child was being supported.
British Columbia is different. Section 60 of WESA lets a child — including an independent adult child — apply to vary a will that failed to make adequate provision.
The Islamic position
Fixed heirs cannot be excluded by the testator. Their shares are set by the Qur'an, and the discretionary third cannot be used to give them more or to take their share away.
Not by the testator: a bequest in favour of someone who is already an heir does not take effect, so a will cannot be used to enlarge one heir’s share or cut another’s. It can be varied by the heirs, once the estate has vested in them — but that is their gift to make, not the testator’s.
All four Sunni schools researched and sourced. Reviewed 2026-08-19. Full positions, evidence and sources — Can the fixed shares be varied by agreement?.
Related madhhab issue: The one-third cap on a bequest.
Making an Islamic will in Canada — province by province, and what makes one valid where you live →
A faraid distribution is not disinheritance, but it does treat sons and daughters unequally. In BC that unequal treatment is exactly what a section 60 claim targets.
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.
- Surah an-Nisa 4:11 — shares of children and parents — Quran.com
- Surah an-Nisa 4:12 — shares of spouses and uterine siblings — Quran.com
- Surah an-Nisa 4:176 — the kalalah verse — Quran.com
- Sahih al-Bukhari, Book 85: Laws of Inheritance (Faraid) — Sunnah.com
- Sahih Muslim, Book of Inheritance — Sunnah.com
- Grewal v. Litt, 2019 BCSC 1154 — CanLII
- Wills, Estates and Succession Act, SBC 2009, c 13 — BC Laws
- Canadian Legal Information Institute — CanLII
- Adult child dependant support claim ontario — Treadstone Law
- Estranged adult child dependant support claim ontario — Treadstone Law
- Dependant support claim ontario estate — Treadstone Law
- Adding dependant child after study permit approved canada — Treadstone Law
- Wills & estates practice — Treadstone Law