A genuine lifetime gift is valid and falls outside the estate. A transfer made in the final illness is treated as a bequest and caught by the one-third rule.
The Canadian position
Canadian law recognises inter vivos gifts, but a gift of appreciated property triggers capital gains, and gifts made shortly before death can be examined in a dependant support claim.
The Islamic position
Hibah transfers ownership immediately and is not subject to the one-third cap. But a gift made during marad al-mawt — the illness one dies from — is treated as wasiyyah, precisely to stop the shares being defeated on a deathbed.
The four Sunni schools are not recorded as differing materially on this point in the sources reviewed. Where your own case turns on it, put it to a scholar of your school.
Using lifetime gifts specifically to cut an heir out is the situation the marad al-mawt rule exists to prevent. Take scholarly advice, not just tax advice.
General information, not legal or religious advice. Inheritance depends entirely on the exact family circumstances. Confirm the Canadian position with a lawyer in your province and any religious ruling with a qualified scholar.
Citations & sources
Every factual claim on this page traces to one of the references below. Legislation and dollar thresholds change — verify against the primary source before relying on any figure.
- 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 55: Wills and Testaments (Wasaya) — Sunnah.com
- Sahih Muslim, Book of Wills — Sunnah.com
- Egyptian Dar al-Ifta — Dar al-Ifta al-Missriyyah
- Research Papers — Cambridge Muslim College
- Research — Cambridge Muslim College
- Academics — Islamic law and theology curriculum — Zaytuna College
- Encyclopaedia of Islam — Brill
- What to do when someone has died — Canada Revenue Agency
- Title insurance what is it ontario — Treadstone Law
- Adding adult child to title or account risks ontario — Treadstone Law
- Employment standards act minimum entitlements ontario — Treadstone Law
- Adding child to property title ontario — Treadstone Law
- Buying multiple investment properties ontario title structuring — Treadstone Law
- Joint tenancy vs tenants in common ontario 2 — Treadstone Law
- Wills & estates practice — Treadstone Law