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Can I have separate wills for Canada and abroad?

Yes, and often you should. Each must be expressly limited to its own jurisdiction so they do not revoke one another.

Draft — pending review. This page has been prepared but has not yet been reviewed by a Canadian estates lawyer or a qualified scholar. Treat it as a starting point for questions, not as advice you should act on.

Yes, and often you should. Each must be expressly limited to its own jurisdiction so they do not revoke one another.

The Canadian position

Yes, and often you should. Each must be expressly limited to its own jurisdiction so they do not revoke one another.

Provincial law governs administration, so confirm the position where the estate will actually 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 mechanism has no classical counterpart, treat it as a contemporary question for a qualified scholar.

Across the madhahib

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.

Before you act on this

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.

Scholarly & institutional references
  1. Research Papers — Cambridge Muslim College
  2. Research — Cambridge Muslim College
  3. Academics — Islamic law and theology curriculum — Zaytuna College
  4. Encyclopaedia of Islam — Brill
Canadian legislation & government
  1. Canadian Legal Information Institute — CanLII
  2. Succession Law Reform Act, RSO 1990, c S.26 — Government of Ontario
  3. Administering estates — Government of Ontario
Canadian legal commentary
  1. Estate trustee without will ontario — Treadstone Law
  2. Burden of proof in a will challenge ontario — Treadstone Law
  3. Spendthrift beneficiary trust ontario will — Treadstone Law
  4. Can a beneficiary witness a will ontario — Treadstone Law
  5. Waiving rights under spouses will marriage contract ontario — Treadstone Law
  6. What is a codicil ontario — Treadstone Law
  7. Wills & estates practice — Treadstone Law