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Can I leave my estate to be divided by an imam after I die?

Not safely. A Canadian will must be capable of being carried out by an executor and understood by a court; delegating the distribution decision is likely to fail.

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

Not safely. A Canadian will must be capable of being carried out by an executor and understood by a court; delegating the distribution decision is likely to fail.

The Canadian position

A direction that leaves the identity of beneficiaries or the size of shares to someone else's later discretion risks being void for uncertainty.

The estate then falls into a partial intestacy or requires an interpretation application.

The Islamic position

Have the shares calculated now by a scholar, then written into the will as fractions.

The scholar's role is advisory before drafting, not operational after death.

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.

The mistake people make

This is a variation on 'distribute according to Islamic law' and fails for the same reason. Fractions in the document; scholar consulted beforehand.

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 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. Succession Law Reform Act, RSO 1990, c S.26 — Government of Ontario
  2. Administering estates — Government of Ontario
  3. Canadian Legal Information Institute — CanLII
Canadian legal commentary
  1. Organ donor registration vs will instructions priority ontario — Treadstone Law
  2. Leaving gifts to charities in a will ontario — Treadstone Law
  3. Adding new child to will ontario — Treadstone Law
  4. Does common law spouse inherit without will ontario — Treadstone Law
  5. Multiple wills inconsistent provisions risk ontario — Treadstone Law
  6. What should a will include ontario — Treadstone Law
  7. Wills & estates practice — Treadstone Law