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Does an unborn child inherit?

Yes, if subsequently born alive. A share is reserved during the pregnancy and the estate adjusts once the child is born.

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, if subsequently born alive. A share is reserved during the pregnancy and the estate adjusts once the child is born.

The Canadian position

Canadian law recognises a child en ventre sa mère as capable of inheriting if born alive.

The executor should hold back enough to cover the most favourable assumption until the birth.

The Islamic position

Classical practice reserves on the assumption most favourable to the pregnancy, then recalculates.

This is one point where the two systems align closely.

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.

Islamic primary sources
  1. Surah an-Nisa 4:11 — shares of children and parents — Quran.com
  2. Surah an-Nisa 4:12 — shares of spouses and uterine siblings — Quran.com
  3. Surah an-Nisa 4:176 — the kalalah verse — Quran.com
  4. Sahih al-Bukhari, Book 85: Laws of Inheritance (Faraid) — Sunnah.com
  5. Sahih Muslim, Book of Inheritance — Sunnah.com
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. Apply for probate of an estate — Government of Ontario
  2. Estate Administration Tax — Government of Ontario
  3. Estates Act, RSO 1990, c E.21 — Government of Ontario
Canadian legal commentary
  1. Estate trustee refuses to sell beneficiary remedy ontario — Treadstone Law
  2. Estate trustee authority before certificate ontario — Treadstone Law
  3. Estate administration tax ontario — Treadstone Law
  4. Estimating and truing up estate value ontario probate application — Treadstone Law
  5. Estate trustee conflict of interest ontario — Treadstone Law
  6. Estate trustee liability insurance paid from estate ontario — Treadstone Law
  7. Wills & estates practice — Treadstone Law