Urgently. Designations naming a former spouse routinely survive a divorce and a new will, and are a frequent cause of unintended outcomes.
The Canadian position
Urgently. Designations naming a former spouse routinely survive a divorce and a new will, and are a frequent cause of unintended outcomes.
Provincial law governs the detail, so confirm the position where the estate will 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 instrument has no classical counterpart, treat it as a contemporary question for a qualified scholar.
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.
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.
- Research Papers — Cambridge Muslim College
- Research — Cambridge Muslim College
- Academics — Islamic law and theology curriculum — Zaytuna College
- Encyclopaedia of Islam — Brill
- Death of an RRSP annuitant — Canada Revenue Agency
- Death of a TFSA holder — Canada Revenue Agency
- What to do when someone has died — Canada Revenue Agency
- Family Law Act, RSO 1990, c F.3 — Government of Ontario
- Employer group rrsp contribution taxable benefit — Treadstone Law
- Fhsa successor holder like tfsa — Treadstone Law
- Life insurance beneficiary designation ontario estate planning — Treadstone Law
- Can a beneficiary sue an executor ontario — Treadstone Law
- Estate accounting to beneficiaries ontario — Treadstone Law
- Trust distributes capital gains to beneficiaries tax — Treadstone Law
- Wills & estates practice — Treadstone Law