It defers capital gains, but it must exclude everyone else from capital during the spouse's lifetime — which conflicts with vesting children's shares now.
The Canadian position
It defers capital gains, but it must exclude everyone else from capital during the spouse's lifetime — which conflicts with vesting children's shares now.
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.
A husband takes one half where his wife left no child and one quarter where she did; a wife takes one quarter where her husband left no child and one eighth where he did. Ibn Qudama records this as the consensus of the scholars, and adds that co-widows share the one fraction between them however many there are.
All four Sunni schools researched and sourced. Reviewed 2026-08-19. Full positions, evidence and sources — What a husband and a wife inherit.
Related madhhab issue: Does an heir’s share vest the moment the person dies?.
Related madhhab issue: Is a trust recognised in fiqh, and is waqf the closest thing?.
Making an Islamic will in Canada — province by province, and what makes one valid where you live →
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 a source below. Details change — check the original source before relying on any figure, fee or legal position. Anything under “further reading” is related material, not a source for what is stated here.
- 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
- T3 Trust Guide — Canada Revenue Agency
- Capital gains election trust into beneficiary hands — Treadstone Law
- Trust distributes capital gains to beneficiaries tax — Treadstone Law
- Multiplying capital gains exemption family trust canada — Treadstone Law
- Spousal trust ontario will surviving spouse — Treadstone Law
- Wills & estates practice — Treadstone Law