A court application by someone the deceased was supporting, asking for adequate provision from the estate regardless of what the will says.
The Canadian position
Available in every province under dependants' relief legislation. In Ontario it sits in Part V of the Succession Law Reform Act and covers spouses, children, parents and siblings who were being supported.
A successful claim overrides the will's distribution to the extent of the order.
The Islamic position
This is a structural point of tension. Faraid distributes by fixed fraction, not by need. A dependant left less than a court considers adequate can have the shares rewritten.
Not by the testator: a bequest in favour of someone who is already an heir does not take effect, so a will cannot be used to enlarge one heir’s share or cut another’s. It can be varied by the heirs, once the estate has vested in them — but that is their gift to make, not the testator’s.
All four Sunni schools researched and sourced. Reviewed 2026-08-19. Full positions, evidence and sources — Can the fixed shares be varied by agreement?.
Making an Islamic will in Canada — province by province, and what makes one valid where you live →
What to do about it
- Identify anyone financially dependent on you.
- Provide for them adequately, whatever the fixed shares say.
- Document why the distribution is structured as it is.
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.
- Succession Law Reform Act, RSO 1990, c S.26 — Government of Ontario
- Administering estates — Government of Ontario
- Grewal v. Litt, 2019 BCSC 1154 — CanLII
- Wills, Estates and Succession Act, SBC 2009, c 13 — BC Laws
- Canadian Legal Information Institute — CanLII
- Dependants relief claim ontario — Treadstone Law
- Dependant support claim out of province estate ontario — Treadstone Law
- Dependant support and equalization both available ontario — Treadstone Law
- What is dependent support claim intestacy ontario — Treadstone Law
- Wills & estates practice — Treadstone Law