Recalculating shares where an heir survives the deceased but dies before the estate is distributed. Their share vests, then passes through their own estate.
The Canadian position
Common in Canada precisely because probate is slow — an elderly heir may well die during a year-long administration.
The executor then has two estates to reconcile, and often two sets of beneficiaries.
The Islamic position
Entitlement vests at the moment of death, so the deceased heir's share is theirs and passes onward by their own faraid calculation.
The nesting can go several layers deep in a slow administration.
All four schools work it the same way, and the classical name for it is munasakha. If the second deceased’s heirs are exactly the survivors of the first and inherit from him in the same proportions, you ignore the second death and make ONE division. Otherwise you solve the first estate, isolate the share that fell to the heir who then died, solve his own estate separately, and reconcile the two sums.
All four Sunni schools researched and sourced. Reviewed 2026-09-01. Full positions, evidence and sources — An heir dies before the estate is divided.
Related madhhab issue: Does an heir’s share vest the moment the person dies?.
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
- Sahih al-Bukhari, Book 85: Laws of Inheritance (Faraid) — Sunnah.com
- Sahih Muslim, Book of Inheritance — Sunnah.com
- Apply for probate of an estate — Government of Ontario
- Estate Administration Tax — Government of Ontario
- Estates Act, RSO 1990, c E.21 — Government of Ontario
- Sole executor dies before estate distributed — Treadstone Law
- Co executor dies during estate administration ontario — Treadstone Law
- Where to apply for probate ontario jurisdiction — Treadstone Law
- What assets go through probate ontario — Treadstone Law
- Wills & estates practice — Treadstone Law