Funeral expenses, then debts, then the bequest up to one third, then the fixed shares. Canadian administration follows a closely parallel sequence.
The Canadian position
Canadian executors pay funeral costs, administration expenses, taxes and creditors before beneficiaries.
Distributing out of order is the main source of personal liability for executors.
The Islamic position
The classical sequence is well settled across all four schools.
Unpaid mahr and outstanding zakat both rank as debts, ahead of the bequest.
All four schools work through the estate in the same order: the cost of preparing and burying the body, then debts, then bequests up to one third, and only what is left is divided by the fixed shares. The disputes are not about the sequence but about two rankings inside it.
All four Sunni schools researched and sourced. Reviewed 2026-08-19. Full positions, evidence and sources — The order of payment out of an estate.
Related madhhab issue: Unpaid mahr when the husband dies.
Related madhhab issue: The one-third cap on a bequest.
Making an Islamic will in Canada — province by province, and what makes one valid where you live →
What to do about it
- Pay funeral expenses first.
- Identify and settle all debts, including mahr and zakat arrears.
- Pay the wasiyyah, capped at one third.
- Distribute the fixed shares.
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 55: Wills and Testaments (Wasaya) — Sunnah.com
- Sahih Muslim, Book of Wills — 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
- Are funeral expenses paid first insolvent estate ontario — Treadstone Law
- Distributing estate beneficiaries ontario — Treadstone Law
- Does a beneficiary have to pay estate debts ontario — Treadstone Law
- Executor liability for estate taxes ontario — Treadstone Law
- Wills & estates practice — Treadstone Law