Write burial instructions on a separate document and give them to whoever will be deciding. A will read after burial cannot govern it.
The Canadian position
Write burial instructions on a separate document and give them to whoever will be deciding. A will read after burial cannot govern it.
Provincial law governs validity, administration and the grounds on which a will can be challenged — so the answer can change if you move.
The Islamic position
Have the faraid shares recalculated whenever the family configuration changes; they are conditional on who survives.
Record the reasoning and the scholar consulted in a memorandum kept with the will.
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.
What to do about it
- Recalculate the shares for the new circumstances.
- Update the will with a lawyer in your province.
- Review every beneficiary designation.
- Confirm where the original is kept.
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 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
- What to do when someone dies — Government of Ontario
- Sponsoring child other parent deceased unknown canada — Treadstone Law
- Terminal tax return canada deceased person guide — Treadstone Law
- Spousal support order binding on estate after death ontario — Treadstone Law
- Filing deadline deceased person ontario — Treadstone Law
- Cra reassessment estate deceased taxpayer — Treadstone Law
- Deceased persons sole proprietorship tax treatment canada — Treadstone Law
- Wills & estates practice — Treadstone Law