This is the configuration most likely to end in litigation. Take advice, and consider whether a spousal trust or lifetime gifts fit better than a simple will.
The Canadian position
This is the configuration most likely to end in litigation. Take advice, and consider whether a spousal trust or lifetime gifts fit better than a simple will.
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.
General information, not legal or religious advice. Inheritance depends entirely on the exact family circumstances. Confirm the Canadian position with a lawyer in your province and any religious ruling with a qualified scholar.
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
- Grewal v. Litt, 2019 BCSC 1154 — CanLII
- Wills, Estates and Succession Act, SBC 2009, c 13 — BC Laws
- Canadian Legal Information Institute — CanLII
- T3 Trust Guide — Canada Revenue Agency
- Legal fees vs disbursements ontario litigation — Treadstone Law
- Capacity assessment vs evaluation difference ontario — Treadstone Law
- Capacity assessor qualifications ontario — Treadstone Law
- What is particulars in ontario litigation — Treadstone Law
- Common law spouse dependant support claim ontario — Treadstone Law
- Capacity assessment will elderly ontario — Treadstone Law
- Wills & estates practice — Treadstone Law