Whoever a court decides, unless you name someone. A testamentary appointment carries real weight but is temporary — in Ontario it holds for 90 days before a court application is needed.
The Canadian position
Courts decide guardianship on the best interests of the child. A parent's nomination is strong evidence but is not binding.
Naming a guardian is often the single most important clause in a young family's will, and the one most commonly left out.
The Islamic position
Islamic law distinguishes hadanah, care of the child, from wilayah, guardianship of their property. The classical order of entitlement does not map onto Canadian best-interests analysis.
Practically: name the person you want for care, and set up a trust for the property, because the two roles need not be the same person.
They are two different offices, and classically they sit in different hands. Hadanah — day-to-day care — goes first to the mother and down the female line, in an order every school sets out differently. Wilayah — authority over the child and over the child’s property — goes to the father and, after him, to the wasi the father named. The schools differ sharply on the order of care, on the age at which care ends and whether the child then chooses, and on whether the grandfather or the mother holds guardianship of property at all.
All four Sunni schools researched and sourced. Reviewed 2026-09-01. Full positions, evidence and sources — Hadanah and wilayah — who cares for a child, and who has authority over the child.
Making an Islamic will in Canada — province by province, and what makes one valid where you live →
What to do about it
- Name a guardian and an alternate in the will.
- Ask them first.
- Set up a testamentary trust so the children's shares are managed until they are old enough.
- Write a short letter of wishes explaining the religious upbringing you intend.
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
- Substitute Decisions Act, 1992 — Government of Ontario
- Evidence needed guardianship application ontario — Treadstone Law
- Letter of wishes ontario trust — Treadstone Law
- Naming step parent guardian in will ontario — Treadstone Law
- What to do if you were left out of a will ontario — Treadstone Law
- Wills & estates practice — Treadstone Law