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My father died, and my brother died a month later before anything was distributed.

A worked example on a $550,000 estate, with the Islamic and Canadian outcomes side by side.

This is legal information only. For advice on your own circumstances, speak to a lawyer.

A net estate of $550,000 after funeral expenses, debts and any bequest. Here is what Islamic law does with it, and what Canadian law does.

Under faraid

HeirShareAmountBasis
Wife1/8$68,750one eighth with children
Sons (2, each)7/10$385,000residue as asabah, two shares each
Daughter7/40$96,250residue as asabah, one share each

Shares total 1. Figures rounded to whole dollars.

Under Canadian law

The deceased brother's entitlement vested on the father's death and passes through his own estate. The executor now has two administrations to reconcile.

What makes the difference

This is munasakha — a nested recalculation. It is common in Canada precisely because probate routinely takes a year or more.

This is an illustration

Real estates involve debts, taxes, beneficiary designations and jointly held property that change the arithmetic substantially. Run your own family through the calculator, then confirm the result with a scholar and a lawyer.

Note

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.

Scholarly & institutional references
  1. Research Papers — Cambridge Muslim College
  2. Academics — Islamic law and theology curriculum — Zaytuna College
  3. Renovatio: The Journal of Zaytuna College — Zaytuna College
  4. Oxford Islamic Studies / Oxford Reference — Oxford University Press
  5. Encyclopaedia of Islam — Brill
Islamic primary sources
  1. Surah an-Nisa 4:11 — shares of children and parents — Quran.com
  2. Surah an-Nisa 4:12 — shares of spouses and uterine siblings — Quran.com
  3. Surah an-Nisa 4:176 — the kalalah verse — Quran.com
  4. Sahih al-Bukhari, Book 85: Laws of Inheritance (Faraid) — Sunnah.com
  5. Sahih Muslim, Book of Inheritance — Sunnah.com
Canadian legislation & government
  1. Apply for probate of an estate — Government of Ontario
  2. Estate Administration Tax — Government of Ontario
  3. What to do when someone has died — Canada Revenue Agency
Canadian legal commentary
  1. Estate trustee refuses to account consequences ontario — Treadstone Law
  2. Estate trustee refuses to sell beneficiary remedy ontario — Treadstone Law
  3. Resp accounts included probate estate value ontario — Treadstone Law
  4. Alter ego joint partner trust ontario probate — Treadstone Law
  5. Does a will need to be probated in ontario — Treadstone Law
  6. Estate trustee selling property before debts known ontario — Treadstone Law
  7. Planning to reduce estate administration tax ontario strategies — Treadstone Law
  8. Wills & estates practice — Treadstone Law