Glossary

Islamic terms

• 'Awl — Proportional reduction when the fixed shares add up to more than the whole estate.
• 'Iddah — The waiting period after a husband's death or divorce, during which a widow's status is defined.
• 'Ilm al-Faraid — The science of inheritance shares — the discipline this Hub is named for.
• Amanah — A trust or thing held in confidence — including a will kept for safekeeping.
• Asabah — Residuary heirs — those who take what remains after the fixed shares are paid.
• Ashab al-Furud — Heirs entitled to a fixed fraction of the estate under the Qur'an.
• Bayt al-Mal — The public treasury — classical recipient of an estate with no entitled heirs.
• Bequest to Non-Muslim Relatives — Leaving part of the one-third wasiyyah to relatives who do not inherit under faraid.
• Bulugh — Reaching physical majority, at which religious obligations attach.
• Dafn — Burial.
• Daughter's Share — A daughter takes half a son's portion where sons survive; a fixed share where none do.
• Dayn — Debt — settled from the estate before any bequest or share.
• Dhawu al-Arham — Relatives who are neither fixed-share heirs nor residuaries — e.g. a daughter's children, maternal uncles.
• Faraid — The fixed shares of inheritance prescribed in the Qur'an and Sunnah.
• Father's Share — One sixth where there are children; residuary where there are none.
• Fiqh — Islamic jurisprudence — the scholarly understanding of sharia, and therefore something people can legitimately differ about.
• Full Brother — A residuary heir where no son, grandson or father survives.
• Full Sister — Takes a fixed share where no brother survives, or shares the residue where one does.
• Ghusl — The ritual washing of the deceased.
• Granddaughter's Share — A fixed share where no son survives, subject to exclusion rules.
• Grandmother's Share — One sixth, where no mother survives.
• Hadanah — Custody and physical care of a child.
• Hajb — Exclusion — where a nearer heir blocks a more distant one from inheriting.
• Hajj Badal — A hajj performed on behalf of someone who died without completing an obligatory pilgrimage.
• Halal Estate Assets — The question of what to do with assets acquired impermissibly.
• Hibah — A gift made during life, which takes effect immediately rather than on death.
• Husband's Share — One quarter where the deceased left children; one half where she did not.
• Ijazah (Heirs' Consent) — Consent by heirs validating a bequest that would otherwise be void.
• Janazah — The Islamic funeral — washing, shrouding, prayer and burial, normally without delay.
• Kafan — The simple white shroud in which the deceased is wrapped.
• Kaffarah — Expiation owed for certain broken obligations, payable from the estate.
• Kalalah — A person who dies leaving neither parent nor child.
• Khul — Divorce at the wife's initiative, in exchange for returning the mahr or other agreed compensation.
• Mahr — The bridal gift owed by husband to wife — an enforceable debt if unpaid at death.
• Marad al-Mawt — Death-illness — the final illness during which gifts are treated as bequests.
• Mirath — Inheritance itself — the estate passing to heirs, and the body of law governing it.
• Mother's Share — One sixth where there are children or multiple siblings; otherwise one third.
• Musa Bihi — The subject matter of a bequest — what is being left.
• Musa Lahu — The beneficiary of a bequest.
• Nafaqah — Maintenance — the obligation to financially support dependants.
• Nikah — The Islamic marriage contract.
• Obligatory Bequest — A bequest to orphaned grandchildren, required by statute in some Muslim-majority countries.
• One-Third Rule — The ceiling on what may be given away by bequest.
• Paternal Half-Sibling — Inherits where full siblings do not survive, on similar principles.
• Paternal Uncle — A residuary heir in the agnatic line, inheriting where nearer agnates do not survive.
• Radd — The 'return' — redistributing a surplus back to fixed-share heirs when shares don't exhaust the estate.
• Riba — Interest, prohibited in Islamic law.
• Ruju' — Revoking a bequest during life.
• Rushd — Maturity of judgement, required before property is handed over.
• Sadaqah Jariyah — Ongoing charity whose reward continues after death.
• Salat al-Janazah — The funeral prayer performed for the deceased.
• Sharia — The revealed path in its entirety — not a legal code, and not the same thing as fiqh, which is the human effort to understand it.
• Son's Share — A son inherits as a residuary, taking twice a daughter's portion.
• Talaq — Divorce pronounced by the husband. In Canada it ends nothing on its own — only a court order does.
• Tarikah — The estate — everything the deceased leaves behind.
• Tashih al-Mas'ala — Correcting the shares so every heir receives a whole number of units.
• Uterine Sibling — A half-sibling through the mother, with a distinctive fixed share.
• Wakalah — Agency — authority to act on another's behalf, ending at death.
• Waqf — A perpetual charitable endowment — property held permanently, its benefit dedicated to a purpose.
• Wasi — The executor of a wasiyyah — and, in classical usage, guardian of minor children.
• Wasiyyah — A bequest — the portion of an estate a Muslim may direct freely by will, capped at one third.
• Wife's Share — One eighth where the deceased left children; one quarter where he did not.
• Wilayah — Guardianship over a minor's property and major affairs.
• Wirathah — Inheritance as an event — the passing of the estate to the heirs.
• Zakat on the Estate — Unpaid zakat treated as a debt payable from the estate.

The four madhahib, legal method & classic cases

• 'Urf — Local custom, where it does not contradict the sources.
• Akdariyya — A named case involving a husband, mother, grandfather and full sister.
• Difference of Religion — A recognised bar to inheritance between a Muslim and a non-Muslim in classical law.
• Fatwa — A non-binding scholarly opinion in answer to a question.
• Grandfather with Siblings — The best-known inheritance disagreement among the Companions and the schools.
• Haml — An unborn child, whose potential share is held until birth.
• Hanafi — The school of Abu Hanifa (d. 767 CE) — the most widely followed madhhab worldwide.
• Hanbali — The school of Ahmad ibn Hanbal (d. 855 CE), the most text-centred of the four.
• Ijma' — Consensus of qualified scholars, treated as binding.
• Ijtihad — Independent legal reasoning by a qualified jurist.
• Ikhtilaf — Legitimate disagreement between qualified scholars.
• Istihsan — Juristic preference — departing from strict analogy for a better outcome.
• Ja'fari — The principal Twelver Shi'i school of law, which differs substantially on inheritance.
• Khuntha — An heir whose sex is indeterminate, addressed as a technical case in classical faraid.
• Madhhab — A school of Islamic legal thought. Four are followed in Sunni Islam.
• Mafqud — A missing person whose death cannot be established.
• Maliki — The school of Malik ibn Anas (d. 795 CE), rooted in the practice of Madinah.
• Maslaha — Public interest as a consideration in deriving rulings.
• Mufti — A scholar qualified to issue fatawa.
• Munasakha — Recalculating shares where an heir dies before the estate is distributed.
• Mushtaraka — The 'shared' case — also called the Himariyya or 'donkey' case.
• Qatl (Bar to Inheritance) — Unlawful killing bars the killer from inheriting.
• Qiyas — Analogical reasoning from an established ruling to a new case.
• Shafi'i — The school of Muhammad ibn Idris al-Shafi'i (d. 820 CE), founder of systematic usul al-fiqh.
• Takharuj — An agreement among heirs to settle their shares differently.
• Talfiq — Combining positions from different schools into one composite ruling.
• Taqlid — Following the ruling of a qualified scholar without deriving it yourself.
• Umariyyatan — The two cases ruled on by 'Umar concerning a mother's share.
• Usul al-Fiqh — The theory of legal method — how rulings are derived from the sources.
• Wala' — Inheritance arising from the relationship of former master and freed slave.

Canadian legal terms

• Abatement — The order in which gifts are reduced when an estate cannot pay everything.
• Ademption — Where a specific gift fails because the asset no longer exists at death.
• Advance Care Directive — Written instructions about future medical care.
• Affidavit of Diligent Search — Sworn evidence describing the search made for a will.
• Affidavit of Execution — Sworn evidence from a witness that the will was properly signed.
• Alter Ego Trust — A trust for someone 65 or older, holding assets outside the estate.
• Ancillary Probate — A second grant needed where the deceased held property in another province or country.
• Attorney for Property — The person appointed under a continuing power of attorney to manage finances.
• Autopsy — A post-mortem examination, sometimes legally required.
• Bare Trust — An arrangement where the trustee holds legal title only, with no discretion.
• Beneficiary Designation — A named recipient on a registered account or insurance policy — which passes outside the will.
• Beneficiary Designation Review — The practice of checking designations whenever a will is made or changed.
• Beneficiary Rights — What a beneficiary is entitled to know and receive from an executor.
• Bond (Administration Bond) — Security a court may require before appointing an estate trustee.
• Burial Permit — The document authorising burial or cremation.
• CPP Death Benefit — A one-time federal payment to the estate of a CPP contributor.
• Capacity Assessor — A professional who formally assesses whether someone can manage their own affairs.
• Certificate of Appointment of Estate Trustee — Ontario's formal grant of probate.
• Charitable Donation Credit — Tax relief for gifts to registered charities, claimable by an estate.
• Clearance Certificate — CRA confirmation that a deceased person's taxes are paid, protecting the executor.
• Codicil — A signed amendment to an existing will rather than a full replacement.
• Common Disaster Clause — A provision addressing what happens if beneficiaries die together with the testator.
• Common-Law Partner — A partner who is not legally married, whose inheritance rights vary sharply by province.
• Commorientes — The rule for deciding order of death where two people die together.
• Coroner — The official who investigates certain deaths.
• Death Certificate — The official record of a death, needed for nearly every estate step.
• Deemed Disposition — The tax rule treating a person as having sold everything at fair market value immediately before death.
• Dependant's Relief — A claim by someone the deceased was supporting, for adequate provision from the estate.
• Digital Assets — Online accounts, cryptocurrency and digital records forming part of an estate.
• Digital Executor — A person named to handle online accounts and digital assets.
• Diligent Search — The search for a will an executor must make — and swear to — before an estate is treated as intestate.
• Disclaimer — A beneficiary's formal refusal of an inheritance.
• Domicile — The jurisdiction a person is legally treated as belonging to.
• Election (Spousal) — A surviving spouse's choice between taking under the will and claiming an equalisation payment.
• Escheat — Property passing to the Crown where an intestate person leaves no traceable next of kin.
• Escheats Act Process — The provincial procedure for property with no owner.
• Estate — Everything a person owns at death, less what they owe.
• Estate Account — A dedicated bank account opened by the executor to administer the estate.
• Estate Administration Tax — Ontario's probate tax, charged on the value of estate assets passing through probate.
• Estate Debts — What must be paid out of an estate before anyone inherits.
• Estate Freeze — Locking in the current value of a business so future growth accrues to the next generation.
• Estate Inventory — The itemised list of estate assets and their values at death.
• Estate Litigation — Court proceedings about a will or an estate.
• Estate Mediation — A facilitated process for resolving estate disputes without trial.
• Estate Trustee — Ontario's term for the executor — the person legally responsible for administering an estate.
• Executor Compensation — Payment an estate trustee may claim for the work of administering an estate.
• Executor Liability — The personal exposure an estate trustee carries.
• Executor Year — The customary year an executor has to administer an estate before beneficiaries can press for distribution.
• Executor's Compensation Agreement — A pre-agreed fee for acting as estate trustee.
• Family Settlement — An agreement among beneficiaries to vary how an estate is divided.
• Final Return — The deceased's income tax return for the year of death.
• Foreign Will — A will made outside Canada.
• Funeral Directive — Written instructions about funeral and burial arrangements.
• Graduated Rate Estate — An estate taxed at graduated rates for up to 36 months after death.
• Grewal v. Litt — A 2019 BC decision varying wills that heavily favoured sons over daughters.
• Guardian of Minor Children — The person appointed in a will to care for children under the age of majority.
• Guardianship Application — A court application to be appointed guardian of a child.
• Henson Trust — A fully discretionary trust that preserves a disabled beneficiary's income support.
• Holdback — Funds an executor retains against unknown liabilities.
• Holograph Will — A will written entirely in the testator's own handwriting and signed, with no witnesses.
• Interim Distribution — A partial payment to beneficiaries before administration is complete.
• Intermeddling — Acting in an estate in a way that commits you to the executor's role.
• Interpretation Application — A court application to determine what an ambiguous will means.
• Intestacy — Dying without a valid will, so provincial statute decides who inherits.
• Joint Bank Account — An account held with another person, often passing by survivorship.
• Joint Partner Trust — The spousal equivalent of an alter ego trust.
• Joint Tenancy — Co-ownership with a right of survivorship — the survivor takes the whole automatically.
• Lapse — A gift that fails because the beneficiary died before the testator.
• Letters of Administration — The grant issued where there is no will.
• Life Insurance — A policy paying a named beneficiary directly, outside the estate.
• Life Interest — A right to use property or receive income for life, with the capital passing to someone else afterwards.
• Living Will — The everyday name for written instructions about medical care if you cannot speak for yourself. It is not a will, and in Canada it is not a legal term of art.
• Matrimonial Home — The family residence, given special protection under provincial family law.
• Minor Beneficiary — A beneficiary under the age of majority, who cannot receive property directly.
• Mirror Wills — Two substantially identical wills, usually made by spouses.
• Multiple Wills — Using a primary and a secondary will to reduce probate tax.
• Net Family Property — The measure used to equalise spouses' property on death or separation.
• Notarial Will — A will drawn and kept by a notary — the standard form in Quebec.
• Notice to Creditors — A published notice inviting claims against an estate.
• Organ Donation — Consent to donate organs or tissue after death.
• Partial Intestacy — Where a will disposes of only part of an estate, and statute decides the rest.
• Passing of Accounts — The court process where an executor formally accounts to beneficiaries.
• Per Stirpes — Distribution by branch of the family, so a deceased child's share passes to their children.
• Power of Attorney — Authority given to someone to act for you while you are alive — it ends at death.
• Preferential Share — The first slice of an intestate estate reserved for a surviving married spouse.
• Prepaid Funeral — A funeral arranged and paid for in advance.
• Presumed Revoked — The presumption that a will last known to be in the testator's possession, but not found, was destroyed deliberately.
• Principal Residence Exemption — Relief from capital gains tax on a family home.
• Probate — Court confirmation that a will is valid and that the named executor may act.
• Public Guardian and Trustee — The provincial office that steps in where no one else can act.
• Qualified Disability Trust — A testamentary trust taxed at graduated rates for a disabled beneficiary.
• RDSP — A registered disability savings plan for a beneficiary with a disability.
• RESP — A registered education savings plan, whose treatment on death depends on who subscribed.
• RRSP — A registered retirement plan that passes by beneficiary designation.
• Remainderman — The person who receives capital after a life interest ends.
• Renunciation — Formally declining to act as executor.
• Resealing — Recognising a grant of probate issued in another jurisdiction.
• Residue — What is left in an estate after debts, taxes and specific gifts.
• Revocation — Cancelling a will, by a later will, by destruction, or by operation of law.
• Safety Deposit Box — A bank box often holding the original will — and often inaccessible at the worst moment.
• Segregated Fund — An insurance-based investment that can name a beneficiary.
• Shareholders Agreement — A contract governing what happens to business shares on a shareholder's death.
• Situs — The legal location of an asset, which determines whose law applies to it.
• Small Estate — An estate below a provincial threshold, eligible for a simplified process.
• Small Estate Certificate — Ontario's simplified probate route for estates valued at $150,000 or less.
• Specific Gift — A gift of an identified item or sum in a will.
• Spence v. BMO Trust — A 2016 Ontario appeal on testamentary freedom and a will's stated reasons.
• Spousal Rollover — Transferring capital property to a spouse at cost, deferring tax to the survivor's death.
• Spousal Trust — A trust for a surviving spouse that qualifies for the tax rollover.
• Survivor Pension — A continuing pension payment to a surviving spouse.
• Survivorship Clause — A clause requiring a beneficiary to outlive the testator by a set period.
• Suspicious Circumstances — Facts that shift the burden onto the person propounding a will to prove it valid.
• T3 Return — The income tax return for an estate or trust.
• TFSA — A tax-free savings account, which can name a successor holder or a beneficiary.
• Takaful — Cooperative mutual protection, offered as a Shariah-compliant alternative to conventional insurance.
• Tenancy in Common — Co-ownership without survivorship — each owner's share passes through their estate.
• Testamentary Capacity — The mental capacity required to make a valid will.
• Testamentary Freedom — The principle that a person may leave their property to whomever they choose.
• Testamentary Trust — A trust created by a will, taking effect on death.
• Trust — An arrangement where a trustee holds property for beneficiaries.
• Trust Company — A corporate trustee that can act as executor.
• Trustee Act Limitation — The deadline for bringing claims against an estate or trustee.
• US Estate Tax Exposure — American estate tax reaching non-residents who hold US assets.
• Undue Influence — Coercion that overbears the testator's own wishes.
• Valuation Date — The date assets are valued for estate purposes — normally the date of death.
• Vesting — The moment a beneficiary's interest becomes fixed.
• Will Kit — A pre-printed or online template for making a will.
• Will Registry — A database recording that a will exists and where it is kept.
• Wills Variation (BC) — A British Columbia claim allowing a spouse or child to have a will rewritten by the court.
• Witness — A person who watches the testator sign and signs in turn.