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Abatement

The order in which gifts are reduced when an estate cannot pay everything.

Draft — pending review. This page has been prepared but has not yet been reviewed by a Canadian estates lawyer or a qualified scholar. Treat it as a starting point for questions, not as advice you should act on.

The order in which gifts are reduced when an estate cannot pay everything.

In Islamic law

Faraid handles a shortfall differently, through 'awl, which reduces all fixed shares proportionally.

In Canadian law

Residue is exhausted first, then general legacies, then specific gifts.

Across the madhahib

No significant difference between the four Sunni schools is recorded on this point in the sources reviewed. Where a specific case turns on it, ask a qualified scholar rather than relying on a general summary.

Canadian legal detail

Treadstone Law, an Ontario firm with a wills and estates practice, covers the Canadian side of this in more depth:

Important

This entry is general information, not legal or religious advice. Inheritance turns on the exact family circumstances. Confirm Canadian law 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.

Canadian legislation & government
  1. Succession Law Reform Act, RSO 1990, c S.26 — Government of Ontario
  2. Locating wills and documents — Law Society of Ontario
Canadian legal commentary
  1. Charitable gift charity merged since will made ontario — Treadstone Law
  2. Security for costs will challenge ontario — Treadstone Law
  3. Foreign will valid in ontario — Treadstone Law
  4. Updating will after sale of property ontario — Treadstone Law
  5. Family farm corporation succession ontario will — Treadstone Law
  6. Wills & estates practice — Treadstone Law