Everything a person owns at death, less what they owe.
In Islamic law
Faraid applies to the net estate after funeral expenses, debts and any valid bequest. Assets that never enter the estate are never divided by the fixed shares.
In Canadian law
The estate is the pool the executor administers. Assets passing by beneficiary designation or survivorship are outside it — which is why 'my estate' and 'everything I own' are not the same thing.
We have not yet researched whether the four Sunni schools differ on this term, so we are not going to tell you either way. 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:
- Beneficiary designation vs will which controls
- Will vs beneficiary designation which controls
- What is beneficiary designation ontario
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.
- Beneficiary designation vs will which controls — Treadstone Law
- Will vs beneficiary designation which controls — Treadstone Law
- What is beneficiary designation ontario — Treadstone Law
- Naming estate vs person as beneficiary ontario — Treadstone Law
- Wills & estates practice — Treadstone Law