Maintenance — the obligation to financially support dependants.
In Islamic law
A husband's obligation to maintain his wife and children, and in some circumstances parents and other relatives. Any arrears owing at death are a debt of the estate.
In Canadian law
Overlaps with dependant support claims, which allow a court to order provision from an estate for someone the deceased was supporting.
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:
- Time limit for dependant support claims ontario
- Moral obligation adult children dependant support ontario
- Dependant support order trustee personal liability 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.
- Surah an-Nisa 4:11 — shares of children and parents — Quran.com
- Surah an-Nisa 4:12 — shares of spouses and uterine siblings — Quran.com
- Surah an-Nisa 4:176 — the kalalah verse — Quran.com
- Sahih al-Bukhari, Book 85: Laws of Inheritance (Faraid) — Sunnah.com
- Sahih Muslim, Book of Inheritance — Sunnah.com
- Encyclopaedia of Islam — Brill
- Oxford Islamic Studies / Oxford Reference — Oxford University Press
- Time limit for dependant support claims ontario — Treadstone Law
- Moral obligation adult children dependant support ontario — Treadstone Law
- Dependant support order trustee personal liability ontario — Treadstone Law
- Varying dependant support order changed circumstances ontario — Treadstone Law
- Wills & estates practice — Treadstone Law