A faraid distribution gives a daughter half a son’s share. Whether that can be challenged in Newfoundland and Labrador — and by whom — is the question every Muslim family planning an estate here should ask before signing.
The Newfoundland and Labrador position
| Item | Newfoundland and Labrador |
|---|---|
| Governing statute | Wills Act and Intestate Succession Act |
| Court | Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador |
| Handwritten (holograph) wills | Valid [confirm against the statute] |
| Probate cost | Charged as a percentage of estate value, in the region of 0.6%. [confirm against the statute] |
| Spouse’s share on intestacy | The spouse takes a share of the estate alongside issue, by fraction. [confirm against the statute] |
| Will registry | No central government will registry. [confirm against the statute] |
| Claims against the estate | Family Relief Act claims. [confirm against the statute] |
Who can bring a claim
- Dependants who were being supported and were not adequately provided for.
- Spouses, including through family-property entitlements that operate independently of the will.
- Adult children — in British Columbia specifically, even where independent.
Newfoundland and Labrador does not have BC’s section 60 wills-variation regime, under which an independent adult child can apply to rewrite a will. The exposure here is narrower — but dependant support claims still apply.
Reducing the risk
- Record the religious reasoning in a memorandum kept with the will.
- Provide for genuine dependants adequately, whatever the fixed shares say.
- Consider lifetime gifts and designations, which are harder to disturb — but take tax advice.
- Get provincial advice before signing. This is the clause that gets litigated.
Common questions
Can a will be challenged just because it follows Islamic shares?
Not on that basis alone. Claims succeed on statutory grounds — inadequate provision for a dependant, or in BC for a spouse or child — not because a distribution is religious.
Does writing down my reasons help?
It can. A memorandum explaining the reasoning is evidence a court may weigh, though in BC the Grewal decision shows cultural or religious reasoning is not by itself decisive.
Are lifetime gifts safer than bequests?
They are generally harder to disturb, but they carry immediate tax consequences and can still be examined. Take tax and legal advice before moving assets.
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.
- What to do when someone has died — Canada Revenue Agency
- Probate fees by province / territory — TaxTips.ca
- Surah an-Nisa 4:11–12, 4:176 — Quran.com
- Book of Wills (Wasaya) — Sahih al-Bukhari, Sunnah.com
- Can a beneficiary sue an executor ontario — Treadstone Law
- Can i designate charity as beneficiary — Treadstone Law
- Grounds to challenge contest will ontario — Treadstone Law
- What is particulars in ontario litigation — Treadstone Law
- Executor gift lapses beneficiary predeceases — Treadstone Law
- Executor duty impartiality between beneficiaries ontario — Treadstone Law
- Wills & estates practice — Treadstone Law
- Religion by census metropolitan area, 2021 Census — Statistics Canada