My wife can own everything after I die
Question:
My wife and I had a verbal agreement that should I
pass away she will become the owner of all what I leave
behind and vice versa, now that she passed away I am
left with the little belongings etc and I would like to
know if I am the sole owner of it.
There were no children
in this marriage.
Does her sister or other family
members also form part of her estate?
Answer:
In principle, a bequest made in favour of an heir is not
valid. The arrangement described in your query is not
permissible as it results in making a bequest in favour of
an heir.
Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alahi Wasallam) has
prohibited making a bequest in favour of an heir and
ruled that such bequests are invalid (Tirmizi).
In this case, you are an heir to your wife and the bequest that
she made that all her belongings should go to you is
invalid.
A bequest in favour of an heir will only be valid
if all the heirs agree to it without coercion after the
demise of the testator/testatrix.
You will be one of her heirs. Her family members also
inherit from her.
You will have to provide a list of her
heirs for us to give you a breakdown on how the estate
should be distributed.
And Allah Ta’ala knows best
– Pearls of Wisdom Team
