If the wife was made the sole beneficiary of a will in exclusion of the children, and she received the entire estate – wrongly benefiting thereof for several years, is she now required to redistribute it according to Sharī’ah given that she has learnt of her error?r

Q: If the wife was made the sole beneficiary of a will in exclusion of the children, and she received the entire estate – wrongly benefiting thereof for several years, is she now required to redistribute it according to Sharī’ah given that she has learnt of her error?

 

الجواب حامدا ومصليا ومسلما ومنه الصدق والصواب

 

A: When the father passed away the ownership of his estate passed on to all his heirs in proportion to their due shares.  It was incorrect for the mother to deprive the other heirs, namely her children, from their rightful shares. The mother must allow the shares to be distributed correctly as a matter of urgency and she herself is entitled to one eighth of the estate.

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