Sharia law and Wills
Posted: June 23rd, 2023, 11:28 am
I found this article explaining the rules of Sharia law in relation to the making of Wills interesting - https://imprivateclient.passle.net/post/102ihmv/a-guide-to-sharia-compliant-wills
However, the article raise more questions than it answers, in particular whether, and to what extent an English court would be influenced by a Will that complied with Sharia law but not English law.
For example, one of the Sharia rules is that male children get twice the shares of female children. But imagine a situation where the testator had, in compliance with this rule, left his son twice as much as his daughter but the son was wealthy and the daughter was living on benefits.
English law would allow her to make a claim for additional provision from the estate under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975. However, if the judge was inclined to award her additional provision that would be overriding Sharia law, which would potentially cause considerable distress to other members of the family, not just the son, and could be seen as disrespectful of the testator's religious beliefs.
Or it might happen that a father had made a Will excluding his illegitimate child from inheritance, which is permitted under Sharia law. However, under English law an illegitimate child has the same rights as a legitimate one, so would be able to make a claim.
It's perhaps surprising that there appear to be no reported cases as to how the two systems of law should be reconciled. I can only assume that any such conflicts have been resolved by way of a settlement, on the basis that going to court in the absence of any legal precedent to provide guidance might be too much of a gamble for both sides.
However, the article raise more questions than it answers, in particular whether, and to what extent an English court would be influenced by a Will that complied with Sharia law but not English law.
For example, one of the Sharia rules is that male children get twice the shares of female children. But imagine a situation where the testator had, in compliance with this rule, left his son twice as much as his daughter but the son was wealthy and the daughter was living on benefits.
English law would allow her to make a claim for additional provision from the estate under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975. However, if the judge was inclined to award her additional provision that would be overriding Sharia law, which would potentially cause considerable distress to other members of the family, not just the son, and could be seen as disrespectful of the testator's religious beliefs.
Or it might happen that a father had made a Will excluding his illegitimate child from inheritance, which is permitted under Sharia law. However, under English law an illegitimate child has the same rights as a legitimate one, so would be able to make a claim.
It's perhaps surprising that there appear to be no reported cases as to how the two systems of law should be reconciled. I can only assume that any such conflicts have been resolved by way of a settlement, on the basis that going to court in the absence of any legal precedent to provide guidance might be too much of a gamble for both sides.