Islamic last will and testament : preparing last will

Fatawa Question

Assalamualaikum, I had some concerns about the preparation of the last will. I read some part of the last will (on your website) which states the following about its preparation : disadvantages : a) loss of privacy ; b) challenge by any person ; C) probate fees, cost of litigation ; and, 4) lengthy procedures. If one owns real estates, investment through brokerage houses, bank accounts, etc. one would be better off with other arrangements of estate planning such as living trusts, family corporations, family partnership, etc. I had wanted to go ahead and consult my legal advisors about this last will (of course I would be using the one on your website as the basis and I live in the USA). But, I am confused after reading the disadvantages, since I do have brokerage accounts, pension, 401 k, home, etc. My question to you is this : if I prepare a last will, just by taking your document and adding to it, and notarize it, will that be sufficient ? I do not wish that my family members have to face any problems because of the will in case of my death. Or will it be ok only if I go with a lawyer for doing this ? Which would be better for me ? I do not know enough about living trusts, and I prefer making a will since I know that has been mentioned in the Quran. I would like to write a will so that my family members do the right thing and through which I could let them know about some things which need to be done (like donating a specific amount from 401 k to charity since some of the money it was earlier distributed in non-Islamic funds, though now it has been converted to an IRA investing in Shari’ah compliant funds). Please advise. Could you also advise me regarding the following ? 1. I had a 401 k account which was invested in the funds offered by my company, say just for example, I had invested $ 4000 (including the company's match) and gained a profit of $ 6000. I have no way of determining how much of this profit is Halal. I had asked my Masjid's imam about this and he had said to donate the non-Halal profit to charity. Since I had no means of determining how much of the profit was Halal, I decided to donate all the profit. But I had no access to this money and had to divert all the funds (including the profit) to an IRA. So, I decided that I would donate the profit amount (say the $ 6000) after I start getting the money at retirement. Is this the right way to proceed ? The amounts stated are only an example, the actual amount is more. I don't see it wrong, although I prefer that you give this amount as soon as possible from other resources so that your 401 K remains all yours. 2. For another of my 401 k account, it invests in Shari’ah compliant mutual funds. But these funds do invest a small percentage (maybe 2-3 %) in the financial sector. My question is, would I need to donate to charity, 2 % of the money I get from 401 k always ? Your help is greatly appreciated. Jazakallahu khairan. Sumera.

Fatwa

Click hereto view more

Publication Date

2009-01-09

Main Subjects

Financial and Accounting Sciences
Islamic Studies

Topics

• Islamic jurisprudence
• Real property
• Mutual funds

No. of Pages

2

Data Type

Fatawa

Language

English

Record ID

BIM-729133

• APA
• MLA
• AMA