Question

My father in law gave his daughters their share while he was alive almost 20 ,25 years before his death.this was because his son in law’s fought for it . They said they wanted their share as they cannot wait for him to die.all these 25 years my father in law never gave his sons anything not even anything to run their house hold instead he made more property
Now after his death his daughters r asking their share in the house which was on my mother in law’s name.my FIL named the house on my MIL for income tax purposes.it was not inherited from my MIL father. It was purely my FIL ‘S property.pls help

Answer

The money that your father-in-law gave to his daughters in his lifetime would be considered a gift and would not take away from their share of inheritance in whatever property he still owned when he died. If the house he left behind was put in your mother-in-law’s name just for tax purposes and was not actually gifted to her, then it remains the property of your father-in-law. It will therefore have to be divided up as stipulated in the shari’ah, with the sisters getting half the share of the brothers.

Answered by:
Ifta Research Fellow

Checked & Approved by:
Mufti Abdul Rahman Mangera
Mufti Zubair Patel