I was commenting to my wife two weeks ago that Muslims, as much as non-Muslims, would need to write a Will (more properly called a Wasiat).
At the end of the day, everyone who has something to give away when he dies should plan how he intends to give them away.
For non-Muslims in this country, writing a Will is the simplest method to plan the distribution of their estate.
You get to choose your beneficiaries, decide on the assets or the quantum you want to give them but most importantly, you get to name someone or a trust corporation to be your Executor.
If you don’t have a Will, the distribution of your estate becomes complicated as an Administrator is required. Leaving it to your heirs to decide on one person among them to be the Administrator can be protracted.
Then there is the Distribution Act 1958 which kicks in when there isn’t a Will. Though the division of assets according to this Act is rather straightforward, it is not always easy to achieve. Believe me, it is never easy for an Administrator to deal with siblings when both parents are no longer around.
Many of my Muslim friends are under the impression that they will not face such problems with the distribution of their estate when their loved ones pass away.
After all, they argue, they have the Islamic law of inheritance, called Ilm ul-Faraid, to help them with the distribution.
But unfortunately, they do not realise until it is explained to them that the Faraid only involves knowing the rules for dividing the inheritance and distributing it so that each of the heirs receives his proper share. In this sense, its objectives have some broad similarities with the DA 1958 which tells you how to divide the estate of a non-Muslim intestate among various classes of beneficiaries.
A Muslim will still need a personal representative to do the job of dividing and distributing his estate to his heirs and this personal representative, whether an individual or a trust corporation, is the Administrator or the Executor.
An advantage of a Wasiat is that it allows a Muslim to name his Executor so that in the future, there will be less practical problems with the heirs. If he doesn’t have a Wasiat, then his heirs will have to decide on one of them to be the Administrator.
But let me stress here that at any time, a Wasiat does not over-ride the principles of the Faraid in the inheritance distribution process. Indeed, most Muslims usually state in the Wasiat that the distribution of their whole estate shall follow the Faraid.
There are also Muslims who realise that the Wasiat is useful if they want to give a portion of their estate (up to one-third of the estate) to non-heirs such as their adopted children. In the case of Muslim converts whose parents or siblings remain non-Muslims, this one-third portion of their estate can also be willed away to them.
However, the great advantage of a Wasiat is really the opportunity to appoint an Executor that you trust. If you have a choice, don’t leave it to your heirs to agree on an Administrator when you are already dead. And you have a choice. You can and should decide while you are still alive.
Finally, let me say again that it is never easy for an Administrator to deal with siblings when both parents are no longer around. It is an age-old practical problem that knows no boundaries … it cuts across all races and religions.
So it stands to reason — for Muslims and non-Muslims alike — that when it comes to the distribution of an estate, a Wasiat or a Will does come in useful because you have full control in appointing a person or a trust corporation to be the Executor of your estate.
About the writer
Quah Seng Sun received his training in Islamic Estate Planning from as-Salihin Trustee Berhad.