Settling debts and funeral expenses before winding up the estate

· 16 Safar 1439 AH1 min readEnglish
Inheritanceinheritancedebtsfuneral expensesestate

Question

1. If a person passes away and he has a debt of R1000 and his total savings are R1500, should the debt be paid off first eventhough it's more than 1/3 of his wealth and then R500 that remains be divided into 3 portions and fulfill the will from the 1/3 of R500?

2. And when paying for the funeral expenses, if it totals R100 for instance, will the R100 be deducted from 1/3 of his wealth or will it be paid first and then his savings be divided?.

Answer

1. Yes.

2. It will be paid first.

And Allah Ta'ala (الله تعالى) knows best.

Answered by
Mufti Ebrahim Salejee (Isipingo Beach)
Ask Mufti Online

Fatawa SA is an independent, read-only index of fatawa already published by Mufti Online — Madrasah Ta'leemuddeen. It is not a fatwa service. For your own situation, ask the issuing Darul Ifta directly.