Guidance on Islamic law for wills

Flugelhorn

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/10716844/Islamic-law-is-adopted-by-British-legal-chiefs.html

would this only apply if a will is extant and valid, and not to intestacy?

Presumably in a valid will you can leave your money (within reason ) to whoever you wish??

Crabapple

It looks like this is something providing guidance to non-Muslim lawyers on the sharia inheritance rules. It has always been possible to prepare a Will giving unequal shares and disinheriting relatives you don't approve of.

Standard Will precedents may perhaps contain some provisions that could clash so this is how to avoid creating any issues.

There are numerous law firms who have Muslim lawyers and already prepare Wills taking those rules into account and I suspect it would be rare for a person who wants a sharia compliant Will to go to a high street firm who didn't have such experience.

This seems like a case less of 'Islamic law being adopted by British legal system' and more a continuance of the principle that you can do whatever you wish in your Will and that is legally binding.

There's no mention of intestacy as you say, so those rules would prevail if there was no Will. The article doesn't say anything about Inheritance Act claims either but these must still be allowed.

So no change in the law at all, a bit of guidance and a newspaper spin on the story (imo).

Flugelhorn

Thanks Crabapple - that is what I thought may be going on - bit of a story...

I suppose I was concerned that somehow intestacy rules could be challenged just on the basis of the evidence of someone's religion, whatever it happened to be..

madbadrob

I believe there are places within the British Successions that will overrule the Sharia based wills. One of those would be the right of someone dependent on the deceased to make a claim against the estate. This could be a wife or a child. This would contradict totally the Sharia way and something that I can see being tested in the future especially as a lot of Modern muslims do not live by the faith anyway.

The law society giving these guidelines whilst in y opinion was doing so with the correct reasons behind it have opened up a can of worms and these can only lead to more conflicts that the British courts will have to sort out. Maybe its time the Government ruled on this and removed the right for Shaira law and courts to exist in the UK. After all they come here for a better life but want to live with the oppressive Sharia laws.

Rob

Crabapple

That is the point though Rob, it hasn't changed our laws at all and it will still be possible to make claims against an estate based on the usual rules for dependents. It also won't affect intestacy rules.

If we removed the right for anyone to make a Sharia compliant Will we would in effect be creating forced heirship by removing the legal right we all have to dispose of our assets however we want under our Wills.

Crabapple

It will be interesting to see if there are challenges in the future to the intestacy rules or against an Inheritance Act claim based on Sharia. I can't see that they would ever allow that to prevail over our Laws but I would share your concern if that did happen.

madbadrob

Crabapple I would read more about this than the Telegraph piece if I was you. The implications of this are in my eyes detrimental to women to say the least. The Secular law society have a great few pieces on this subject which I had read before making a post. The chair person on the cross party committee for womens rights is also saying that this is a poor move by the law society. Whilst it is only a guidance and does not change the laws it could well lead to that.

Yes anyone can make a will in any way they want to and I for one do not want to see this change but to actually make a legal document which in reality does not parallel UK law is not the way we should be going. This is one I will watch closely because I do feel its the first step towards a change in intestacy as well

Rob

Crabapple

I have had a read of the Secular Law Society pieces you mention. Thankfully they are rather more balanced in terms of what this practice note actually means that the stories in the Telegraph and Mail which practically stated that Sharia was going to override all laws in the UK!

I agree that these inheritance rules are discriminatory, and wouldn't like to see Wills made like that, but at the end of the day if a Client comes in and instructs a lawyer to make a Will along those lines it has to be done.

I also believe that there should be no religious consideration in the Law in this country, whatever religion that is.

It does seem very odd to me that the Law Society have issued this note, apparently due to 'demand'. As I said above, there are already firms that offer this and I can't see that the average high-street firm is going to receive requests for Sharia compliant Wills.

What I'm not getting from this is why this practice note is seen as some kind of slippery slope towards wholesale changes in the laws on inheritance. I can't think that either parliament or judicial precendent would allow that.

madbadrob

If a case went to court and the court upheld the will it could then be used as common law. I agree though the government wont change the law based on religion but in the same breath I think they need to come out and give a clarification

Rob