Leaving a Will: Claiming a Verbal Bequest After Inheritance Is Settled

Practical Laws of Islam as per the teachings of Imam Khamenei

Leaving a Will: Claiming a Verbal Bequest After Inheritance Is Settled

English:

Question #1842:

The inheritance of a person was divided among his heirs, each of whom had officially registered his own share with the authorities. Six years later, one of the inheritors claimed that the deceased had verbally instructed him to give part of a house to one of his sons. A number of women testified in his favor. Should such claim carry any weight?

Answer #1842:

Neither the time factor nor the official completion of the distribution of the inheritance should detract from the validity of the will provided that it [the claim] is proved in a shar‘ī way. So, if the claimant succeeded in proving his claim, all the parties have to act upon it. Otherwise, it is obligatory on each and every inheritor who admitted the will as being genuine to abide by the provisions of the will insofar as their respective share of the inheritance is concerned.

-Imam Khamenei, Practical Laws of Islam, Importance and Conditions of Leaving a Will