Law of Inheritance
Distribution of estate:
The first
step in the distribution of the estate of deceased Mahomedan, after his funeral
expenses, debts, and legacies, is to allow their respective shares to such of
the relations as belong to the class of shares and are entitled to a share.
The next step is to divide the residue (if any) among such residuary as are
entitled to the residue. If there are no shares, the residues will succeed in the whole inheritance. If there be neither sharers nor residuary, the
inheritance will be divided among such of the distant kindred as are entitled
to succeed thereto. The distant kindred is not entitled to succeed so long as
there is any heir belonging to the class of sharers or residuary. But there is
one case in which the distant kindred will inherit with a sharer, and that is
where the sharer is the wife or husband of the deceased.
Thus if a Mahomedan dies leaving a wife and distant kindred, the wife as sharers will take her share which is ¼ and the remaining ¾ will go to the distant kindred.
If Mahomedan
female dies leaving a husband and distant kindred as sharers will take his
share ½ and other half will go to the distant kindred.
Case:
A dies
leaving a mother, a son, and a daughter’s son
The mother
as sharer will take her share 1/6, and the son as residuary will take the
residue 5/6.
The
daughter’s son is one of the classes of distant kindred and is not entitled to
any share of the inheritance.
The question
as to which of the relations belonging to the class of sharers, residuary, or
distant kindred, are entitled to the inheritance depends, on the circumstances
of each case.
Thus if the
surviving relations be a father and a father’s father, the father alone will
succeed in the whole inheritance to the entire exclusion of the grandfather,
though both of them belong to the class of sharers.
If the surviving
relation is a son and a son’s son, the son alone will inherit the estate, and
the son’s son will not be entitled to any share of the inheritance, though both
belong to the class of residuary.
Similarly,
if the surviving relation belongs to the class of distant kindred, daughter’s
son and daughter’s son’s son, the former will succeed to the whole inheritance,
it is one of the rules of succession that the nearer relation excludes the
more remote.
Classes of heirs:
Sharers:
Sharers are those who are entitled to a prescribed share of the inheritance.
Residuary:
Residuary are those who take no prescribed share but succeed to the “residue” after the claims of the sharers are satisfied
Distant kindred:
Distant kindred are all those
relations by blood who are neither Sharers nor Residuary.
After
payment of funeral expenses, debts, and legacies, the first step in the
distribution of the estate, of a deceased Mahomedan, is to ascertain which of
the surviving relations belong to the class of shares, and which again of
these are entitled to a share of the inheritance, and, after this is done, to
proceed to assign their respective shares to such of the sharers as are, under
the circumstances of the case, entitled to succeed to a share.
(a)
Father...….
1/6 (as a sharer, because there are daughters)
Father’s
father…….. (Excluded by father)
Mother……..
1/6 (because there are daughters)
Mother’s
mother …….. (Excluded by mother)
Two daughters
……… 2/3
Son’s
daughter .. .. .. (Excluded by daughters)
(b)
Husband
.. … .. ½
Father .. .. .. ½ (as
residuary)
(c)
Four
widows .. .. .. ¼ (each taking 1/16)
Father .. .. .. .. ¾ (as residuary)
Mother
(d)
Mother
.. .. .. .. 1/3
Father .. .. .. .. 2/3
(as residuary)
(e)
Mother
.. .. .. 1/6 (because there are two sisters)
Two sisters .. .. .. .. (Excluded
by father)
Father .. … … … … 5/6
(as residuary)
(f)
Mother
.. … … …1/3
Sister .. .. .. .. …
.. (Excluded by father)
Father .. .. .. …. ..2/3
(as residuary)
(g)
Mother
..
.. .. .. 1/6
(because there is a brother and also a sister)
A Brother .. … .. (Excluded by father)
Sister .. .. .. … .. (Excluded by father)
Father .. … ..5/6 (as residuary)
(h)
Husband
.. .. .. ½
Mother .. .. .. 1/6 (=1/3
of ½)
Father .. .. .. .. 1/3
(as residuary)
(i)
Husband
.. .. .. ½
Mother .. .. .. .. ¼
Father’s father .. … 1/6
(as residuary)
(j)
Widow
.. .. .. … … ¼
Mother ……………. ¼ (= 1/3 of
¾)
Father ………………. ½ (as
residuary)