Fatwa No : 83685
If a father, during his lifetime, transfers a house in his son’s name, then to whom will it rightfully belong?

If a father, during his lifetime, transfers a house in his son’s name, then to whom will it rightfully belong?

1. What do the esteemed scholars and respected Muftis say regarding the following issue that a person has passed away, leaving behind three sons, three daughters, and a widow. How should the inheritance of the deceased be distributed according to Shariah?
2. The deceased also owned land. Some part of this land is registered in the names of two of his sons, while some part is in the deceased’s own name. How should this be divided according to Shariah?
3. During his lifetime, the deceased had purchased several plots in the names of his sons and had fully paid their price, while he had also purchased some plots in the names of his daughters, but their payments remain partially outstanding. Should these outstanding amounts be considered as part of the deceased’s debts or not? Please provide a detailed Shariah ruling.
Note: From the estate of the deceased father, whatever he had given to his sons and daughters or purchased in their names, he had not formally transferred ownership rights to them; rather, their names were mentioned only for procedural or documentary purposes. The deceased’s mother, our grandmother, is still alive.

الجوابُ حامِدا ًو مُصلیِّا ً

It should be clear that during his lifetime, if the deceased gave any portion of his property to a son, daughter, or anyone else, and also made him or her the formal owner and possessor of it, then Islamically that property has become the ownership of that son or daughter, and no one else has any right in it. However, the property which was not given by making the son or daughter a formal owner and possessor, but only verbally or merely by recording their names on papers, then such a gift will not be valid in Shariah. Rather, that property will remain in the ownership of the deceased, and after his death it will be distributed among all his heirs. As is also understood from the question, the deceased did not give his owned property to any of his sons or daughters with formal ownership and possession, but only carried out paperwork in the names of his children. Therefore, the said land and plots, etc., will remain in his ownership, and now, upon his death, they will be distributed among all the heirs according to their respective shares.
The detail of this distribution is as follows: Whatever movable or immovable property, gold, silver, cash, jewelry, and all kinds of household items, the deceased left in his ownership at the time of his death first of all, the average expenses of his shroud and burial should be paid from it. After that, if there is any debt upon the deceased or any unpaid mahr of the widow, that should be paid. After this, if the deceased had made any valid bequest, it should be carried out up to one-third (1/3) of the remaining estate. Then, whatever remains should be divided into 216 equal shares: the deceased’s mother will receive 36 shares, the deceased’s widow will receive 27 shares, each son will receive 34 shares, and each daughter will receive 17 shares.