Distributing Inheritance in one’s lifetime
Question
A person passed on. One property owned by the deceased was rented by a tenant. The executor of the estate collected the money per month, paid the levies and rates and put the balance in a separate bank account. When the estate was sorted, there was an amount of R100 000 in the account from the rent of this property. Must this money be part of the entire estate or will it be given to the heir who inherits this property?
Answer
The said rental money belongs to the estate and not to a single heir.
Every heir is a shareholder in the estate property. If it was decided that the property goes to one particular heir then this is with the consent of the other heirs.
Before the said heir receives the property, the ownership of all other heirs remains and hence they are entitled to its rental as per the percentage of their due shares.
After he receives the property, any rentals from the said property will belong solely to him. [Mabsoot 11:151]
And Allah Ta’ala Knows Best
- Answered by
- Mufti Moosa Salie, Mufti Taahir Hansa
Fatawa SA is an independent, read-only index of fatawa already published by Jamiatul Ulama KZN. It is not a fatwa service. For your own situation, ask the issuing Darul Ifta directly.