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Do daughters and the wife inherit the entire four-story house, or is their inheritance limited to the first and second floors, given that the father built the first and second floors with the help of the eldest son, while the eldest son and the son next to him built the third and fourth floors at their own expense during the father's lifetime?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

The wife and daughters definitively inherit from the first and second floors. Their inheritance from the third and fourth floors depends on how the two sons assisted their father in the construction:

1. If the assistance was a gift from the sons to their father: The wife and daughters inherit from the third and fourth floors just as they inherit from the first and second. 2. If the assistance was in the form of a partnership: The wife and daughters inherit only from what belonged to the father, and they do not inherit from the sons' share.

Regarding the third and fourth floors (which the sons built during the father's lifetime):

First scenario: If the two sons provide evidence that the father gifted them the airspace and made them owners of it: Ownership belongs to the two sons if the majority of scholars permit differentiation in gifts. What is considered authoritative among us is that if fairness in giving is not achieved for the rest of the children, the gift is invalid. Mere permission from the father for construction is not considered transfer of ownership, and the son does not own the place; he is only entitled to the value of his work as dismantled. Second scenario: If the two sons do not provide evidence that their father made them owners of the airspace: The two sons are entitled to the value of the construction as dismantled. The heirs have the right to demand the demolition of the floors. It is permissible to reach a settlement whereby the heirs pay the sons their value as standing and share with them, and this is more preferable.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

Read the full answer on Ftawy