Back to search

Is it permissible to give the deceased's car to his sister's son, to whom it was verbally bequeathed, with witnesses present and the heirs' consent, even though the deceased owes debts to the state?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

The first things to be taken from the deceased's estate are the expenses for their burial and shrouding, then the settlement of their debts, then the execution of the will from one-third of the remaining estate. What remains after that is to be distributed among the heirs, based on the Almighty's saying: "after any bequest has been fulfilled or any debt paid." If the deceased's money is sufficient to pay off their debts and there is a surplus, the will to give the car to the nephew (son of the sister) should be executed, as he is not an heir. The validity of the will is sufficient through witnesses, even if it was not written. It is stipulated that the bequest (the car) must be within one-third of the remaining money after settling the debt, or less. Alternatively, if it exceeds one-third, it must be approved by the adult and sound-minded heirs, as the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "One-third, and one-third is much." However, if the deceased's money is not sufficient to pay off their debt, then the will is not valid in the first place, because debt takes precedence over it.

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

Read the full answer on Ftawy