1. It is your religious duty. Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) said, “It is not permissible for any Muslim who has something to will to stay for two nights without having his last will and testament written and kept ready with him.” [Bukhari].
2. You can often save hundreds of thousands of pounds in inheritance tax – the inheritance tax rate is 40% and applies to all assets you have over £325,000 (with some exceptions).
3. You can avoid major family disputes by creating a legally binding will that specifies how your estate should be distributed.
4. You can save your inheritors literally thousands in extra legal, court, and inheritance tax payments (£9,700 is the average cost of dying without a will according to mainstream will-writer Farewill).
5. As for your inheritors and executors you can save them a lot of time, stress, hassle and worry by clearly laying out who is an executor, who is your children’s guardian, and who gets what. You might think that your wife or your husband is going to sort things out for you, but what if a family member starts disputing that after you’re gone? Clarity is always best.
6. You don’t want to leave something like the guardianship of your children to the family courts – who may decide in favour of someone you wouldn’t be happy with.
7. If you are not legally married to your spouse (for example, if you’ve only done a Nikah and not registered your marriage formally in the UK), then writing a will ensures your spouse will actually inherit something. It will also ensure that your spouse gets a share of your family home – which she will not otherwise under the laws of intestacy.
8. If you have step-children, foster children, or other dependents who are not blood relations, they will not automatically inherit anything without a will.
9. It’s a useful exercise in itself for you to reflect properly on death. It also means you’re forced into action from an administrative point of view. How will your executor ever find that random bank account you opened where you’ve still got £200 in?
10. Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, as a Muslim you can allocate up to one third of your estate towards a Sadaqah Jariyah (continuing charity) that will benefit you in the next life. Just as Prophet Muhammad (saw) said, “When a person dies, his deeds come to an end except for three: Sadaqah Jariyah (a continuous charity), or knowledge from which benefit is gained, or a righteous child who prays for him.” [Muslim].
Muslim Charity has teamed with IFG Wills to provide you with a bespoke Islamic Will – for free this month!
Get Your Free Islamic Will sorted in as little as 20 minutes by visiting: https://muslimcharity.org.uk/
