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3 inheritance myths

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Common misconceptions in society about inheritance and its management

Not many people know about inheritance management. There are also those who worry they will be labelled as a maniac when discussing inheritance management. But that is not the case. The importance of knowing inheritance management is to ensure the process of inheritance distribution runs smoothly to avoid conflicts in the future.

Due to the fact that many people are still unaware of this issue, since 1957, there is almost RM70 billion in unclaimed property until today because there are still many misunderstandings about inheritance management.

In this article we will look at some common misconceptions in society about inheritance and its management so that you can share this knowledge with family members and friends.

 

1.  A will must be obeyed and can be given to heirs 

"I want my assets distributed equally to all my children,”

Although in the dialogue above a father has made a will, this will is not absolute because it does not meet some of the conditions of a will. Why?

Legally, a will is not absolute to the heir. This is based on the hadith of the Prophet s.a.w. which means:

"There should be no will to the heirs unless permitted by the other heirs." (Reported by Abu Daud)

Writing a will to ensure that your estate will be fairly distributed and according to your wishes

A will can only be executed if all heirs agree to this will. It needs to be seen first who the heirs of the deceased are. Maybe the father and mother are still alive. If his children are all girls there should be a share to the brother of the deceased.

If there is even one heir who does not agree, then it should be distributed according to the division of faraid. But if the will is to a non-heir, then it is obligatory.

Second, wills in Islam are only allowed for 1/3 of the net property. Net property means property that remains after deducting the debts of the deceased and his funeral arrangements. Wills of more than 1/3 of the assets can only be executed if all heirs agree.

 

2. Nominee as inheritance handler

For properties such as EPF, Tabung Haji and bank accounts, usually institutions allow you to place a nominee to the property. Yet many misunderstand that the nominee is the heir of the property.

For example, if a mother puts her child's name as a nominee for an EPF account, she assumes that the nominee will receive EPF money when she dies. This is not true at all.

The nominee is simply the property manager. Nominee is the person responsible in managing the property to be distributed to the heirs according to the division of faraid.

The National Fatwa Council ruled, the nominee is the executor and trustee who is responsible for distributing the money named to the nominee, to the entitled heirs of the deceased according to faraid law.

The real purpose of placing a nominee is to streamline inheritance management without having to obtain a property management order. In choosing who to nominate for your property, place the person you trust the most and are able to manage the property well.

Do not put the name of a minor (under 18 years old) as the heir as the property will be frozen until the child reaches the age of 18 years. This will slow down the process of inheritance division.

 

3. Hibah Takaful solves all inheritance problems

If a person has taken a takaful hibah, then he no longer has to worry about inheritance problems, is that true?

This statement is partially true. The hibah takaful is the absolute property of the hibah recipient which is named in the takaful Certificate. If a husband puts the wife's name as the recipient of the takaful hibah, then the takaful compensation is 100% the property of his wife. It is not included in inheritance.

Inheritance is property that the deceased accumulated during his life such as house, savings, car and EPF account. This inheritance has to go through a process of division using the faraid method.

Another important point is that the recipient of the takaful hibah is not obliged to settle the debts of the deceased or use the money for inheritance matters.

The debts of the deceased must be settled using the inheritance before being distributed according to the faraid fraction.

Hibah takaful can solved all your inheritance problems is a myth

 

These are some of the misunderstandings that often occur in society regarding inheritance. Society needs to know about the inheritance division process and who the eligible heirs are. Hibah takaful is an instrument that helps the next of kin such as spouses and children to continue to survive while waiting for the inheritance division process to take place. You can refer to the takaful hibah plan offered by Great Eastern Takaful here.

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