The importance of writing a will from the inheritor

The importance of writing a will from the inheritor

The importance of writing a will from the inheritor according to the Saudi system

The importance of writing a will from the inheritor is one of the most important topics that people search for in the Arab world, and in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as well, people are constantly searching for the provisions of inheritance and want to know them accurately, whether from the religious or legal aspect, and for this matter we have decided to devote today’s topic to referring to the topic of inheritance in general and in particular the importance of writing a will from the inheritor This matter has many ramifications in Saudi law, and for this reason, and in order for you to benefit, we invite you to review all the paragraphs in today’s topic, where we will begin first by defining the meaning of the will, its parties, and the ruling on writing it, and then we will move on to the provisions of the will according to what is stated in the law in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

What is meant by a will?

A will can be defined as something that a person gives to another person when he is absent or upon his death Then the text in the Holy Quran stipulates the will in the noble verse “after a will you make or a religion” and then the provisions of the will are stipulated in Saudi law as well. The Saudi legislator has set for it a set of provisions and laws that, even if they are absent from it, will not be legally correct and will not be implemented or have the required effect.

What are the pillars of the will?

In order to call an action a commandment, the latter must include a set of four pillars, which are as follows:

First:

The person of the testator, who is the person who actually issues the will. According to Saudi law, he must meet a set of conditions, which are full capacity. A person who lacks or is deficient in capacity may not issue the will. The person of the testator must not have a debt from any party, and this debt does not take up everything he owns Rather, he must pay off such debts before issuing a will, except if he intends to get rid of them with a debt and harm it to its owner by leaving him a will. Also, one of the conditions is that the testator be specific and not unknown.

Second:

The legatee, who is also required to meet a set of conditions, which are: first, he must not be the testator’s heir, he must be appointed and not unknown, he must not be a murderer of the testator in order to benefit from his will, and finally he must be able to obtain the will.

Third:

There is the legatee, which is the matter contained in the will, which must be possessable and must also be permissible and not something forbidden, and this will must be made after the death of the testator, otherwise the matter will not then relate to a will, but rather a gift.

Fourth:

Finally, the person to whom the will is made is the person who is ordered to dispose of the will after death occurs and is called the agent, and he has conditions that he must also meet, which are as follows: maturity, i.e. eligibility, Islam, justice, and also obligation.

What is the ruling on writing a will?

Before entering into the provisions of the subject of the importance of writing a will from the inheritor, we find that one of the matters that people search for and that is also related to the subject of the will is the ruling on writing a will, and Saudi law has explicitly referred to this matter in its chapters based on our true Islamic religion, and with regard to the ruling on writing it, the matter revolves between obligation, desirability and dislike as well Since a will is considered one of the duties if the testator has a debt that he wishes to pay off, leaving a will is one of the easy ways to achieve this matter, and the will is also desirable in the case in which the testator desires charity, for example, or assistance, and such behavior has been desirable in the Islamic religion because of its benefit to all Muslims.

Finally, with regard to dislike, a will is considered disliked in the case where its content includes something that is not permissible, such as forbidden things, for example. Also, a will is considered forbidden and disliked if the testator makes it more than two-thirds of the money, or in the case where the will is directed to an heir in the first place. It was mentioned in the hadith that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “There is no will for an heir,” and therefore you find that it is considered disliked in this case.

What are the will procedures in Saudi Sharia courts?

Always with the topic of the importance of writing a will from the inheritor, before referring to this, we must first define its procedures before the courts of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as there are procedures without which it is not valid, and they are in two ways, in order to prove the will before the court:

In the first case, the testator must have died, and after that, all the heirs, or if they have a representative to represent them, must appear before the court and acknowledge the truth of what was stated in their heir’s will. They must also bring the original deed of inventory of the heirs to the testator, in addition to the true original of the will. On the one hand, on the other hand, it is necessary to have two witnesses to testify to the truth of everything contained in the will When going through all these procedures and proving everything and then referring to it before the judge in court, and also with the absence of obstacles and the fulfillment of all the conditions that we referred to in the previous paragraphs, then the will instrument is issued and it becomes permissible to act according to it.

In the second case, in which the testator is still alive, the procedures are different from the first case, where the presence of the testator is one of the necessary conditions and he must appear before the competent court in the Kingdom and bring with him his national ID or his client must come with a legal agency and record the text of the will with everything contained therein and request the issuance of a document to that effect It is also necessary in this case for two witnesses to be present in order to testify to the validity of what is stated in the will and also for the testator to acknowledge what is stated in it. Also, when all these procedures are carried out and proven before the court judge, the will instrument becomes valid and it is legal to act according to it.

What is the importance of writing a will from the inheritor according to Saudi law?

The importance of writing a will from the inheritor cannot be denied or overlooked in order not to lose rights. Therefore, writing remains an important and necessary matter on the part of the inheritor in particular. In general, a will is invalidated in the following cases:

The first case

is the death of the legatee or the killing of the legatee, the legatee’s rejection of the will, the legatee’s damage, or the legatee’s denial of the will.

As for the importance of writing a will from the heir, Saudi law referred to writing as the first condition by which a will is proven, as it stated that if a person writes a will with his pen and handwriting and it is later verified that the handwriting is his and the signature is his signature, then writing here is sufficient to prove the will even in a case where he did not testify to it.

The second case

is always with the importance of writing a will from the inheritor. We find that there is testimony as a condition through which we prove the will. Testimony is resorted to in the case where the testator is ignorant, i.e. illiterate, and does not know how to write and read, and here it is impossible for him to write.

It should also be noted that a will that has not been documented or proven before the courts of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the official bodies authorized to do so is also valid, as once the condition of writing and attesting to it is met, it is proven and it is correct to act upon it But this case is only true if one of the parties does not present the claim, for example, that the handwriting contained in the will is not his handwriting or signature, or in the case where the will itself includes the condition of proving and documenting it in court and is also considered invalid upon the death of the witnesses who testified to it. All of these matters are in order to ensure that rights are not lost For this specific reason, the Saudi legislator has recognized the importance of writing a will and provided the possibility of proving and documenting it personally before the courts in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Important note.. When the testator is a real estate, it is necessary to inquire about the source of his instrument and verify that it is still valid and also valid in order for it to be stipulated in the will, and in the event of the opposite, it cannot be relied upon at that time.

In the event that the will of the inheritor is denied to the legatee by the heirs, the matter turns from being a final procedure to a legal one and is considered as a separate case in order to reach the truth before the competent courts in the Kingdom.

The most important provisions of the will

In order for the will to be valid, Saudi law has stipulated a set of provisions related to it. In the following paragraph, we will talk in detail about the most prominent provisions of the will based on Saudi law and what our true Islamic religion has brought

One of the most prominent provisions of the will is that it is not permissible for the heirs, except if the heirs approve it, as they are the ones who have the right to do so.
A will is not valid for a non-existent pregnancy because it falls within the scope of the will of the non-existent.
A will is also not valid for anything that cannot be owned, for example, an animal or a dead person. also
A will that contains something forbidden, such as alcohol, churches, temples, or building shrines, is not valid, regardless of whether the testator is a Muslim or otherwise.

The will must include something permissible, such as money, land, real estate, or other things that are not considered forbidden in the Islamic religion.

What are the cases of wills and what is their ruling?

Saudi law has explicitly referred to cases of will and stated that cases of will are four cases and are as follows:

The first case

is the case of an obligatory will, and often in such a case the person owes a debt, as he is in debt and returns the debt to the other person in the form of writing a will to him.

The second case

is that desirable commandment that our religion, Islam, has recommended.

The third case

is the disliked will. In such a case, the testator’s financial situation does not allow him to leave a will, yet he makes it and it is ruled by coercion.

The fourth case

is a forbidden will, which is not permissible, such as one whose content is something forbidden, such as wine, in addition to a will to the heir, which is also not permissible.

Who is the competent court in the matter of proving a will?

The answer to this question has been explicitly indicated by the Saudi legislator and has also been indicated in the Sharia Litigation System and its Executive Regulations, in addition to its issuance as a royal decree in the Kingdom, in Article Thirty-Three in its third paragraph, where it states that the court authorized to consider the issue of proving a will is Personal Status Courts because the matter falls within the framework of their jurisdiction

When do suspicions surround the writing of the will?

The issue of the importance of writing a will from the inheritor or in general is not an easy matter or topic, as we find that it is always marred by many conflicts between people Although it may seem like one of the simplest and easiest procedures, it is also one of the most complex, and this is what some people do not know. It is often due to the problems that plague wills, for example, the testator’s delay in writing them or depositing them with an unreliable party. We also find many problems when it comes to the way what is stated in the content of the will is formulated, as in many cases it is vague, unknown, or completely wrong It changes the meaning of it, which leads to more complex and complex problems. Therefore, returning to Saudi law, which we find to be comprehensive and taking into consideration all these problems that may taint wills, he stressed in a literal and explicit manner the necessity of writing them down and keeping them with a party with trust and authority. He also stressed the issue of witnesses, or what is called testimony.

Because most cases that are marred by legal problems regarding the will are due to the unsafety of the person writing it, meaning that it is marred by a symptom such as old age, forgetfulness, dementia, or because he also lacks mental capacity, this matter increases suspicions about its validity in the first place.

After referring to all the stages of the will and also its provisions according to the law in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, we were able to provide you with a comprehensive answer about everything related to the will and also about the importance of writing the will from the inheritor, as we indicated that writing remains an important and necessary condition in order to ensure that people’s rights are not lost, even with regard to the illiterate person, as Saudi law has approved a special chapter for him in order to guarantee his rights that were given to him according to one of the wills Do not hesitate to contact a lawyer specializing in inheritance and wills from the office of lawyer Abdul Majeed Al Rashid for Law and Legal Consultations.