This is an Islamic Last Will and Testament that is free to download. I created this some years ago for a workshop I did at the Muslim Community Association in Santa Clara, California, but it was modified since then. You would need to calculate the shares of inheritance and keep it updated, which would mean periodically downloading a new one and filling it out and destroying the old one.
This is provided as a service to the Muslim community of California, since I am plainly aware that many people can either not afford an attorney or just don’t want one at this point, I have prepared a last will and testament form that can be freely used and distributed.
Since I am a lawyer, and this is a normal lawyer thing to do, I am going to tell you that you should be cautious about a few things:
- The Last will and testament by itself may well be enough for some people, however, it only covers one particular type of property, and that is “probate property.” This may be a somewhat misleading term as if you have a small amount of assets (as of 2015 it is $150,000 in California, that is gross and not net), you likely won’t have a probate (even if you have “probate property”), and a last will and testament may be fine for inheritance distribution purposes.
- If you have too large of an estate you don’t want to have your assets pass through a last will and testament. It would be exceedingly irresponsible to not hire a lawyer and get a comprehensive estate plan (my opinion). In any event, hiring a lawyer to address your estate planning needs amounts to a decision of what you believe is best to protect your family and if there is value in you doing so.
- Non-Probate property includes retirement assets, (IRA, 401(k)), life insurance, POD/TOD accounts and other assets that pass through contract. So you may find that many of your assets (or most) are not probate property and having an “Islamic Will” is not that Islamic after all.
- Assuming you figure filling out a last will and testament form is the best thing for you to do and if you are not my client, please do not contact our office for advice in filling it out. We offer the form as-is, as a service to the Muslim community, but do not offer free legal advice. I do hope everyone that downloads this form and uses it (and it has been useful for many) will respect this request. This is to assist people doing their own planning.
- You need to check out our audio lessons on Estate Planning and avoiding and managing fitna in the American Muslim family. If you are doing a last will, this series is exactly for you. I want to hear your feedback, just feel free to comment or email us. You can also check out our client testimonials to see what we are about. To set an appointment to do your estate planning, just call us or set an appointment online. Just do not contact us to ask about the free will form.
We have a wide range of other information and forms available that may be helpful to you, your friends and loved ones. If you think there is someone who may benefit from this, please share this page to them rather than the PDF. This is free for Islamic organizations to use. Contact us if you want a copy that is customized so that your organization is named as a charity for the wasiyyah beneficiary.