Transmenu powered by JoomlArt.com - Mambo Joomla Professional Templates Club

THE dynamics of family life changes as society advances. We see it all around us.

In earlier times, children got married and continued living with their parents. Nowadays, young working adults may opt to stay on their own. Newly-married couples would most likely move out of the parental home to start a new life together.

While the younger generation may have a different sense of freedom, it does not mean that they do not care for their parents. Indeed, it is gratifying to know that filial piety is very much alive today.

In this context, a reader wrote in to say that he would like to care equally well for his parents, and his wife and children. He can manage this during his lifetime but what if something happens to him. How does he make sure that neither is neglected?

He would like his wife and children to inherit his property and assets, but he also wants his parents to be well looked after as they were the ones who brought him up and helped him be where he is today.

He is concerned because he came to know of a situation where a friend died, leaving a wife and young children, and the court ordered a quarter of the estate to go to the friend’s mother who is very old and living with his brother.

A few months later, the mother died and it was discovered that the brother got the mother to make a will, declaring him as the sole beneficiary of her estate. Of course, all she had was what she received from the estate of the deceased son.

As a result, the wife and children of the deceased, received only three-quarters of his property, while the brother eventually became the beneficiary of one-quarter of the estate. This is unlikely to have been the intention of the deceased brother.

Obviously, the deceased was a non-Muslim because the inheritance was based on the provisions of the Distribution Act 1971 Section (6)(1)(g) which read as follows:

“If any person shall die intestate as to any property to which he is beneficially entitled for an interest which does not cease on his death, such property shall be distributed if an intestate dies leaving a spouse, issue and parent or parents, the surviving spouse shall be entitled to one-quarter of the estate, the issue shall be entitled to one-half of the estate and the parent or parents the remaining one-quarter.”

There is an option to provide for such a situation so that the property benefits those for whom it is intended to benefit. In this way, the parents can be provided for as well as the estate preserved for the family.

However, this is only possible for non-Muslims. In the case of Muslims, a will can only be made to give away one-third of the estate and even that only to non-beneficiaries. The entitlement under Syariah law for the recognised beneficiaries cannot be altered by any will.

Where the concern is for the parents, the will could provide for part of the estate to be held in trust for the parents for their use for as long as they live. It can also provide for income or if necessary, part or whole of the estate, to be used to provide for the parent’s food, shelter and medical treatment or other such needs. The will can then go on to provide that on the demise on the parents, whatever is left becomes part of the estate that goes to the spouse and children. This is not to say that even with such an arrangement, there would be no difficulties.

If such a provision is incorporated, both ends would be met. The parents would be looked after and be provided for during their lifetime, and whatever is left of the remaining assets will revert to the immediate family.

However, this is only one kind of situation that needs to be provided for. There are other situations which can arise where one party is left with a deep sense of deprivation and grievance.

Circumstances and life situations change. Until a person gets married, he is usually close to his parents and siblings. However, this can change when he gets married and has his own family.

When this happens, the person concerned may, with regard to such matters, lean completely one way or another. Others would try to create a balance.

How should a person deal with the situation as soon as he gets married? Should he immediately forget about his parents or siblings? Or does he need to create a balanced situation so that as his parents get older and his siblings grow up, he makes adjustments to cater to the increasing needs of his immediate family and provide less dependence for his parents and siblings.

The writer is reminded of a situation many years ago where on the occasion of the marriage of their only son, the parents not only bought a car for him but also transferred ownership of their house to the son. This was in the hope that they would be staying with the son anyway and were looking forward to taking care of their grandchildren.

However, immediately after the marriage, the son made a will leaving all his assets to his wife. Fate soon struck a cruel blow. A few weeks later, the son died and the wife walked away with all the property, including substantial benefits that were payable on his death.

Of course, one can sympathise with the wife over the loss of her husband which would have brought her great grief. However, the parents also found it very painful to have lost their son and whatever property they had accumulated for their old age.

Thus with hindsight, if anything should happen immediately after marriage, a person may want the assets to be distributed in certain proportions to the wife, and his parents or siblings. Such a decision would no doubt be influenced by consideration of the financial capabilities of the spouse, balanced against the needs of his own parents and siblings.

The existence of a will therefore does not always avoid problems or unfairness. In fact, it may create new problems. The word “unfairness” itself is steeped in the circumstances. What may be fair to one person may be unfair to another.

For people who are concerned about such matters, a will can be of help. But in order to serve its purpose, the possible situations that may arise must be given much thought and clearly provided for. Only then can the desired objective be achieved. But even then, other unforeseen events may give rise to unexpected issues.