When I speak about Islamic Inheritance, or when people ask me a question, they often ask a variation of “Can Islamic inheritance work in our courts?”.  Another version of this question wonders what happens if someone challenges the Islamic Rules of Inheritance: say, for example, a daughter who gets less inheritance than a son can go to court and challenge this.  The answer is complex and fact-specific.  This should never prevent someone from planning based on Islamic rules. Only understand that a lawyer can never offer certainty or guarantees about anything, and there is ..read more

If you are in Los Angeles on November 5, please see my workshop at the Islamic Center of Southern California on Islamic Inheritance and Islamic Estate Planning. If you want a presentation in your community, call my office at (714) 384-6500.  To schedule a no-obligation 15-minute Zoom call to discuss your Islamic Estate Planning, click this link. The post Islamic Center of Southern California on November 5, 2023 appeared first on Islamic Estate Planning Attorney ..read more

What Successful Muslim Business Want to do One of the most overlooked aspects of estate planning, particularly for Muslims, is charitable planning. Yes, it is essential to ensure that whatever you own, passes on based on the Islamic rules of inheritance. However, that is not Muslims’ only goal when organizing their financial and family wealth affairs. This charitable planning tool is primarily useful for successful business owners who want to do what is known as “business succession planning” or “exit planning .”  The idea here is that business owners would like to keep the business with ..read more

The Asset Protection Need with LLCs We as a society have determined two things that tend to contract each other. Someone who has wronged another in some way should pay for the wrong caused. (That is an ideal in the civil justice system, even if reality may differ for many). There need to be limits on that liability for sound policy reasons legislatures get to decide on. LLCs are one way to come to a compromise on these two things. So say Elyas owns shares in Apple, a massive publicly traded company. He does not work for Apple in any capacity; he owns shares he purchased in a brokerage acco ..read more

So you have an Islamic Estate Plan: A living trust designed to respect your wishes.  You have a will, designed to back it all up.  An attorney drafted a power of attorney in the event of financial incapacity.  Your lawyer transferred your real estate to the living trust so that the home transfers how you want after death and your family avoids probate. You also transfer your bank account so that your trust owns it.  If you have a business, you transfer or assign your shares so that it all flows the way you want.  All good things.  But there may still be a problem ..read more

You are an adult and a child, and your parent wants to marry You are an adult. If you are still blessed to have parents or one parent, you are also a child and may even be regularly called this by your parent, no matter how old you are. If your parent is single, they may want to get married-often, a discomforting thought to adult children. Let’s walk through an example: Idris is 72 and has been a widower for about one year. He found a 43-year-old bride, Salma, in Morroco online and is not looking for an attorney to bring her to the United States. His children, Shahina (36) and Siraaj (45), do ..read more

Do you believe imposters have taken the place of your wife and children?  The good news is you are not alone.  Many people throughout history thought the same thing.  The bad news is you are probably suffering from a delusion.   The subject of delusions is complex and controversial in the law.   Several cases of delusions in estate planning involve demonic possession or control by satan.   In Muslim societies, some may believe a loved one (or the person) is a victim of Jinn possession or black magic. Muslims and Non-Muslims Treat Delusions Differently T ..read more

I was invited to a podcast studio at the Institute of Knowledge (the views expressed are not theirs) on Zakat this Ramadan.  If you are interested in the subject of Zakat (the thing other than Islamic Inheritance) that I have written about extensively, this covered a lot of ground.  This is how the podcast hosts broke it down: 00:00 Intro 01:44 Disclaimer 02:13 Why write about Zakat? 08:33 Non-Profits handling of Zakat 11:52 Ahmed Shaikh’s attitude towards Zakat 16:50 Letter of the Law vs. Spirit of the Law 19:51 Why pay Zakat when you pay taxes 23:20 Why is Zakat limited 27:33 Numbe ..read more

  A recent presentation on avoiding fitna at the Islamic Center of Claremont.  Please check it out and share it with your friends and family if you feel it is beneficial. The post Avoiding Family Fitna Masjid Video Presentation appeared first on Islamic Estate Planning Attorney ..read more

  Some Reflections on Halal Rizq and Islamic Estate Planning Jabir ibn Abdullah reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “O people, fear Allah and be graceful in seeking provision, for a soul will never die until it finishes its provision. If it is slow coming, fear Allah and be graceful in seeking provision. Take what is lawful and leave what is unlawful.” (source) Early in my now decades old legal career I remember vividly a case I had of psychological injury.  You see, I was a lawyer for a company that slaughtered pigs.  They had an employee ..read more