Inheritance Provisions in Pakistan

Muslims must follow Muslim Law, regardless of whether they live in Pakistan or not.

The courts in Pakistan can only apply Muslim inheritance law in the case of succession to the estate of a Muslim, regardless of the domicile or nationality of the deceased. If a Muslim citizen of Pakistan dies while domiciled in a foreign country, then the laws of his domicile cannot be applied to his estate in Pakistan. The Muslim Law of inheritance in Pakistan is based on intestate succession, which means that there is no concept of a will and all shares are distributed to legal heirs according to the law. The distribution of an inheritance among legal heirs is based on the closeness of the relationship between the heir and the deceased. Blood relatives have the closest ties, so they typically receive the largest shares. It's not possible to provide a simple summary of how these shares are distributed, because it depends on how many children, siblings, parents, and other relatives the deceased person had. Each case is different. It's not uncommon for a man's share of the inheritance to be twice that of a woman. Usually, any gifts given by the woman's fiancé are hers alone and her husband wouldn't have any legal claims to it, even after marriage. Once she's married, she's entitled to receive a marriage gift called "Mehar" which would be her own property. Under Muslim law, an heir's absolute interest in specific shares of their ancestor's estate vests immediately upon the ancestor's death, without regard to the time of distribution. Succession thus opens at the position prevailing at the moment of death of the ancestor. Additionally, "vested inheritance" may occur if, for example, an heir dies before distribution but was alive when the ancestor died; in this case, the share of their vested inheritance passes on to their own heirs. Personal property can be donated by a Pakistani Muslim during his or her lifetime. The decision cannot be challenged by anyone, including the legitimate heirs, after the death of the donor.