Property Rights After Husband’s Death: Does Wife’s Family Inherit?

Understanding Property Ownership and Inheritance Laws

Question: A childless woman’s employed husband bought a large plot of land and registered it jointly in both their names. He sold half of the land and built a house on the remaining half. The husband then stated that he had sold his share of the land, and the remaining part and the house now belonged to his wife, making his brother a witness to this statement. A month later, the husband passed away. The wife now asks if her in-laws have any share in this house, given that her husband had gifted it to her during his lifetime.

Answer: In the scenario mentioned, where the employed husband bought land with his money, built a house on it, and gifted it to his wife, the house becomes the wife’s property. After the husband’s death, this house will not be subject to division among the heirs because it is the wife’s property. Therefore, no in-laws or other relatives of the husband will have any share in it. The property will only be divided among the wife’s heirs after her death.

 Sheikh Maqbool Ahmed Salafi حفظه الله 

❪Jeddah Dawah Center, Hayy Al-Salamah – Saudi Arabia❫