I wonder if you can help. I was due to have a new solicitor start soon who had agreed to do some training for another solicitor on Sharia Compliant Wills. The issues to be covered were to be:
- The compulsory clauses to be covered in an Islamic Will
- The share hierarchy – beneficiaries that can and cannot inherit and whether any family members entitled to inheritance can be left out due to a break down in relationship
- Whether assets abroad, trusts (property & discretionary) and inheritance tax issues are covered in the same manner as English wills
- Whether assets which have accrued interest can be included in Islamic wills – assets which can and cannot be included
- The types of questions/ issues that should be raised with clients when taking initial instructions
- Whether Islamic wills made here can also be used in their motherland if the law of the land is Sharia law.
- If Islamic wills drawn up in their motherlands can take effect in UK
- Upon death – are Islamic wills treated the same as English wills for probate purposes
- If there is a dispute over an Islamic will, will the English courts deal with this?
However, this new solicitor is not coming now due to personal reasons and I’m stuck trying to sort this out. I could obviously go back to her and say that we can’t offer this training anymore, but I’d like to offer up an alternative, if possible. Can anyone help? The solicitor is based in Bolton but says travelling is not an issue. This is a paid training exercise.
Rachel Roche
Roche Legal