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What we Offer: SHARIAH COMPLIANT WILLS
Hadeeth:
"It is the duty of a Muslim who has anything to bequest not to let two nights pass without including it in his Will (wasiyya)."
(Sahih al-Bukhari)

At Abacus Will Writers UK Ltd, we pride ourselves with being one of UK's leaders in writing Shariah Compliant Wills for our Muslim clients. While living in this country, the only way we can ensure that our estate is distributed according to Shariah is by having a valid Will in place.

A Will is an extremely straightforward and inexpensive document to arrange. However, very few people have taken this important step. According to the Probate office, 69% of the UK population does not have a valid Will. Amongst the Asian population, 95% do not have a valid Will. According to Shariah, one of the most important duties in a Muslim person's life is to write a Will!

If you die without a Will, (referred to as, dying intestate), your estate will be divided according to the rules known as the intestacy rules. The person who is entitled to your estate will depend on which of your relatives are alive after your death.

This can create problems. For example, the surviving spouse will only inherit the first £125,000 of the estate, the remaining, half will be given to their children (if they have any) in equal shares, and half will be invested in a life interest trust, from which the surviving spouse will only be entitled to the interest for the remainder the their life. If there are no children in the marriage, then £200,000 will be given to the surviving spouse. From the remainder of the estate, half will go to the deceased spouses parents, if they are alive. If there are no parents then to brothers and sisters, if there are none, then other blood relatives.

Many Muslim brothers and sisters have been through the Nikah ceremony, but have not had a civil marriage, in this situation you do not have automatic rights to each others assets – irrespective of how long you have been together and even have children. For example, if the assets are in one person's name, and this person dies, the surviving spouse will not inherit anything. The assets will pass to the children, if there are no children, then to parents, if they are not alive, then to brothers and sisters in equal shares. If there are no brothers and sisters, then assets will go to other blood relatives. If you have no relatives, your estate passes directly to the Government. By making a will you can leave your assets to whoever you want, including friends, family or charitable organisations.

Children under 18 years
Even if you have no money or property in the world, but have children under the age of 18 years, you must make a will. If both parents have died, leaving behind children under 18 years, the custody of the children will not automatically go to family members. This can be a lengthy process. But if you have written a will and nominated guardians, you can be sure that your children are looked after by loved.

Inheritance Tax
If you are a married couple, the surviving spouse can claim the exemption limit of the person who has died, ending up with a total of £624K free of tax. However, The Inland Revenue has issued many complicated guidelines of how to make this claim, which is likely to be a very costly process too.

Most experts, including The Society of Will Writers, are suggesting that people should still include inheritance effective provisions in their Will. As well as making sure the inheritance tax exemption limit is doubled, such a mechanism also ensures that there is protection from future potential Nursing Home costs.

If you have not done a civil marriage, there are no changes, surviving partner will still have to pay inheritance tax on assets over £312K at a rate of 40%. Effective planning in your wills, however, can ensure that unmarried couples can still double their inheritance tax allowance.

Making your will
The Law Society does not recommend DIY wills. There are various legal formalities you must take to ensure your will is valid, and without the help of an expert, there is a real risk you could make a mistake. Wills can be made by solicitors and specialist will companies. However, very few of these are capable of writing Shariah compliant wills, but here at Abacus Will Writers, we actually specialise in Shariah compliant wills.

You should review your will at least every five years and after any major life changes such as marriage, separation or divorce, having a child or moving house. This will allow you to update your will, to reflect any changes in circumstances.

Conclusion
It is clear that there is still a very active role for Wills and Wills with Trusts. However, the days of a tailor-made approach to tax and estate planning are now with us, along with carefully and individually crafted Wills with carefully selected Will trusts, tailored to meet individual clients' circumstances. And the best people to deliver this service are Abacus Will Writers UK Ltd, who are full members of the Society of Will Writers.