Estate Planning & Wassiyyah

Estate planning is the essential process of ensuring your wealth honours your wishes, preserves your legacy, and provides peace of mind for future generations—in full alignment with your faith. Our practice provides expert legal guidance to clients seeking to create succession plans, Sharia-compliant Wasiyyah (Islamic wills), and faith-based wealth distribution structures. We ensure these plans fulfil religious obligations while complying fully with Nigerian statutory and customary law. We partner with you by listening closely to your values and objectives. Our goal is to protect your assets and preserve your legacy through tailored strategies executed with clarity, precision and compassion.

In a nation rich with cultural and religious diversity, Nigeria’s approach to succession and inheritance stands at a complex intersection of tradition, faith, and modern legal frameworks. With evolving family structures, significant intergenerational wealth transfer underway, and the critical need to harmonize personal faith with the Administration of Estates Law, the field demands legal counsel that is both deeply sensitive to personal beliefs and technically astute. The interplay between the Nigerian legal system, Islamic Law (Shari’ah) on Wasiyyah (Will) and Mirath (Intestate Succession), and customary practices makes sophisticated, forward-looking legal guidance more vital than ever.

Our practice provides comprehensive, Sharia-compliant legal guidance to protect your legacy, honour your faith, and ensure your wishes are fulfilled with precision and compassion. We address every aspect of succession planning under both Islamic principles and Nigerian law.

Wasiyyah (Islamic Will) Drafting & Execution

• Wasiyyah Formulation: Drafting valid Islamic wills that integrate Sharia principles with Nigerian statutory requirements.
• Testamentary Bequests: Expert guidance on structuring bequests within the permissible one-third limit for gifts to non-heirs, charities, or distant relatives.
• Asset & Bequeathable Capacity: Advising on what constitutes personal property (money, real estate, business assets) that can be legally bequeathed.
• Will Amendment & Revocation: Managing the formal legal process to update or revoke a will during your lifetime.

Faraid (Islamic Inheritance) & Distribution

• Heir Identification & Share Calculation: Determining legal heirs (Warith) and calculating their precise, fixed shares according to Quranic injunctions (Faraid), ensuring equitable distribution.
• Obligatory Bequests (Wasiyyah Wajibah): Expertise in securing mandatory provisions for grandchildren or other dependents whose parent predeceased the testator.
• Inheritance Dispute Mediation: Facilitating fair resolutions between heirs to preserve family harmony and prevent conflict.

Lifetime Asset Transfers & Business Succession

• Lifetime Gifts (Hiba): Structuring and documenting deeds of gift to distribute wealth during your lifetime, a tool often used to provide for favoured heirs.
• Charitable Endowments (Waqf): Establishing perpetual trusts for religious, educational, or community benefit.
• Business Continuity Planning: Structuring the ethical transfer of family business ownership to ensure smooth succession in line with Islamic principles.

Guardianship, Directives & Incapacity Planning

• Guardianship for Minors: Appointing a trusted Wasi (executor/guardian) to care for minor children and dependents.
• Islamic Living Wills & Medical Directives: Drafting legal documents that outline healthcare preferences and end-of-life care in accordance with your Islamic values.
• Power of Attorney: Appointing an agent to manage your financial and legal affairs should you become incapacitated.

Debt Settlement & Post-Death Obligations

• Debt Clearance & Religious Duties: Ensuring the estate settles all personal, commercial, and religious debts, including unpaid Zakat, Mahr, and expiations (Kaffarat), and arranging for unfulilled religious duties.
• Funeral Expense Management: Prioritizing payment for dignified funeral and burial costs from the estate.

Technical Compliance & Tax Planning

• Conflict of Law Resolution: Navigating the intersection of Islamic law and Nigerian statutory law to create enforceable, legally robust documents.
• Sharia-Compliant Tax Planning: Structuring estates to minimize potential inheritance tax liabilities while adhering to Islamic principles.
• Halal Investment Screening: Ensuring estate assets are invested in permissible (Halal), non-interest-based instruments.

Probate & Estate Administration

• Executor Guidance (Wasi Support): Assisting appointed executors through the probate process, from validating the will to distributing assets.
• Comprehensive Asset Inventory: Ensuring a detailed and accurate cataloguing of all properties, investments, and personal assets.

Our Estate Planning team has proudly served at the forefront of numerous sensitive, high-value matters. As trusted advisors to Nigeria’s leading executives, entrepreneurs, faith-based families, and expatriates, we bring this critical experience to every engagement. We craft resilient plans that mitigate risk, prevent discord, and ensure your documented wishes are honored—from initial strategy through to probate and complex estate administration.

Contact our Estate Planning & Wassiyyah team for a confidential, no-obligation consultation. Let us help you craft a legacy of unity and peace.

 Schedule a Consultation |  Send an Email: brief@hendon-partners.com

 Call Us Now: +234 806 626 5811, +234 703 918 1560, +234 803 725 6273