A deceased with assets in France, Morocco and elsewhere: which law applies, how to organize division, and the multiple will's role.
The diaspora often dies with accounts here, a house there, lands elsewhere: every State applies its law to the assets located on its territory, and fiqh deploys itself in the margins of freedom that this framework leaves.
The European legal framework for international successions
- Regulation (EU) No. 650/2012 of 4 July 2012 (successions): the applicable law by default is that of the habitual residence of the deceased (article 21); it also allows choosing the law of his nationality (article 22): the Muslim can thus attach his succession to a law closer to the legal shares.
- The European Certificate of Succession: created by this same regulation (article 62 and following), it circulates throughout the Union without additional formality.
- Outside the Union: immovables follow the law of the place where they stand, and movables often the law of the last residence: every country of the estate may require its own procedure, with translated and legalized documents.
The fiqh strategy for international successions
- One will per jurisdiction: a local will, valid in form in the country, applying the Islamic shares within the available margin, with a worldwide inventory annexed.
- Mixed families: the European Council for Fatwa and Research (ECFR) allowed, from its 5th ordinary session (Amsterdam, 1999), the inheritance of a Muslim from his non-Muslim relatives: a decisive view when a succession opens in several States among heirs of different religions.
- Gifts during life: transferring sensitive assets during life reduces conflicts of laws (with serious tax advice).
- The lands of the homeland: land titles documented, local taxes paid, trusted local representative: disputes over homeland lands are the most frequent of the diaspora.
Divergences to anticipate in international successions
- The civil reserved portion and the Islamic shares: one country protects the spouse more, another divides equally: anticipate through the will the most compliant distribution (in France, the children's reserved portion, Civil Code article 913).
- Plurality of wives not recognized locally: the rights of the second wife are secured through the contractual instruments of life: a subject to treat with a jurist and a scholar together.
Practical note on international successions
Local will + worldwide inventory + empowered wasi + contacts in every country: this file prepared during life is worth years of procedure, and it is the foresight that fiqh commands (al-Bukhari 2738).