Renouncing inheritance and share transfer

Renunciation is lawful and protected, on condition of being real: fiqh frames it to avoid fraud and pressure, for the succession opens at death itself.

Renunciation after death

• The agreed principle: the inheritance opens at death, and the share of each heir becomes his from the death of the deceased (Ibn Qudama, Al-Mughni, chapter of the mirath). "Renunciation" after death is therefore legally a transfer of his share to the co-heirs: donation or sale between capable adults, and not a repudiation that closes the door.
• The renounced share: it does not pass automatically to the one in whose favor one would believe one renounces: the schools diverge on its destination (the agnates among the Malikis, the share of the other heirs pro rata among the Shafi'is, the heirs of the renouncer among the Hanafis); the simple way is the subsequent donation of the co-heirs (Ibn Rushd, Bidayat al-Mujtahid; Mughni al-Muhtaj).
• Renunciation for compensation (selling one's share for a sum): it is a sale of share, lawful at the real price, with the agreement of all if the estate is undivided.
• Forced renunciation (pressure, threat): null: "My community is pardoned for error, forgetfulness and compulsion" (Ibn Majah 2043); likewise the renouncer who strips himself to defraud his creditors: the fraudulent act does not stand.

The pact over a future succession: the firm rule

• Giving or selling the future share during the life of the deceased: null, for no one knows who will inherit from whom; promises over the inheritance of a living person create no rights, and "there is no bequest in favor of an heir" (at-Tirmidhi 2120).
• The classical causes of exclusion: the murder of the heir, the difference of religion and the bara'a (the rupture of the link that founded the inheritance): Ibn Rushd records them in his Bidayat al-Mujtahid as the triple framework of exclusions.
• Gifts during life remain the lawful way to advance assets (see the page hiba); the co-heirs may, after the opening, sell and exchange their shares freely among capable adults: the amicable way prevails.

Civil law and fiqh

The French Civil Code frames renunciation: the succession option is played within four months of the opening (article 771), renunciation is expressed in writing and cannot advantage one co-heir to the detriment of the whole; the renouncer also escapes the debts of the deceased. The Muslim uses these rules to express a real, free and documented renunciation.

Practical note

Before any renunciation: verify the debts of the deceased, act within the legal deadline, and record it in writing before a notary: a free and documented renunciation is the only one that stands before all courts.