PROPERTY DISTRIBUTION

Published By The Daily Star on February 11, 2014 (Link Here)

This week Your Advocate is Barrister Omar Khan Joy, Advocate, Supreme Court of Bangladesh. He is the head of the chambers of a renowned law firm, namely, ‘Legal Counsel’, which has expertise mainly in commercial law, corporate law, family law, employment and labor law, land law, banking law, constitutional law, criminal law, IPR and in conducting litigations before courts of  different hierarchies.

Query:
My father has died. We are three sisters, no brother and our mother is alive. My one uncle (chacha) and one aunty (fupu) are alive. Now how could we share our land
among all successors?

Response:
Thank you for your query. I understand that your father has died leaving behind your mother and his three daughters including you. You do not have any brother. You have one paternal uncle and one paternal aunt, both of whom are alive. In Bangladesh, the law of inheritance is based on personal law, i.e. the religious law of the individual in issue. You have not mentioned which religion you are following. I am assuming that you are Muslim. Accordingly, as per section 2 of the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act, 1937, the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) of inheritance will apply.
Based on the Muslim Law, since your father has died leaving no son, your paternal uncle and paternal aunt will also inherit from your deceased father’s properties. The distribution of the properties shall be done in the following manner:
1.            Your mother will receive: 1/8, i.e. 12.5%;
2.            Each of your sister including you will receive: 2/9, i.e. 22.22% each, meaning 2/3 or 66.66 % collectively;
3.         Your paternal uncle will receive 5/36, i.e. 13.89%;  and
4.            Your paternal aunt will receive 5/72, i.e. 6.94%.

I hope that the above shall help in ascertaining your query of inheritance.