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Fatwa CenterThe mere wishes of the deceased are not a valid will
Question
Assalaamu ‘Alaykum; Please calculate the inheritance according to the following information -Does the deceased have male relatives who are entitled to inherit: (A son) Number 3 (grandson (from the son)) Number 7 (A Husband) -Does the deceased have female relatives who are entitled to inherit : (A daughter) Number 1 (A granddaughter (from the son)) Number 1 (A full sister) Number 2 - The will which the deceased left behind and that is related to his inheritance is : She had a strong wish to do but unfortunately she has passed away without writing a will. The wish is to provide more grams of gold to a grand daughter from one of her sons and to provide little grams of gold to a grand daughter from her daughter. - Information about the deceased’s debts : (Debts to people)
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad 
is His slave and Messenger.
As long as the deceased is liable for debts, they must be repaid before dividing the estate among the eligible heirs. This is because the repayment of debts takes precedence over the right of the heirs to the estate; Allaah, The Exalted, says (what means): {… after any bequest they [may have] made or debt…} [Quran 4:12]
After the repayment of the debt, the remainder of the estate should be divided among the heirs according to the provisions of the Sharee'ah. If the deceased did not leave any other heirs besides those who were mentioned in the question, then her husband gets one-fourth of the estate as a fixed share because she had offspring entitled to inherit; Allaah, The Exalted, says (what means): {… But if they have a child, for you is one fourth of what they leave …} [Quran 4:12]
The remainder of the estate goes to her daughter and three sons by means of Ta‘seeb (i.e. by virtue of having a paternal relation with the deceased and not having an allotted share). The male shall have twice the share of the female. Allaah, The Exalted, says (what means): {Allaah instructs you concerning your children: for the male, what is equal to the share of two females …} [Quran 4:11]
The son’s sons (grandsons), the son’s daughter (granddaughter), and the two sisters are not entitled to any share in the estate because they are all totally excluded by the presence of the sons of the deceased.
Thus, the estate should be divided into twenty eight shares; the husband gets one-fourth (i.e. seven shares), each son gets six shares and the daughter gets three shares.
Muslim jurists define the will or bequest as follows, “The transfer of ownership (of the testator’s property and possessions) after the testator’s death by virtue of his/her gift or donation." In other words, the testator arranges to give away a gift to a specific person or entity after his/her death. This is the definition of the bequest in the Sharee'ah, if you are asking about it.
Based on that, the deceased’s mere wish to give the girls some of her gold is not considered a bequest per the Sharee'ah. Had the testator stated or written her wish and there were two witnesses to the declaration of the bequest, it would have been sufficient for the purpose of constituting a bequest per the Sharee'ah. However, her mere wishes are not sufficient to constitute a bequest per the Sharee'ah.
Allaah Knows best.
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