Inheritance Shares and Estate Distribution

What this covers

Inheritance in Bangladesh depends on the religion of the deceased. Muslim estates follow faraiz (ফারায়েজ) rules applied through the Shariat Application Act 1937; Hindu estates follow the Dayabhaga school; Christian estates follow the Succession Act 1925. We prepare a written share calculation (বণ্টননামা worksheet) that deals with the full family tree, predeceased children, second marriages and heirs abroad, and then advise on distribution of land, flats, bank money and business interests. We also act where heirs have been excluded from records, where a sister’s share has been withheld, or where one heir has sold more than their share.

Muslim faraiz shares in outline

Fixed sharers take first. A widow takes one quarter if there is no child and one eighth if there is; several widows share that fraction equally. A husband takes one half without a child and one quarter with one. Each parent takes one sixth where there is a child, and the mother one third in some cases without children or siblings. A single daughter with no son takes one half, two or more daughters share two thirds. Where there are sons, sons and daughters take the residue together with a son receiving twice a daughter’s share. Brothers, sisters and more distant relatives come in depending on who survives, so real calculations need the full tree.

Orphaned grandchildren and Hindu Dayabhaga estates

Under classical Muslim law a grandchild whose parent died before the grandparent was excluded. Section 4 of the Muslim Family Laws Ordinance 1961 changed this: the children of a predeceased son or daughter take, per stirpes, the share their parent would have received if alive. Under Dayabhaga law, sons inherit absolutely; a widow, and in many situations daughters, take a limited estate for life, after which the property passes to the next heirs of the original owner. The Hindu Women’s Rights to Property Act 1937 gives a widow rights in her husband’s property. These rules often decide whether an old sale by a widow or daughter is valid.

What comes out before distribution, and what comes after

Before any heir takes a share, the estate must pay funeral expenses, debts, and the widow’s unpaid dower (denmohor), which is a debt of the estate, and then give effect to a valid Muslim bequest up to one third. Only the net estate is divided. After shares are fixed, each heir’s name should be recorded through mutation (namjari) at the AC Land office, and the property divided by a registered partition deed or, if the family cannot agree, a partition suit. In rollout districts, partition disputes now go through mandatory pre-case mediation before the Legal Aid office under the Legal Aid Services (Amendment) Act 2026.

What helps

• Death certificate and warish certificate
• A family tree showing all children, spouses and anyone who died before the deceased
• Latest khatians (CS, SA, RS, BS or city survey) and mutation records for each plot
• Deeds, bank and savings records, and details of any business or flat
• Evidence of any will, gift, unpaid dower or debts

Where it is handled, and how long it takes

Share calculation and family settlement need no court. Mutation is handled by the Assistant Commissioner (Land). Disputes go first to mandatory mediation where the 2026 legal aid rollout applies, and otherwise to the Assistant Judge or Joint District Judge court in a partition suit, which commonly takes several years if fully contested.