Inheritance and Extending a Property

Q: When a father have passed away and the son has extended onto the father's property with the son's money and lived on the extended property, does the son have a claim from the inheritance for the portion he extended onto the property? The Will only reads that inheritance is according to shariah.
A: Since the son did the extension with his own money he will own the building wheras the land will belong to all the heirs. He will have to pay them the value of their shares in the land. You need to evaluate the current cost of the extension, then deduct this amount from the value of the entire property including the land. The result will be the sum that has to be divided among the heirs.
Written by Moulana Naziem Moosagie
Checked by: Mufti Siraj Desai