Inheritance in Jordanian Law

Inheritance in Jordan is governed by the Personal Status Law No. 15 of 2019 for substantive rules and the Sharia Procedural Law No. 31 of 1959 and its amendments for procedures. The Sharia Courts have exclusive jurisdiction for Muslims over estate inventory, partition, inheritance disputes, and will limits. Non-Muslims are governed by their denominational laws in many matters.

Order of claims on the estate

Before any distribution, the estate passes through four stages in sequence:

1. Funeral and burial expenses at the customary level.
2. Payment of the deceased's debts (including the wife's deferred mahr as a debt on the estate).
3. Will execution within one third and to non-heirs (unless heirs consent).
4. Distribution of the remainder among heirs by prescribed shares and residue.

Types of heirs

The law distinguishes three classes:

• Prescribed-share heirs: with fixed shares (parents, spouses, daughters, maternal-half siblings).
• Residuaries (ʿaṣaba): take what remains after prescribed shares (sons, full or paternal brothers, paternal uncles).
• Distant kindred (dhawu al-arḥām): inherit only when the two above classes are absent (daughters' sons, sisters' sons, maternal uncles).

Exclusion (ḥajb) and entitlement

An heir may exclude another wholly (full exclusion) or partially (reduction). For example, the existence of a descendant reduces the wife's share from one-fourth to one-eighth; the father excludes siblings in some cases. The actual calculation depends on the complete set of surviving heirs.

Will and its limits

A will is a voluntary disposition within one-third of the estate to persons who are not heirs; it is not permissible to an heir except with the remaining heirs' consent after death. An heir cannot be "disinherited" through a will, but the law recognizes bars to inheritance (religious difference, intentional killing, apostasy) that cut off inheritance by force of law.

Core procedures

The estate is divided either consensually among heirs (with takhāruj or agreement registered) or judicially in disputes. The first step is always obtaining the estate-inventory certificate (ḥujjat ḥaṣr al-irth) from the Sharia Court, which establishes the heirs and their shares. Then asset valuation, debt settlement, and partition follow.

Every inheritance case is unique by its composition and assets. Early consultation with a Personal Status Law specialist or a Sharia judge is essential to calculate shares precisely and protect rights.