Key Legal Rules for making a Bequest in Oman Explained

Under the Personal Status Law issued by Royal Decree No. 32/97, a bequest, or wasiya, is a disposal in the form of a donation that takes effect only after the testator’s death. The law establishes clear rules on how it can be made, accepted and enforced in the Sultanate. Speaking to Times of Oman, Dr. Mohammed Ibrahim Al Zadjali, Chairman of Mohammed Ibrahim Law Firm, stated that “a bequest cannot exceed one-third of the estate of the testator, calculated after funeral expenses and debts, and anything beyond needs the competent heirs’ consent, enforced only against their shares. A bequest may be oral, written, or an understandable gesture if the testator cannot speak or write. “Anyone with capacity to make a donation may draft a bequest, even during terminal illness, and may amend or revoke it in whole or in part before death.”“An heir cannot receive a bequest without permission from the remaining competent heirs. It may go to a specific person, an unborn child, a specified or unspecified group, or a charitable or scientific institution and other public bodies existing when the bequest is made. A specified legatee must accept the bequest after the testator’s death; if accepted during his lifetime, that acceptance must be maintained after his death; silence for 30 days after learning of the bequest counts as acceptance. A Bequest to an unspecified legatee needs no acceptance,” he said. He stated that “the law also makes a bequest obligatory for the nearest of kin. If the bequest is by way of donation and is overlooked in favour of others, two-thirds of it must be returned to the nearest of kin.”“A bequest ceases to have effect if the testator revokes it; the legatee predeceases the testator; the legatee becomes his heir; the legatee rejects the bequest after the testator’s death; the legatee kills the testator, whether as perpetrator, accomplice, or instigator and whether intentionally or by mistake, provided the legatee was of sound mind and of criminal responsibility age; the specific bequeathed property is destroyed or third parties are entitle to it; or either testator or legatee apostatises from Islam unless he reverts,” he said. The estate settles in order: funeral expenses, debts, the bequest, then the remainder to the heirs. To avoid disputes, the testator should put the bequest in writing, as courts require evidence before hearing a claim concerning a bequest, he concluded.(Mohammed Ibrahim Law Firm ([email protected]), (+968 244 87 600) was established on 14th December 2006 and is serving clients through its offices in Muscat and Sohar, as well as operating on a request basis in other areas. It offers legal representation across a wide range of practice areas that include Labour Law, Corporate, Commercial, Contracts, Banking and Finance, International Trade, Foreign Investment, Insurance, Maritime Law, Construction and Engineering Contracts, International Arbitration, Intellectual Property and more).