Common Mistakes When Calculating Inheritance Yourself and How to Check Them

Many Muslim families in Indonesia choose to calculate inheritance shares themselves before meeting an expert. This way is not wrong. What often happens is that the calculation is made with ordinary arithmetic, even though faraid has its own rules: there are fixed shares (furudh), there is a remainder for residuary heirs (ashabah), there are barriers (hijab), and there are adjustments such as 'aul. This article summarizes the mistakes that most often arise, not to frighten, but so that you can check the results of your own calculation before those figures are agreed by the family.

Why miscalculation often occurs

Islamic inheritance is not merely dividing property into several parts. Before the figures appear, several questions must first be answered: who the heirs are, whether any of them are barred, how much property actually enters the estate, and whether there are debts or wills. When even one step is skipped, the final result can be quite far off, even though the division looks neat on paper.

The seven most common mistakes

• Dividing property before debts and wills are settled. The deceased's debts, reasonable funeral costs, and wills (maximum one-third of the property) take precedence before the inheritance is divided. Reversing this order makes the heirs' shares too large.
• Mixing joint property with inheritance property. In a marriage, joint property must first be separated. The surviving spouse's share is taken from the joint property, and only the remainder becomes inheritance property.
• Forgetting that full siblings are barred. According to Supreme Court jurisprudence, full siblings are barred by the existence of the deceased's child or by the deceased's father. Giving a share to siblings when there is a child makes the total exceed the property.
• Giving a share to grandchildren when their parents are still alive. Substitute heirs according to Article 185 of KHI apply only if the parent of the grandchild died earlier than the deceased. A grandchild is not an heir as long as their parent is still alive.
• Assuming the mother's share is always one-third. If there is a child, the mother's share is 1/6. The mother receives 1/3 if there is no child and the number of siblings is not more than two. There is also the special gharrawain case in which her share is 1/3 of the remainder.
• Misunderstanding the children's shares. Sons and daughters do not receive equal shares: a son's share is twice a daughter's share. Conversely, a daughter still receives a share, namely 1/2 if she is the only child or 2/3 if there are two or more.
• Not checking the total and the wife's share. The sum of all shares must be exactly 1. If it exceeds this, 'aul is needed; if there is a remainder without ashabah, the possibility of radd must be considered. For the wife, the 1/4 or 1/8 share is divided jointly if there is more than one wife.

Example: one wrong figure, a big consequence

Pak Ahmad died leaving a wife, mother, one son, and one daughter. The net inheritance property after debts and wills is Rp144,000,000. The correct calculation:

If the mother is wrongly given 1/3 (Rp48,000,000), the remainder for the children is only Rp78,000,000, so the son receives Rp52,000,000 and the daughter Rp26,000,000. The difference of Rp24,000,000 moves from the children to the mother merely because one share was calculated on the wrong basis. Note that in this example there is no 'aul because the total of the shares is exactly 24/24.

Checklist before the figures are agreed

1. Complete heir data: spouse, children, father, mother, and siblings. Make sure no one is missed, including a father or mother who is still alive.
2. The status of each heir is clear: Muslim, and not among those barred because of killing, attempting to kill, seriously maltreating, or accusing the deceased with a serious criminal accusation.
3. The list of property, debts, and wills has been compiled, then joint property is separated from inheritance property.
4. The fixed share of each heir is determined first, then the remainder is given to the ashabah in a 2:1 ratio.
5. The total is checked: exactly 1, or adjusted with 'aul or radd if indeed needed.
6. The calculation results are written down and read out in a family deliberation, not conveyed via short messages.

If the result is not a whole number or the case is complicated

Some cases cannot be resolved with just the four arithmetic operations. Chain inheritance (munasakhah), the gharrawain case, substitute heirs according to Article 185 of KHI, or property that cannot be divided into whole numbers often require additional consideration. For rounding, the family may agree on the smallest difference by deliberation. For complicated cases, it is better to ask the Religious Court (Pengadilan Agama), a notary/PPAT, or an ustadz who understands faraid. This article is general information, not a fatwa and not legal advice for a particular case.

The next practical steps

• Collect documents: Family Card (Kartu Keluarga), death certificate, property ownership documents, and debt records.
• Draw the immediate family tree first, then mark who is still alive and who has died.
• Calculate once, check once more with the checklist above.
• If you want a comparison, IndoWaris can draw your family tree and calculate the heirs' shares based on KHI, so the result can be compared with the family's calculation.
• Bring the result to a family deliberation, and if necessary, put the agreement in a written document before a notary.