Sharia law and the applicable inheritance rules

Arguably, they also have a more complex job than clients from other corners of the world, notably due to the mandatory inheritance principals, as laid out in Sharia law.

Female influence on the rise

People can tend to associate Sharia law and inheritance principals with the Middle East, but of course, it applies to large parts of Asia and Africa, too. Within some of these regions, women are often highly educated and having a job is increasingly the norm, not the exception. We’re seeing a rise in the number of women creating businesses, becoming career entrepreneurs or generating substantial wealth for themselves. These are the trends that have led particularly to women seeking our assistance and expertise. Couples with no children are another example.

Particularly with regards to the Middle Eastern region, we see that our clients are forward-thinking and are often aware of the structuring solutions that might be available to them.

ZEDRA assists a large number of clients in the region, fully in line with Sharia inheritance principals, working within Sharia principals but taking a slightly less strict approach, or wholly outside the scope of Sharia law.

Rethinking inheritance

In the context of Sharia law and the applicable inheritance rules, if Middle Eastern clients want to pass on a family business or certain assets to a daughter, they have to plan carefully and thoroughly in advance.

As a general trend though, my clients are re-thinking the way that they want to split their assets. A common example is that our clients might want their offshore assets to be split equally between their children.

These type of structures are particularly popular with female clients and for those who don’t have children of their own.

How ZEDRA can help

A lot of ZEDRA’s Middle Eastern clients are particularly interested in Reserved Power Trusts, and of these, Cayman and Jersey structures tend to be the most popular.

We regularly assist clients in setting up these structures, and we act as trustees. As trustees can be based anywhere, I work with many Middle Eastern clients from my base in Geneva with their Reserved Power Trusts in other jurisdictions, although these are mostly in Cayman or Jersey.

For more information, please contact Abbey Tipton.