High Civil Court upholds informal inheritance agreement

TDT | Manama

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The High Civil Court has ruled in favour of two stepbrothers, upholding an informal agreement where their stepmother relinquished her inheritance from their deceased father in exchange for a cash payment. The case highlights the complexities of informal inheritance settlements and the court’s role in ensuring equitable distribution of assets.

Seven years after the death of their father, the two sons initiated legal proceedings to clarify their stepmother’s inheritance rights. Their stepmother had received BD1,200 14 days after their father’s passing, in lieu of her legal share of the inheritance. While this agreement was made with the stepmother’s full consent and witnessed, it was never formally documented.

Estate

The stepmother subsequently passed away, leaving four siblings who claimed a right to inherit their sister’s share of the deceased father’s estate. Lawyer

Ghadeer Ali, representing the two sons, presented evidence of the informal agreement, including a written statement signed by the stepmother acknowledging the payment and her relinquishment of her inheritance. Two witnesses corroborated the agreement.

Evidence

The court, in its ruling, accepted the evidence presented by the sons, noting that the stepmother’s siblings (the defendants) did not contest the claim.

The court found that the agreement was legally sound and reflected the stepmother’s clear intention to forgo her inheritance rights in exchange for the agreed-upon sum. The court ruled that the stepmother’s heirs had no claim to any portion of their father’s estate.