Khaberni - The Jeddah Personal Status Appeals Court has resolved a dispute over the entitlement of an Egyptian wife listed in the inventory of inheritance of a Saudi billionaire, issuing a final decree to include the Egyptian wife in the inheritance inventory, valuing the wife's share of the estate at more than 150 million riyals; equivalent to 1.8 billion Egyptian pounds.
The case details began after the death of a wealthy Saudi man who had been married to an Egyptian woman for 25 years. Following his death, she sought to add her share in the inheritance inventory, according to Okaz.
Conversely, the heirs' side in Saudi Arabia clung to a divorce document issued from outside Saudi Arabia, claiming that the separation between their father and his Egyptian wife took place in the mid-1990s, and that what followed was merely a closed chapter in the book of marital life.
The other side (the Egyptian wife, her daughter, and their lawyer) believed that the divorce document provided by the heirs in Saudi Arabia was insufficient, arguing that subsequent facts of the deceased's cohabitation with his wife, official transactions, witness testimonies, and annual renewals of her legal residency indicate that the marriage actually continued.
A Quarter-Century Relationship
According to the details, the deceased businessman from a prominent commercial family in Jeddah had died years ago, with one of his last charitable acts being the construction of a large mosque in an upscale northern area of Jeddah.
The case began following the death of the wealthy husband, when a fundamental dispute emerged about whether the marital bond was still in place at the time of death, or had ended with a divorce issued outside Saudi Arabia in the 1990s.
The heirs in Saudi Arabia adhered to the divorce document, arguing that it finally ended the relationship, while the wife and her lawyer contended that their shared life continued for subsequent years, supported by official residencies renewed annually, civil records, and certificates confirming the ongoing marital relationship until the time of death.
The Jeddah Personal Status Appeals Court heard both sides of the dispute, studied the testimonies and documents, and based its decision on the rules of evidence applicable in personal status cases. The court reviewed official records that continued to describe the wife as a legitimate spouse.
Enforcement by Compulsory Force
The court concluded in its final decision that certainty is not undone by doubt, and that the marital bond remained in place at the time of the husband's death. It ordered that the Egyptian wife be included in the estate's certificate to receive her lawful share of the inheritance.
The Jeddah Personal Status Appeals Court concluded its final judgment with the phrase "It is requested that all ministries and other government agencies work to enforce the judgment through all conventional means, even if this requires the use of compulsory force."
Disinheritance in Certain Cases
Lawyer Dr. Abdulrahman Al-Khouli commented on the incident saying that Article 69 of the Evidence Law referred to the testimony of witnesses in several matters such as marriage, death, lineage, or testament, mentioned as exceptions that may be extensively discussed, hence the validity of a marriage or incidence of divorce hinges on the existence of a marital bond as per Sharia law even if all formal procedures are completed. Al-Khouli added: Personal status law carefully defines and regulates the rights and shares of heirs, granting the wife a specific share in the inheritance determined by Sharia, confirming the wife's right to a fourth of the estate if there is no descendent heir, and to an eighth if there are descendant heirs, simply by the validity of the marriage contract. If there are multiple wives, the wife's share is equally divided among them.
Al-Khouli continued, stating that it is impermissible to disinherit the wife except in limited cases, such as if the wife intentionally kills her husband or there are differences in religion. The wife can file a legal case in the personal status court to claim her right, especially in cases of dispute or unfair distribution. He affirmed that the proof of family matters like marriage and divorce is not based on a single piece of paper and does not expire via social statute but is built on the coherence of evidence and its sequence.
The Right of Wives in Inheritance
Lawyer Nesreen Ali Al-Ghamdi clarified that the right of wives in inheritance is stipulated in the personal status law, depending on the presence of a descendent heir of the deceased; if the deceased has children (or grandchildren from him), the wife inherits an eighth, and if there are no children, a fourth of the estate, and multiple wives share this portion equally, considering other inheritance eligibility conditions such as no impediment like differing religions or intentional murder. She added: If the husband has more than one wife, the wife's share (eighth or quarter) is divided equally among them.
Inheritance Eligibility Under Specific Conditions
Lawyer Taghreed Haddadi states that the Saudi personal status system has established a clear and comprehensive regulatory framework for matters concerning estates and inheritance, ensuring the stability of rights and preventing disputes among heirs. She explained that the legislator linked the eligibility for inheritance to specific conditions stipulated in Article 199, represented by the confirmation of the benefactor's death, the heir's survival thereafter, the cause of inheritance, and the absence of its barriers. She defined the estate in Article 197 as everything a person leaves behind after death in terms of money and financial rights, then arranged the related rights mandatorily in Article 198, starting with preparing the deceased, then paying debts, executing the will, and finally dividing the estate among the heirs; emphasizing the priority of the preceding rights over the division.
Haddadi clarified that the legislator addressed the effect of divorce on inheritance in Article 201, and decided as a general rule that separation during life prevents inheritance, with specific exceptions listed exhaustively, indicating that the systemic consideration in granting inheritance depends on the proof of the marital relationship and the absence of inhibitions as determined by the competent court. She affirmed that these provisions reflect the Saudi legislator's commitment to protecting legal positions and achieving justice in distributing estates according to clear and organized regulations.
