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Fatwa CenterLeaving a will for an autistic son
Question
Assalamu Alaykum,
My husband and I have three daughters and one son. My son is severely autistic and will be unable to work or marry during his life. My three daughters are healthy, and in the future will be able to get married and potentially lead a successful life with their husbands Inshallah.
After my husband and I pass, my eldest daughter will be my son’s guardian but because of the fact that my son will never be able to live on his own, work, or earn a living for himself, would it be okay for my husband and I to leave everything in my son’s name in our will? We have spoken to our daughters and they have agreed to these conditions, but islamically speaking, is this allowed?
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad 
is His slave and Messenger.
It is not permissible for a person to make a will about anything to one of his/her heirs, and if he/she does, then the will is void unless all the heirs consent to it as clarified in Fataawa 116588 and 94685. The heir who has the right to consent or reject the will is the one who is an heir when the person who made the will died. However, according to the correct opinion of the scholars 
the heir’s consent to the will cannot be effective except after the death of the person who made the will.
Instead of the will, the father may gift some money to this boy if the rest of the children agree. In fact, he should leave some money for his heirs so that they will not be in need of asking others; the Prophet said: "It is better to leave your heirs rich rather than to leave them dependant on other people." [Al-Bukhari and Muslim] Moreover, it is not possible to authoritatively assert that the girls do not need the money, as one of them might not get married, and if she marries she might need some money.
Besides, you should perform Ruqyah on this boy and consult the specialist doctors in the field hoping that Allaah may cure him thanks to them.
In any case, a Muslim should be pleased with the Decree and Predestination of Allaah and submit himself to it and not grief about it because the Predestination of Allaah is all good for a Muslim. He just has to be patient at times of difficulty and be grateful to Allaah at times of ease. He should remember the uncountable bounties of Allaah on him, and always remember that the provision and the life span of a person are in the hands of Allaah [i.e. they are already predestined by Him]. Tricks do not bring a provision which Allaah prevented and do not prevent another provision that Allaah provided.
Allaah Knows best.
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