Estate planning is an essential concept that is also mandatory in Islam.

Everyone should have a will of their estate to avoid future consequences.Many Islamic verses and Hadith emphasize why is it essential for Muslims to create a will. 

Why Estate Planning: 

You work hard to earn what you have right now.

You have a say on who receives your assets. Hence, plan it for your loved ones.

You would want someone you know to handle the estate and not the court.

You want to minimize the expenses involved in hiring a lawyer or athe person who is involved in dividing assets

There are two important things when creating a will.

First, name a guardian for your kids and mention when and how much your kids will get.To avoid probate, trust is needed. Probate is a legal process of administering an estate. The properties, debt, or tax are reviewed and the court carries distribution of the properties.

This is acostly process as it includes the fee for lawyers and other entities involved. A concept of living trust/life estate trust arises when you formally transfer the title of the property to someone you trust before you die. You own it but the title has been transferred.

 Make sure you have a proper designation of your beneficiaries for different accounts where you are supposed to list beneficiaries. Make sure they are someone youtrust!

You name your trust as beneficiary.  If an individual is dying without leaving a will or a trust, the government will take over and will follow strict procedures and inheritance formulas.Not only will the state go through this process but also the probate can take years to process.

Moreover, whatever happens during the probate time period will be made public. According to statistics, less than 44% of Americans have a will and less than 10% of American Muslims leave a will. Hence, it is important to get through this process as early as possible.Multiple organizations and websites help you create a will. One of them is mywassiyyh , which is similar to Legal Zoom, where you get forms to fill out and create the will for less than $20.  

Final Note:'

A famous Islamic quote:“A man may do good deeds for 70 years but if he acts unjustly when he leaves his last will, the wickedness of his deed will be sealed upon him, and he will enter the fire. And if, on the other hand, a man acts wickedly for 70 years but is just his last will and testament, the goodness of his deed will be sealed upon him and he will enter the gardens.”