Investigating Possessory Will from the Perspective of the Five Religious Sects' Jurisprudence

A Will is a legal act by which a testator appropriates property to another after his death or appoints a person to do something. On this basis, a will is divided into two categories: possessory and testamentary wills. In a possessory will, the testator appropriates the property to another for free after his death. There is a debate and disagreement about the nature of the possessory will in the jurisprudential religions. Some call this legal act a contract and some call it a unilateral obligation. 

This descriptive-analytical article has been prepared by using documentary method and taking notes. 

The findings indicate that according to the views of most Imami jurists, in the event of the death of beneficiary of a testament before the rejection or acceptance of a will, the right to reject or accept the testament is inherited to his/her inheritors. On the other hand, another view distinguishes between the death of beneficiary of a testament before and after the death of a testator and believes that in the first case the will is void and in the latter case, the right of acceptance or rejection is inherited. Most Sunni jurists agree this. Some also believe that if the testator intends to make a will in favor of definite beneficiary of a testament, the right of acceptance or rejection will not be transferred to his heir unless the testator intends to transfer the right of acceptance or rejection.

In the possessory will, the majority of jurists believe that accepting of beneficiary before the death of testator has value and validity, and it is not necessary to re-accept a will after the death of testator. If the beneficiary of a testament dies before the declaration of his will, the prevailing view is the succession of the beneficiary heirs, and since the right of acceptance is distributive, they can accept or reject the will in proportion to their share and take their higher or lower share.