Guardianship of a child's property: rights of the child v. responsibilities of the guardian

Guardianship is a management by an adult of a child and his property. The guardianship of a child's property becomes an issue where the child acquires significant assets particularly through inheritance. The guardianship expires upon the child reaching the age of majority unless for reasons of insanity or other disability, the child remains unable to take care of himself or to manage his property. The guardian is responsible for managing the child’s property honestly and in his best interests, using it to pay for normal living expenses, health and education. A guardian is a fiduciary and is subject to a very high standard of care in exercising his powers. However, there are cases where the guardian fails to discharge his duties accordingly and wastes or mismanages the child’s property causing financial loss to the latter’s property. Hence, this paper will focus on the guardianship of a child’s property giving emphasis on the rights of a child to inheritance and the guardianship over his property throughout his minority. The administration of the property by the guardian will be highlighted to examine the scope of the guardian’s duties and the extent of his responsibilities in managing the property. The rights of the child against the unlawful acts of the guardian will also be analyzed so that the child’s rights are legally ascertained and protected

Cryptocurrencies and digital assets: issues and challenges from the inheritance law perspective

Cryptocurrency is a new asset class that estate planning lawyers are seeing more in their clients' portfolios as digital assets including Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, Bitcoin Cash and Litecoin gain more popularity worldwide. The fast adoption of digital assets into the financial portfolio of Malaysians, the majority of whom are Muslims, requires an analysis of its future implications to wealth and estate management, including after death. This study reveals issues and challenges related to cryptocurrencies and digital assets from the inheritance law perspective in Malaysia. As Malaysia is a commonwealth country with a Muslim-majority population, in addition to English common law, the Islamic inheritance law perspective is included. This study explores related challenges including illegal platforms and operators, unauthorized access, hacking, and other real problems like difficulty in identifying deceased’s cryptocurrency account and missing passwords. Results suggest that the current legal, shariah and regulatory framework is not adequate to properly protect the interest of the public and some suggestions and recommendations are included

The grey side of hibah amanah as inheritance instrument in Malaysia

Hibah amanah has become a popular alternative to the Islamic system of inheritance (farā’iḍ) as it enables a donor to have full control during his life over his or her property while the beneficiary can only benefit from it upon the death of the donor. Hibah amanah enables the donor to circumvent the strict limitations provided under farā’id since the endowment of hibah amanah is arguably not subjected to farā’iḍ. This article starts with an analysis of the Sharī‘ah perspective of hibah amanah, focusing on the arguments forwarded by scholars that support and oppose hibah amanah, together with their justifications from the Qur’ān, Sunnah and other basis of their views (ijtihād). This qualitative study uses content analysis methodology and reveals that there are many legal complications and obstacles including the issue of Sharī‘ah-compliance, and the disputed permissibility of using Hibah amanah to circumvent farā’iḍ, the possibility of unfairness and bias, the denial of the beneficiaries’ rights without remedy, the threats from the money laundering perspective and the conflict between Shari’ah court and civil court over jurisdiction. This article stresses the importance of having a clear legal and regulatory mechanism to address all issues related to hibah amanah

Administration of Islamic law in Malaysia: text and material (1st edition)

This book discusses the application and administration of Islamic law in Malaysia. It addresses the position of Islamic law, the application of Islamic law in civil courts, the jurisdictional conflict between the civil courts and the Syariah courts, appointment of women as Syariah judges and the institution of fatwa

Towards an Apex sharia court in Malaysia

Malaysia has 14 Sharia court systems. The main reason for this state of affairs is the distribution of legislative powers under the Federal Constitution between the Federation and the states where Islam and Islamic law are state matters. This paper looks at the consequences of having several distinct Sharia court systems. The Sharia courts and the laws differ from one state to another. This paper looks at the legal possibility of having one apex court for all the 14 Sharia court systems to streamline the administration and decisions of the Sharia courts