Inheritance in Morocco: How Estates Are Divided, and How to Avoid Family Conflict

The death of a loved one often brings a delicate question: what happens to the family house, the land, the bank accounts? In Morocco, estates follow precise rules, and most family conflicts arise less from the law itself than from delay in settling the estate and uncertainty about the assets and each person’s rights. Here are the steps and the solutions, particularly for families in the Agadir region and those with members living abroad.

Which law applies?

For a Moroccan Muslim, the estate is governed by Book VI of the Family Code, which follows the rules of Islamic law according to the Maliki school. Moroccans of the Jewish faith are subject to Moroccan Hebrew personal status law. For a foreign national who owned assets in Morocco, private international law rules determine the applicable law. Moroccan law applies to a Moroccan even if they also held another nationality.

Step 1: obtain the certificate of heirship

The first indispensable document is the certificate of heirship (iraatha), drawn up by adouls on the basis of witness testimony. It identifies the deceased and the complete list of heirs. Without it, nothing can be done: not at the bank, not at the land registry, not in court. An incomplete certificate that leaves out an heir is a source of future disputes.

Step 2: list the assets and debts

Next, the assets (registered or unregistered property, accounts, vehicles, company shares, businesses) and the debts must be identified. Before any division, the estate must cover funeral expenses, the deceased’s debts, and then any bequests.

Bequests and wills

A Muslim may leave part of their estate by will (wasiyya), but only up to one third, and in principle not to an heir, unless the other heirs agree. The Code also provides for an obligatory bequest in favour of grandchildren whose parent died before the grandparent, under specific conditions. To plan one’s estate during one’s lifetime, other tools exist (gifts, genuine sales), to be used carefully and with advice.

The heirs’ shares

Shares are set by law according to the family relationship: surviving spouse, children, parents, brothers and sisters, and sometimes more distant relatives. Among the best-known rules: at the same degree, a male heir in principle receives twice the share of a female heir; and where there is no son, other male relatives may take part of the estate alongside the daughters. Every family situation needs to be calculated precisely.

Step 3: regularise the real estate

For registered property, the certificate of heirship is recorded on the land title: the heirs become co-owners, each for their share. For unregistered property, the position is more fragile, and it is often the right time to start a registration procedure: see land title or melk land.

Ending co-ownership: division

No one can be forced to remain a co-owner. There are two routes:

• amicable division: the heirs agree, with or without a balancing payment, and the agreement is recorded in a deed (by adouls or a notary) and then registered at the land registry;
• court-ordered division: if there is no agreement, an heir applies to the court, which may order an expert valuation, create lots or, if the property cannot conveniently be divided, order its sale by auction and share out the proceeds.

The most common disputes

• One heir occupies the family house alone without compensating the others.
• One heir collects the rent from a shared property without accounting for it.
• One heir sells their share, or the whole property, without the others’ agreement.
• Heirs living abroad are left out of decisions.

Each of these situations has a legal answer: an action for an account, a claim for occupation compensation, an action for division, a challenge to the sale, or even a criminal complaint in cases of fraud.

Heirs living abroad

Heirs living in Europe or elsewhere can assert their rights without travelling for every step, thanks to a specific power of attorney and a lawyer on the ground. See our guide for Moroccans abroad and, for binational families, Moroccan nationality.

An inheritance lawyer in Agadir

The office of Maître Said Laachili assists families in Agadir, Inezgane and Biougra, and heirs living abroad, with settling estates: checking the certificate of heirship, drawing up the inventory, negotiating an amicable division, court-ordered division and disputes between heirs, as part of its civil law and real estate law practice and for Moroccans abroad. If an inherited property is let, see also unpaid rent and eviction, and before selling or buying, our guide to buying in Agadir.

An estate that is stuck? Book an appointment.