Settlement among Heirs in Estates Containing Digital Assets A Foundational and Applied Jurisprudential Study

Abstract

This research examines the juristic ruling of takhāruj (mutual buyout among heirs) in estates that include digital assets, such as cryptocurrencies, electronic balances, intangible rights, and electronic shares. The research aims to establish the juristic reality of takhāruj, its legal basis, and its classification across the four Sunni schools, followed by a definition of digital assets and the juristic criterion governing their inclusion in an estate. It follows an inductive approach in gathering jurists' positions from primary sources, a comparative analytical approach in assessing them, and a deductive approach in extending jurisprudential rulings to digital assets. The first chapter surveys the forms of takhāruj – compensation from the estate itself, from an heir's personal property, or from all or some heirs – along with its conditions and effects. The second chapter applies these rulings to digital assets, examining how value volatility, inaccessibility, and unawareness of an asset's existence at the time of the settlement affect its validity. The study concludes that takhāruj over a digital asset of known value is valid by consensus; that minor value fluctuation does not invalidate it, while severe fluctuation leading to dispute may; that temporary inaccessibility does not void the settlement, whereas permanent impossibility does; and that unawareness of an asset's existence at the time of the settlement does not prevent its inclusion in the estate. The researcher recommends the issuing standardized guidelines for assessing digital assets in takhāruj and partition, and that individuals be encouraged to document their digital assets, passwords, and access details within their wills.