Making a Baha'i Will, references to...

MichaelAW · 12-22-2011, 02:50 AM

http://www.celebi.net/devotions/furu...20a%20Will.pdf

"How to prepare a Will
(From “Developing Distinctive Bahá’í Communities” a manual for Local Spiritual Assemblies, prepared by the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States) The Need for a Will It is incumbent upon everyone to write his testament...
(Bahá'u'lláh, quoted in a letter written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice, August 24, 1982, to a National Spiritual Assembly)
Every Bahá’í is strongly recommended to make his own Will and he is perfectly free to dispose of his estate in whatever way he wishes.
(Letter from the Universal House of Justice, dated August 24, 1982, to a National Spiritual Assembly)
The friends should be strongly..."

Do you have your Will written out yet!

BruceDLimber · 12-22-2011, 04:33 AM

I first wrote my will on my 21st birthday, that being the age of majority then.

Bruce

arthra · 12-22-2011, 09:03 AM

Yes indeed..

My wife and I had our Will done a couple of tiems.. Ever so often you need to revise it to fit circumstances..

I think it gets a little complicated when an estate is involved and when there are children too..but it saves those who succeed us on this earth a lot of trouble and aggravation.

Sen McGlinn · 12-22-2011, 10:41 AM

I have made my Bahai Will, which is tucked inside my Aqdas, but I realise that I have not specified who is the "teacher." My civil Will is now legally invalid, and I really should write a new one, specifying how much of my estate is to be distributed according to the rules of the Aqdas.

cire perdue · 12-22-2011, 05:56 PM

apply only if there is NO will.

Sen McGlinn · 12-23-2011, 11:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cire perdue

apply only if there is NO will.

..

Sen McGlinn · 12-23-2011, 11:30 AM

There is nothing to stop you writing a Will, and specifying that a certain amount, or a certain percentage, should be distributed according to the laws of the Aqdas. In Islamic law, this is normal, but Islamic law specifies that no more than one third may be disposed of in a Will, the remaining two thirds or more must be distributed according to the laws of the Quran and the Shariah.

For Bahais, if someone dies intestate, the laws of the state apply, because they take precedence over Bahai law. That would make the laws of the Aqdas on inheritance merely theoretical, if they applied ONLY to intestate estates. Yet there's a tablet of Abdu'l-Baha in which he congratulates a family for being the first to apply the inheritance system of the Aqdas, and he predicts that many more will follow. They will, I am sure, as Bahais realise that they can specify part of their estate to be distributed according to the system of the Aqdas, to their Bahai relatives, and as a cultural tradition grows up around this. For instance, suppose someone says in their will that $2,520 should be distributed according to the laws of the Aqdas, naming the family members whom they know are Bahais. After their death there might be a family meeting (Persian families would probably do it on the 40th day), the envelopes would be handed out, the deceased would be remembered, and some of the family might use the money for an act of charity in the name of the deceased. It would be a solemn occasion, and a family ritual. Compare for example to the (non-Bahai) family ritual of scattering the ashes of the deceased in a place which they loved, a year after their death. Or the family ritual of meeting by the graveside when the stone is ready to be installed. A funeral service or cremation comes too soon to be a family binder: people are busy with their private griefs. Some time later, the family as a family is ready to see itself in its new form, with one empty seat and perhaps with the family dynamics changed as a result.

12-22-2011, 02:50 AM	#1
MichaelAW Member Joined: Jul 2011 From: USA Posts: 53	Making a Baha'i Will, references to... http://www.celebi.net/devotions/furu...20a%20Will.pdf "How to prepare a Will (From “Developing Distinctive Bahá’í Communities” a manual for Local Spiritual Assemblies, prepared by the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States) The Need for a Will It is incumbent upon everyone to write his testament... (Bahá'u'lláh, quoted in a letter written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice, August 24, 1982, to a National Spiritual Assembly) Every Bahá’í is strongly recommended to make his own Will and he is perfectly free to dispose of his estate in whatever way he wishes. (Letter from the Universal House of Justice, dated August 24, 1982, to a National Spiritual Assembly) The friends should be strongly..." Do you have your Will written out yet!

12-22-2011, 05:56 PM	#5
cire perdue Senior Member Joined: Sep 2010 From: Louisiana Posts: 1,619	The rules of the Aqdas apply only if there is NO will.

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12-22-2011, 04:33 AM	#2
BruceDLimber Senior Member Joined: Mar 2010 From: Rockville, MD, USA Posts: 823	I first wrote my will on my 21st birthday, that being the age of majority then. Bruce

12-22-2011, 09:03 AM	#3
arthra Senior Member Joined: Jun 2006 From: California Posts: 3,063	Yes indeed.. My wife and I had our Will done a couple of tiems.. Ever so often you need to revise it to fit circumstances.. I think it gets a little complicated when an estate is involved and when there are children too..but it saves those who succeed us on this earth a lot of trouble and aggravation.

12-22-2011, 10:41 AM	#4
Sen McGlinn Senior Member Joined: Aug 2010 From: Leiden, the Netherlands Posts: 249	I have made my Bahai Will, which is tucked inside my Aqdas, but I realise that I have not specified who is the "teacher." My civil Will is now legally invalid, and I really should write a new one, specifying how much of my estate is to be distributed according to the rules of the Aqdas.

12-23-2011, 11:30 AM	#7
Sen McGlinn Senior Member Joined: Aug 2010 From: Leiden, the Netherlands Posts: 249	There is nothing to stop you writing a Will, and specifying that a certain amount, or a certain percentage, should be distributed according to the laws of the Aqdas. In Islamic law, this is normal, but Islamic law specifies that no more than one third may be disposed of in a Will, the remaining two thirds or more must be distributed according to the laws of the Quran and the Shariah. For Bahais, if someone dies intestate, the laws of the state apply, because they take precedence over Bahai law. That would make the laws of the Aqdas on inheritance merely theoretical, if they applied ONLY to intestate estates. Yet there's a tablet of Abdu'l-Baha in which he congratulates a family for being the first to apply the inheritance system of the Aqdas, and he predicts that many more will follow. They will, I am sure, as Bahais realise that they can specify part of their estate to be distributed according to the system of the Aqdas, to their Bahai relatives, and as a cultural tradition grows up around this. For instance, suppose someone says in their will that $2,520 should be distributed according to the laws of the Aqdas, naming the family members whom they know are Bahais. After their death there might be a family meeting (Persian families would probably do it on the 40th day), the envelopes would be handed out, the deceased would be remembered, and some of the family might use the money for an act of charity in the name of the deceased. It would be a solemn occasion, and a family ritual. Compare for example to the (non-Bahai) family ritual of scattering the ashes of the deceased in a place which they loved, a year after their death. Or the family ritual of meeting by the graveside when the stone is ready to be installed. A funeral service or cremation comes too soon to be a family binder: people are busy with their private griefs. Some time later, the family as a family is ready to see itself in its new form, with one empty seat and perhaps with the family dynamics changed as a result.