Parliament rejects amendment to allow direct inheritance from maternal grandparents despite mother’s death

The Parliament on Monday rejected an amendment proposed to the Land Act, designed to allow direct inheritance of land from maternal grandparents, even if their mother may have died before their grandparents.

According to Islamic inheritance rules, a person who dies before the deceased - from whom inheritance is claimed - does not receive any share from that inheritance.

This means that if a mother passed away before the grandparents, she is not considered an heir. Consequently, the children of the deceased mother are also not entitled to any share in the grandparents’ estate.

In late last year, North Galolhu MP Mohamed Ibrahim (Kudu), a parliamentarian from the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), submitted an amendment seeking to ease these inheritance rules.

The bill was rejected with a majority vote of 49-10 on Monday.

During the parliamentary debate earlier Monday, parliamentarians from the ruling People’s National Congress (PNC) questions the intent behind proposing the amendment.

But Kudu said the issue was causing familial conflicts as well as larger social issues.

The Land Act currently states that if a person who was granted a state-owned land plot dies, the buildings and immovable property on that plot may be divided among those entitled to it through the rules of inheritance.

Kudu had proposed adding a clause to allow in individuals whose mothers died before their maternal grandparents to also inherit state-owned land.