Inheritance
The 2006 amendment of the Religious Courts Law (art. 49(b)) gives the religious courts jurisdiction over succession (waris) between persons professing Islam, and its elucidation extends this to anyone who voluntarily submits to Islamic law. The Compilation of Islamic Law (Presidential Instruction No. 1 of 1991, Book II, arts. 171 to 214) supplies the rules. The Civil Code (Kitab Undang-Undang Hukum Perdata), Book II, Chapter XII (arts. 830 to 861) and Chapter XIII on wills (from art. 874) supplies the other codified set.
The Religious Courts Law defines succession as the determination of who the heirs are, of the estate and of each heir's share, and the carrying out of the distribution, including a court ruling on an application to establish who the heirs are. In the Compilation an heir is a person who, at the deceased's death, is related by blood or marriage, is a Muslim and is not barred by law (art. 171(c)); religion is read from the identity card, a declaration, practice or testimony, and a newborn or a minor follows the father or the surroundings (art. 172). A conviction by final judgment for killing, attempting to kill or gravely maltreating the deceased, or for a slanderous complaint of an offence punishable by five years or more, bars an heir (art. 173). The transcription of the Civil Code's chapter on succession carries the heading note that it does not apply to Foreign Orientals other than the Chinese but does apply to the Chinese, a trace of the colonial classification of the population; the sources opened do not say which courts decide the estates of non-Muslims or how the chapter is applied to them today.
The Compilation fixes the shares. A daughter alone takes one half, two or more daughters together two thirds, and where there is a son the son's share is twice a daughter's (art. 176). The father takes one third if the deceased left no child and one sixth if there is a child (art. 177); the mother one sixth if there is a child or two or more siblings, otherwise one third (art. 178). A widower takes one half if there is no child and one quarter if there is; a widow one quarter without a child and one eighth with one (arts. 179 and 180). A grandchild may take the place of a parent who died first, but never more than a person of the same degree (art. 185). A child born outside marriage inherits only from the mother and her family (art. 186). Heirs' liability for the deceased's debts is limited to the value of the estate (art. 175(2)), and where no heir is known the estate goes by decision of the religious court to the Baitul Mal, the religious property fund (art. 191). The World Bank's 2024 Women, Business and the Law sheet for Indonesia records that sons and daughters, and surviving husbands and wives, do not inherit equally, citing arts. 176, 179 and 180 of the Compilation.
Wills follow separate rules. Under the Compilation a person aged 21 or more, of sound mind and uncoerced, may leave part of his or her property by a will made orally before two witnesses, in writing before two witnesses or before a notary, up to one third of the estate unless all heirs agree, and a will in favour of an heir is valid only if all heirs approve (arts. 194 and 195); a bequest above one third is reduced to one third if an heir objects (art. 201). Art. 209 gives adoptive parents who receive no bequest, and an adopted child who receives none, a compulsory bequest of up to one third of the adopted child's or the adoptive parents' estate respectively (a wasiat wajibah). The Civil Code, for its part, passes the estate to blood relatives, legitimate or born outside marriage, and to the surviving spouse, and to the State only if there are none (art. 832).
In the Civil Code children inherit in equal shares, head by head, whatever their sex or birth order (art. 852), and a surviving spouse is treated as a legitimate child, but a spouse of a second or later marriage with children from the first gets no more than the smallest share of those children and never more than a quarter of the estate (art. 852a). A child born outside marriage and lawfully acknowledged receives one third of the share he or she would have had as a legitimate child if descendants or a spouse survive, one half if only ascendants or siblings survive and three quarters if only more distant relatives survive (art. 863). The deceased cannot dispose of the forced share (legitieme portie) of direct-line heirs: one half of the intestate share for a sole child, two thirds each for two children and three quarters each for three or more (art. 914), one half for ascendants (art. 915). Gifts and wills that infringe it may be reduced when the succession opens, on the legitimaries' request (art. 920), and a claim to the inheritance lapses after thirty years from the opening (art. 835).
Key points
| Court for Muslims | Religious court, for succession between persons professing Islam (Law 3/2006, art. 49(b)) |
|---|---|
| Daughters (Islamic rules) | One daughter: one half; two or more: two thirds; with sons, each son twice a daughter's share (Compilation, art. 176) |
| Surviving spouse (Islamic rules) | Widower one half, or one quarter with children; widow one quarter, or one eighth with children (arts. 179 and 180) |
| Parents (Islamic rules) | Father one third without child, one sixth with a child; mother one sixth or one third (arts. 177 and 178) |
| Wills (Islamic rules) | From age 21; up to one third of the estate unless all heirs agree (arts. 194 and 195); adopted child and adoptive parents up to one third (art. 209) |
| Child born outside marriage | Inherits only from the mother and her family (Compilation, art. 186); a recognised child takes a fraction of a legitimate child's share (Civil Code, art. 863) |
| Children (Civil Code) | Equal shares, whatever the sex or birth order (art. 852) |
| Forced share (Civil Code) | Sole child one half; two children two thirds each; three or more three quarters each of the intestate share (art. 914) |
| Time limit | A claim to an inheritance lapses thirty years after the succession opens (Civil Code, art. 835) |
In practice
- Establish first which rules apply: the Religious Courts Law gives succession between Muslims to the religious court, and the Compilation reads religion from the identity card, a declaration, practice or testimony (art. 172).
- List the estate before dividing it: under the Compilation heirs, or executors named by the deceased or the heirs, record the movable and immovable property in a list approved by the heirs and subtract burial costs, the deceased's debts and the bequests before the remainder is shared (arts. 175(1) and 187).
- If heirs cannot agree, any heir may ask the other heirs to partition and, if one refuses, sue in the religious court (art. 188); farmland under two hectares is to be kept in one piece and used jointly, or taken by one or more heirs who pay the others their shares (art. 189).
- If a will is planned, make it orally before two witnesses, in writing before two witnesses or before a notary, keep it within one third of the estate unless all heirs will agree (arts. 194 and 195), and under the Civil Code leave the forced share of direct-line heirs intact (art. 914).
- Under the Civil Code, act within thirty years of the death: art. 835 lapses the claim to the inheritance after that time.
Cost and coverage
The sources opened for this page give no court fee, notary fee or tax figure for an estate.
Recent changes
The World Bank's Women, Business and the Law 2024 edition for Indonesia still answers 'no' to equal inheritance rights of sons and daughters and of surviving spouses, citing arts. 176, 179 and 180 of the Compilation of Islamic Law.
Where to go
- The religious court (Pengadilan Agama) of the place of the deceased, for succession between Muslims (Law 3/2006, art. 49(b)).
- A notary, before whom a will can be made, or the local Religious Affairs Office, to which a sealed will kept by anyone other than a notary is handed after the death and which opens it before the heirs and two witnesses (Compilation, arts. 195 and 204).
- The Baitul Mal, which receives an estate with no known heir on the religious court's decision (art. 191).
Worth knowing
The Compilation limits heirs to Muslims (art. 171(c)), and its only compulsory bequest is the one for adoptive parents and adopted children (art. 209); the sources opened contain no text on customary succession or on court rulings extending these rules.
Frequently asked questions
Do daughters inherit as much as sons in Indonesia?
Under the Compilation of Islamic Law, applied by the religious courts, a son takes twice a daughter's share (art. 176); under the Civil Code children inherit equal shares whatever their sex (art. 852).
Can I leave my whole estate to one person by will?
Under the Compilation a will cannot exceed one third of the estate unless all heirs agree (art. 195(2)), and a will in favour of an heir needs all heirs' approval (art. 195(3)); under the Civil Code the forced share of direct-line heirs cannot be disposed of (arts. 913 and 914).
Does an adopted child inherit from the adoptive parents?
The Compilation gives an adopted child who receives no bequest a compulsory bequest of up to one third of the adoptive parents' estate (art. 209(2)); adoption does not cut the child's blood relationship with the birth parents (Government Regulation 54/2007, art. 4).
Sources
- Law No. 3 of 2006 amending Law No. 7 of 1989 on Religious Courts (art. 49 and its elucidation), official PDF on the BPK legal database — art. 49(b) and the elucidation of letter b (definition of succession)
- Compilation of Islamic Law in Indonesia (Kompilasi Hukum Islam, Presidential Instruction No. 1 of 1991), scanned book (262 pages) hosted on Wikimedia Commons (unofficial copy of the published book) — arts. 171 to 175, 176 to 180, 185 to 195, 201, 204 and 209
- Civil Code (Kitab Undang-Undang Hukum Perdata), Book II, Chapters XII to XIII on succession (Subekti translation), transcription on Indonesian Wikisource (unofficial copy) — arts. 830 to 835, 838, 852, 852a, 863, 874, 875 and 913 to 920
- World Bank, Women, Business and the Law 2024 -- Indonesia country data (main business city: Jakarta) — inheritance indicators citing arts. 176, 179 and 180 of the Compilation
- Government Regulation No. 54 of 2007 on the Implementation of Adoption (Peraturan Pemerintah Nomor 54 Tahun 2007, 3 October 2007), text on the Ministry of Finance legal database (JDIH Kemenkeu) — art. 4: adoption does not cut blood ties
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