Guide
I want to write a will
for what I own in Pakistan
A will in Pakistan does less than people expect and more than nothing. For a Muslim, the law fixes who inherits and how much, and a will can only reach a limited part of the estate. This page shows what a will is for, what it cannot do, and how to write one that holds.
Where this applies This page covers property, money and other assets in Pakistan left by someone who dies. What the country you live in does with a Pakistani will, and how it taxes an estate, is a separate question for that country.
What this is about
For a Muslim in Pakistan the shares of the heirs are fixed by law. A will cannot take from one heir to give to another, and it can only give a limited part of the estate to people who are not heirs at all. Within those limits a will still matters: it can provide for someone the law would leave out, it can say who should manage the estate, and it can settle questions that otherwise become a case.
For someone abroad the real value of a will is different: it is the one place where everything you own in Pakistan is listed in your own hand, with where the papers are. Heirs who live in three countries and have never seen the land start from that list instead of from nothing.
What has to be in place
What has to be clear before a will is written.
What you own in Pakistan, and in whose name each thing stands on the record.
Who your heirs are under the law, so that the will does not try what it cannot do.
Who you want to look after the estate, and whether that person will accept.
Note Your advocate confirms which of these apply to your case.
The documents you will be asked for
The papers that go with a will.
- Record extracts and deeds for property, and account details for money.
- Your identity document.
- The will itself, signed in front of witnesses, and kept where the heirs can find it.
How an advocate helps from where you are
What an advocate does.
- Tells you plainly what a will can and cannot do for your estate.
- Drafts it so that it holds and so that it does not start the case it was meant to prevent.
- Keeps a copy, and tells the heirs what to do first when the time comes.
What to ask before you agree
- What can a will do for my estate, and what can it not do?
- Who should manage the estate, and what does that person have to do?
- Where should the will be kept, and who should know about it?
- What do you need from me, and by when?
- What is your fee, and what is not included in it?
More in Inheritance
Also relevant
Words you will meet
- will
- A document saying what should happen to your estate after death, within the limits the law sets.
- heir
- A person who inherits by law.
- gift
- A transfer while you are alive. Often the better tool for what a will cannot do.
Written
11 September 2026
Pakistan.