What is a hasr irth and how do I get one in Lebanon?

Also asked as: “What is a hasr irth (inheritance certificate) in Lebanon?” · “How much does a hasr irth cost in Lebanon?” · “Probate decision in Lebanon” · “How do I get a qarar hasr al-irth?”

What a hasr irth does#

The hasr irth (qarar hasr al-irth, often translated as probate decision or inheritance certificate) is a court decision. It establishes that the person has died, names every heir and sets each heir's share. Until it exists, no real property, bank account or company shareholding can be transferred into the heirs' names. PBL Law Group adds that it lets the heirs manage the estate and register transfers once the taxes are settled^[1,2,3].

At the Land Registry, ownership is counted in 2,400 shares^[8,9,10], so each heir's share ends up written as a fraction of 2,400. New title deeds are then issued in the heirs' names according to the shares in the decision^[2].

People often mix up the hasr irth with the inheritance tax, but they are two separate things. The tax is the transfer fee, rasm al-intiqal under Legislative Decree 146/1959^[3,5,7], a progressive tax on each heir's net share. The Ministry of Finance clears an estate for transfer only once this fee is paid or security is given^[2]. Rates and exemptions are in how much inheritance tax is in Lebanon.

Which court issues it#

Lebanon has no single civil code of inheritance. The law that applies, and in practice the court, follows the religious community of the deceased: Islamic law for Muslims and a civil statute for non-Muslims^[1,3].

For non-Muslims, PBL Law Group says the hasr irth is a judgment issued by a single judge of the first-instance court of the last residence^[3,6], meaning the deceased's last civil residence. Mattar Law Firm agrees that the first-instance civil courts are competent.

For Muslim and Druze estates, the sources disagree. Kallas Law Firm says these estates go to the religious courts: the Sunni and Jaafari Sharia courts, and the Druze courts for the Druze community. PBL says a religious court handles the case where personal status falls under it. Mattar says only that the first-instance civil courts are competent for inheritance, without distinguishing by community^[1,3,6]. Before you file, ask the registry (qalam) of the court of the deceased's community, or a lawyer, whether that court takes the case. The full comparison is in which court issues the hasr irth.

Documents, and why the Finance Ministry comes first#

According to Kallas Law Firm, the court needs five documents: the death certificate, the deceased's family civil-status extract with the name struck off, each heir's family extract, the mukhtar's (local official's) statement of heirs, and the declaration licence from the Ministry of Finance. PBL Law Group gives a different list: a family record extract, the death certificate, an inheritance declaration statement, a copy of the deceased's ID card and a declaration form listing all assets^[1,2,3]. The two lists do not match, so confirm the exact list with the court registry or a lawyer before you start. The papers are covered in more detail in documents for a hasr irth and the estate declaration.

The licence explains the order. Kallas says the preliminary estate declaration to the Ministry of Finance comes first, because the licence it produces is one of the documents the court needs^[1,2]. The declaration is due within 90 days of the death^[2,4,5], and the full file, which then includes the hasr irth, must be completed within six months of the death^[2,4][2]. What happens if you file late is covered in estate declaration deadlines and penalties.

If the death happened abroad, it must first be recorded in Lebanon. Kallas Law Firm describes the route: the hospital death certificate goes through the Lebanese embassy or consulate, then the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, then the Ministry of Interior, which strikes the name from the civil-status records. This takes about two months^[2]. According to Kallas, where the heirs were outside Lebanon at the death, the financial department may extend the declaration deadline by up to one year^[1,2] if you ask for it. The extension is at the department's discretion and is not automatic.

What it costs and how long it takes#

No source we read gives the court fee, the lawyer's fee or the time a court takes to issue a hasr irth. Ask the court registry two things: what the filing fee is, and how long decisions are taking that month. If you hire a lawyer, ask for a written fee quote that separates the court step from the Ministry of Finance file and the Land Registry transfer.

The only timing we found covers a whole estate, not the court step alone. In a Beirut test case supported by the Norwegian Refugee Council, the heir's new deed was issued on 13 February 2015^[11], and NRC says the case took about one year because of strikes. NRC also says practice may differ in other districts, so one case tells you little about yours.