Which inheritance law applies to me in Lebanon: Muslim, Christian, Druze or foreigner?

Also asked as: “Which inheritance law applies to me in Lebanon?” · “Muslim or Christian inheritance rules in Lebanon” · “Druze inheritance law Lebanon” · “Which law applies when a foreigner dies with property in Lebanon?”

Why the deceased's community decides#

Lebanon has no single civil code of inheritance. Succession follows the religious community of the person who died: Islamic law for Muslims, and a civil statute for non-Muslims^[1,2]. PBL Law Group notes that Lebanon recognises 18 religious communities, and that a person's affiliation decides both the inheritance law and the court that handles the estate.

The tax stays the same whatever the community. According to Kallas Law Firm, the inheritance transfer fee is the same for everyone; only the rules on who inherits and in what shares differ^[5].

Muslim and Druze estates#

According to Kallas Law Firm, Muslim estates pass by Islamic fixed shares, with a son generally taking twice a daughter's share. A Muslim may leave up to one third of the estate^[1,3] by will to someone who is not already an heir, and the rest goes by the fixed shares. This comes from one firm, and we found no published share tables for Sunni, Jaafari (Shia) or Druze estates. The religious court of the deceased's community, or a lawyer, can give you the shares for your family.

As of October 2026, the sources disagree on which court handles these estates. Kallas says Muslim 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 conducts the proceedings where personal status falls under it. Mattar Law Firm says only that the first-instance civil courts are competent for inheritance, without distinguishing by community, and may mean civil-law estates only^[1,2,6]. See which court issues the hasr irth.

Christians and Jews: the 1959 law#

Non-Muslims, meaning Christians of all denominations and Jews, inherit under the Law of 23 June 1959^[1,2,3], and their wills are also governed by the Decree-Law of 7 March 1929. As Kallas reads the 1959 law, children take equal shares for sons and daughters^[4]. A protected portion is kept for the descendants, parents and spouse^[1,2,4], and a will cannot defeat it. One Kallas page counts parents as protected heirs only when there are no descendants, so a lawyer can confirm how this works for your family.

According to PBL, the hasr irth (the court decision naming the heirs) for these estates is issued by a single judge of the first-instance court of the last residence^[2,6] of the deceased. How the estate is split among spouse, children, parents and siblings is in how an estate is divided under the law for non-Muslims.

Foreigners, dual nationals and mixed families#

Where the estate involves a foreign national, Kallas says the succession may be affected by the Law of 18 June 1929^[1] and by conflict-of-laws rules that decide which country's law applies to which assets. Kallas advises settling this at the start. Mattar Law Firm says the estate opens at the deceased's last domicile^[6], wherever the property is, and that this rule also governs cross-border estates. Mattar does not say which law it is citing. For a family with ties to France, see Franco-Lebanese succession.

Two law firms say a foreign heir can inherit Lebanese property on a reciprocity basis, to the extent the heir's own national law lets Lebanese inherit^[4,6]. Kallas says inherited shares do not need the licence foreigners need to buy property^[4,7]. More in foreign heirs and the 3,000 m² limit. Inheritance tax applies to assets in Lebanon whatever the deceased's nationality^[2,5].

We found no source on dual nationals, mixed-sect families, conversions or civil marriages contracted abroad. If any of these applies to you, ask a Lebanese lawyer before you file anything, and ask the court registry of the deceased's community which court will take the case.