Drafting a Moroccan Will from Abroad: Complete MRE Guide

Not entirely. Moroccan law (Moudawana) imposes Islamic inheritance rules (fara'id) for two thirds of the estate, which must go to legal heirs according to their rank. Only a maximum of one third may be freely bequeathed by will (wasiyya) to non-legal heirs. You cannot disinherit a child or modify the share of reserved heirs without their consent.

A will drafted in France (holographic or notarial) can in principle apply to assets in Morocco, but its implementation is complex. Heirs will need to have the will recognized by a Moroccan court, which takes time and is costly. It is strongly recommended to draft a Moroccan notarial will in parallel, which will be directly enforceable before Moroccan courts without a recognition procedure.

The one-third rule (thuluth) is a fundamental principle of Islamic succession law applied in Morocco. It stipulates that a will can only bequeath at most one third of the total estate value to persons outside the legal heirs. This third can go to a charitable cause, a friend, your foreign spouse, or any other person of your choice. The remaining two thirds are automatically distributed according to fara'id rules, regardless of your testamentary provisions.

Under Moroccan law, a non-Muslim spouse does not inherit according to classical fara'id rules. However, you can bequeath up to one third of your Moroccan assets to them via a wasiyya. The remaining two thirds will go to Muslim legal heirs. If your spouse is non-Muslim, it is therefore crucial to draft a wasiyya expressly in their favor to ensure they receive a share, within the permitted one-third limit.

No, it is practically impossible to disinherit a child under Moroccan law. Children are among the reserved heirs whose share is guaranteed by Islamic law. A son inherits a double share compared to a daughter. The only way to change the distribution among heirs is to obtain their unanimous agreement during their lifetime, through a notarial deed. Any testamentary clause excluding a reserved heir will be annulled by the court.

A Moroccan notarial will is automatically recorded in the notary's registers. There is no national will registry in Morocco as exists in France (FCDDV). To facilitate its discovery, provide a copy to a trusted family member and note its existence in a sealed letter held by your lawyer or notary. In France, you may additionally register a mention with the FCDDV (Central Register of Last Wills) for 27 EUR.

Without a will, all your Moroccan assets will be divided exclusively according to Islamic fara'id rules, with no possibility to deviate from the legal distribution. Your foreign non-Muslim spouse will receive nothing (unless they are Moroccan or Muslim). Your partner will receive nothing. Friends or associations you wished to benefit will receive nothing. The wasiyya is therefore the only tool to personalize, even partially, the distribution of your Moroccan estate.