Which law governs wills in Egypt?

Article 915 of the Egyptian Civil Code (Law No. 131 of 1948) states that wills are governed by the provisions of Islamic Sharia and the laws issued in respect of them. The statute in question is the Wills Law No. 71 of 1946, Article 76 of which was reproduced and upheld by the Supreme Constitutional Court in Case No. 216 of Judicial Year 30 on 8 May 2021.

What is the obligatory bequest in Egypt?

Article 76 of the Wills Law No. 71 of 1946, as reproduced by the Supreme Constitutional Court in Case No. 216 of Judicial Year 30, provides that where a deceased did not leave a will to the descendants of a child who predeceased him or died with him, of the equivalent of what that child would have taken by inheritance had he been alive at the death, a bequest of that share becomes due to those descendants out of the estate within the limits of one third.

Can a lifetime gift in Egypt be treated as a will?

Yes. Article 916(1) of the Egyptian Civil Code treats every legal act made in death-illness and intended as a gratuitous disposition as taking effect after death and subject to the rules on wills, whatever the transaction is called. Article 917 applies the same treatment to a disposition made to an heir where the transferor keeps possession of the thing and the right to enjoy it for life, unless the contrary is proved.

Last Will and Testament in Egypt

Egyptian wills are not a pure Civil Code matter. The Civil Code refers wills to the rules of Islamic Sharia and the laws issued on the subject, which means the Wills Law No. 71 of 1946. Two Civil Code provisions still catch drafters out: any gratuitous act made in a person's death-illness is treated as taking effect after death and subject to the rules on wills whatever it is called, and a transfer to an heir where the transferor keeps possession and lifetime enjoyment is presumed to be a will. Egyptian law also imposes an obligatory bequest in favour of the descendants of a predeceased child.

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Governing law

Wills are governed by the rules of Islamic Sharia and the laws issued in respect of wills, principally the Wills Law No. 71 of 1946, with the Civil Code supplying the rules that recharacterise certain lifetime transfers as wills.

Egyptian Civil Code (Law No. 131 of 1948), Art. 915 (Arabic text via WIPO Lex, consolidated to Law No. 55 of 1970)

What a last will and testament has to contain in Egypt

The Civil Code refers the will to the provisions of Islamic Sharia and the laws issued in respect of it, so the drafting rules are not found in the Civil Code itself.
Egyptian Civil Code (Law No. 131 of 1948), Art. 915
Where a person dies without having made a will in favour of the descendants of his child who predeceased him, or who died with him, of the equivalent of what that child would have inherited had he been alive at the death, an obligatory bequest of that share is due to the descendants out of the estate within the limits of one third.
Wills Law No. 71 of 1946, Art. 76, as reproduced verbatim in Supreme Constitutional Court, Case No. 216 of Judicial Year 30 (constitutional), judgment of 8 May 2021
The Supreme Constitutional Court dismissed a challenge to the constitutionality of Article 76 of the Wills Law, so the obligatory bequest stands as part of Egyptian law.
Supreme Constitutional Court, Case No. 216 of Judicial Year 30 (constitutional), judgment of 8 May 2021
Every legal act made by a person in his death-illness and intended as a gratuitous disposition is treated as taking effect after death, and the rules on wills apply to it whatever the name given to the transaction.
Egyptian Civil Code (Law No. 131 of 1948), Art. 916(1)
Where a person makes a disposition to one of his heirs but retains, in any manner, possession of the thing disposed of and the right to enjoy it for the rest of his life, the disposition is treated as taking effect after death and subject to the rules on wills unless the contrary is proved.
Egyptian Civil Code (Law No. 131 of 1948), Art. 917

What catches drafters out

The heirs of the person who made the disposition carry the burden of proving that it was made in death-illness, and they may prove it by all means, while the date of the instrument is not enforceable against them unless it is a fixed date.
Egyptian Civil Code (Law No. 131 of 1948), Art. 916(2)
Once the heirs prove the disposition was made in death-illness, it is treated as gratuitous unless the person who received it proves otherwise, so a sale documented during a final illness will be tested as a will.
Egyptian Civil Code (Law No. 131 of 1948), Art. 916(3)