Two-household finances: budgeting, maintenance and estate planning

1Means: Shariah and legal requirements

Allah says: "Let the one who has means spend according to his means" (Surah at-Talaq 65:7). A wife's maintenance is the husband's obligation bil-ma'ruf, that is, according to reasonable custom (Surah al-Baqarah 2:233). In polygyny this obligation is multiplied: each wife and her children are entitled to full maintenance, not a fraction of one wife's maintenance.

• In Malaysia, the Syariah court assesses whether the applicant is able to support all the wives and dependants, including future dependants, before granting permission for polygyny (Act 303 s.23 and the equivalent state enactments). See Procedure.
• The Prophet ﷺ said: "It is sin enough for a person to withhold food from those in his care" (Sahih Muslim, Kitab az-Zakah).
• Spending on one's family is worship. The Prophet ﷺ said that the dinar with the greatest reward is the one spent on one's family (Sahih Muslim, Kitab az-Zakah).

2Components of each wife's maintenance

A wife's maintenance covers food, clothing, accommodation, basic medical care and other reasonable needs. The amount follows the husband's means and local custom. More detail under Maintenance.

3Sample budget (assumed figures)

The figures below are purely assumed to show the method. They are not official maintenance rates or national averages. Replace them with your actual figures.

Assumptions: the husband's net income is RM14,000 a month. Wife A has three children. Wife B has one child. Both homes are rented.

4Separate homes and ownership

• The right to separate accommodation: the majority of jurists hold that a husband may not house two wives in a single dwelling with shared facilities without their consent. Separate units with their own door and facilities count as separate homes. See Fiqh of polygyny.
• Standard of the home: the dwelling must be suitable according to the husband's means. A marked difference in size without reason (for example the number of children) is easily seen as unjust.
• Name of the owner: a house bought in the husband's name is the husband's property, and when he dies it becomes part of his estate, divided by faraid. A wife living there does not automatically own it. If the husband wants the wife to own it, use a valid hibah during his lifetime (see below).
• Jointly acquired matrimonial property (harta sepencarian): property acquired jointly during the marriage can be claimed as harta sepencarian on divorce (Act 303 s.122). The court that grants polygyny permission may also, on the application of any party, order the division of property jointly acquired during the marriage (Act 303 s.23(9)(b); Selangor Enactment 2003 s.23(10)(b)). Discuss this with a Syarie lawyer.

5Debts and financial commitments

Allah commands that debts be written down (Surah al-Baqarah 2:282). The Prophet ﷺ postponed the funeral prayer for a person who died with an unpaid debt until someone took it on (narrated by al-Bukhari 2289). He also said that a believer's soul is held hostage by his debt until it is paid off (narrated by at-Tirmidhi; hasan).

• List all debts and disclose them to all the wives: personal loans, credit cards, car, home and business debts. Hidden debts end up being borne by the heirs.
• Debt ratio: as a general guide, if monthly debt repayments are already a burden before the second household, do not take on new debt for the walimah or a second home.
• A wife is not obliged to bear her husband's debts, and her maintenance does not lapse because the husband is in debt. A loan from a wife must be recorded as a debt.
• Joint loans (for example a house in two names) must state each party's share clearly.

6Takaful, EPF, wills and hibah

When the husband dies, his estate is divided by faraid. The wives share one portion: 1/8 if the deceased has children, or 1/4 if there are none, divided equally among all the wives (Surah an-Nisa' 4:12). See Faraid.

7Documents to keep

• Marriage certificates for all marriages and the polygyny permission order.
• Birth certificates of all children.
• A list of assets and liabilities: property, accounts, shares, businesses and debts.
• Takaful policies and nomination forms; EPF nominations.
• Will and hibah documents, kept with a trustee or trust company, with copies in a place known to the heirs.
• A written agreement on each household's monthly maintenance, if any.
• Records of monthly maintenance transfers. These are useful if a claim for arrears of maintenance arises.

8Transparency and the rights of working wives

• A wife's income is her own property. The husband may not use her salary as a reason to reduce her maintenance compared with a wife who does not work. A wife's contribution to the household is a charity (sedekah), unless agreed as a loan.
• Reasonable transparency: each wife has the right to know that her maintenance is paid fairly. She does not necessarily need to see the details of her co-wife's household spending. The husband can share the principles and percentages of the division.
• An annual finance meeting with each wife, or with all of them if relations are good, to review the budget, education savings and takaful.
• Arrears of maintenance remain a debt owed by the husband and can be claimed in the Syariah Court. See Maintenance.
• The wife has the right to ask for a maintenance agreement to be included as a condition in the contract or recorded in court.

9Long-term planning: ten years from now

The calculator answers "this month". This section answers "ten years from now".

Two households are not twice the cost — they are more. Two rents, two sets of bills, two lots of schooling, two unexpected emergencies — and one income. Costs do not merely double; they rise further with the costs of the rotation, transport and time.

Sources & references