Estate Planning for the Muslim Client

Yaser Ali is a wealth-planning attorney in Tempe, Arizona, and counsels individuals and families with their estate, tax, and charitable planning needs.  Mr. Ali is also trained as an Imam, having memorized the entire Quran and studied Islamic jurisprudence and inheritance law with traditional Muslim scholars. This unique background enables him to effectively synthesize issues of classical Islamic law in a contemporary American context. He is the co-author of "Estate Planning for the Muslim Client" which was published by the American Bar Association in 2019 and routinely advises attorneys around the country on how to design and implement religiously compliant estate plans for their clients. Mr. Ali received his undergraduate degree from the University of Florida, a masters degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and his law degree from the UC Berkeley School of Law where he was a member of the California Law Review. After law school, Mr. Ali served as a law clerk to the late Hon. Judge Damon J. Keith on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in Detroit. Born in San Diego, California, Ahmed Shaikh is a graduate of the Indiana University School of Law in Bloomington and a Board Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Law by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization. He served as the 2018 Chair of the Trusts and Estates Section of the Orange County Bar Association. He has also served in various capacities in the Muslim community locally and nationally. Since 2006, a large portion of his law practice has focused on Islamic law related to trusts and estates. Mr. Shaikh’s mission is to take challenging stories and with knowledge, understanding, and compassion create better narratives. For families of various levels of wealth and family complexity, this has meant aligning their planning with their values. Mr. Shaikh lives in Irvine, California, with his wife and three children.