IF A married Muslim man dies without a son or a will, Singapore civil law dictates that if his wife has joint tenancy of their HDB flat she should get full ownership of their flat.

Islamic syariah law, however, says she is only entitled to half - the remainder is to be equally distributed among the man's siblings. His siblings can then force his wife to sell the flat and give them their share of the proceeds, leaving her with no roof over her head.

The dispute sometimes ends up in court.

Such conflicts will rise in number as the Muslim community gains affluence and owns more assets, according to Ms Halijah Mohamad, the sole proprietor of law firm Halijah Mohamad and Company, and a council member of the newly formed Muslim Financial Planning Association (MFPA).

MFPA was set up to resolve such problems.

'Estate planning is one of the most pressing issues right now for the Muslim community,' said Mr Mohamed Salim, an MFPA council member and the CEO of First Principal Financial.

To help Muslims plan their finances better, MFPA is organising a conference on July 15 for financial advisers, lawyers, and other relevant professionals.

The conference will focus on reconciling civil and syariah law in estate planning, and will discuss solutions to the problems that Muslims in particular face in managing their assets and finances. Specific issues include joint tenancy of HDB flats, joint CPF nominations and joint bank accounts.

MFPA president Ms Arfat Selvam, former Law Society president and the managing director of Arfat Selvam Alliance, said that their next step is to help ordinary Muslims gain more financial education and awareness.