Lawyers and financial advisers urge expats to write a will in each country where they have wealth or property to make sure the assets are distributed as they wish on death. Dubai does not restrict an expat to having a single will. They may have one with the registry and another abroad.

If you die without leaving a will (intestate), your property will be distributed according to the UAE’s standard order of inheritance. First, your spouse and children will inherit, then parents, siblings, and other relatives.

Yes , a will be contested in Dubai courts

Wills can be contested for a number of reasons:

• lack of testamentary capacity,
• lack of valid execution,
• lack of knowledge and approval, and
• undue influence.

All bank accounts of the deceased (single or joint) in the UAE are frozen upon death until the court has passed orders in respect of the distribution of assets of the deceased. This is required under Article 379 of the UAE Civil Code.

All types of moveable and immovable assets are included in UAE Wills (including the Notary Public and DIFC Wills).

In a Will, you can mention the definition of your Estate in the UAE, the names of your Executors, Beneficiaries, assets to included in the Will, Guardians for your minor children, etc. You can reach out to us for a more detailed description.

As per Part 6, paragraph 19 (4) of the Rules, if a Testator’s marriage is dissolved or annulled by a competent jurisdiction following the registration of their DIFC Courts Will, any gifts or appointments made to the former spouse will be treated as though the former spouse had died on the date on which the marriage is dissolved or annulled.

Probate is the legal proceeding through which a competent court determines how a deceased Testator’s assets are divided. If you passed away with a Will, the competent court would look into the contents of the Will to determine what your wishes were and execute those.

The probate process for an ADJD Will is carried out through the Abu Dhabi Civil Family Court and for a Dubai Notary Will, it is carried out through Dubai Courts.

A Testator is the person who is making the Will. It is the person whose wishes are being recorded in the Will for it to be executed upon his passing away.

An Executor is the person who presents the Will in front of the competent court to get it executed upon the passing away of the Testator. It should be a person who you have the utmost trust in since it is important to the overall legal process of getting the Will executed.

A Beneficiary is the person who is entitled to receive the assets of the Testator (upon his passing away). They are named by the Testator along with the percentage of assets that they will be entitled to in the Will.

A Guardian is the person who takes the parental responsibility of a minor child of the deceased Testator. If you have minor children, it is important to name the Guardians in the Will clearly so that guardianship does not devolve to someone who you do not intend for it.

A Permanent Guardian is the person who is ultimately responsible for guardianship of the minor children until they attain the age of majority. It can be someone who is either a resident or a non-resident of the UAE.

An Interim Guardian is the person who is responsible for the guardianship of the minor children until the Permanent Guardian assumes guardianship. For practical purposes, an Interim Guardian has to be a UAE Resident.

While appointing Guardians, it must be noted that a single male who is not a blood relative to the minor child cannot be appointed as a sole guardian. They would have to be appointed as a joint guardian along with their female spouses as per the Public Policy in the UAE.

You can make a Will as soon as you turn the age of 21 (Age of Majority in the UAE).

A Will is made legally enforceable by getting it notarized at a Notary Public Office in Dubai or registered at the Abu Dhabi Civil Family Court.

With POA Central, the initial draft is provided to you within 2-3 working days upon payment. With unlimited amendment option during the drafting stage, it depends on your confirmation to proceed further to get it translated to Arabic (which is done within 1-2 working days). The registration/ notarization process takes an additional 1 working day.

There are no limits to the number of Executors that you can name in the Will. You can have multiple layers of Executorship in your Will.

There are no limits to the number of Beneficiaries that you can name in the Will. You can have multiple layers of Executorship in your Will.

There are no limits to the number of Guardians that you can name in the Will. You can have multiple layers of Executorship in your Will

Currently, there is no inheritance tax in the UAE.

As life insurances have nominated beneficiaries in the policies itself, it doesn’t need to be included/ dictated by the terms of the Will.

Yes, at any stage in your life, if you wish to amend or revoke your Will, you can do that by either creating a new Will or getting a revocation done through a trusted legal service provider like POA Central.