Some expats don’t reside in Dubai for a long period but around 64 percent of the expats reside in Dubai for a significantly longer time, most of these expats also own properties/other assets in Dubai. Out of the 64 percent around only 10% have registered will against their assets. Note that if you are a non Muslim expat then you can follow your home country law of inheritance but you will have to register your will against your assets in order to follow your home country inheritance law for assets. If you have any question in regard to Law Of Inheritance in Dubai for properties then please leave a comment below; our experts will provide you with the right information.
We being a realty firm and having numerous property buyers, we witness one question being asked to us frequently: “What would happen to an expat’s assets after his/her death?”
Muslim expat will have to abide by Shariah Law for registering the will. Be it Muslim or non Muslim expat; not having your Will registered after your demise can render difficulty to your loved ones to avail inheritance after your demise.
For Non Muslim Expats with no will: No will registered then the UAE Law of inheritance will be applied to your assets after your demise. The asset appropriation by court can take years and payouts are costly. After asset appropriation by the court, your assets can go to your direct as well as extended family as per the UAE Law of inheritance. A person’s bank accounts will be frozen after his/her demise and if there was an insurance availed by him/her then the insurance will cover any liabilities left out by that person.
Initial Steps to be taken care of:
- Make a list of all the assets(move able and non moveable), discuss with your spouse about your assets and liabilities. Make them aware of your assets such as property, employee benefits, insurance or any moveable assets.
- You must always give proper details and fill out the beneficiary details on the employee benefits form.
- Apply for a separate bank account for your spouse in order to avoid any hurdle when your bank accounts are frozen.
Obtaining a will in Dubai
You can either do the entire process alone or choose a consultant to ease your time and process. In Dubai you can get you Will registered at Dubai Courts, DIFC Wills and Probate registry.
- Firstly draft your Will appropriately, for drafting this seek assistance from the a legal consultant in your home country. If your Will has anything wrongly stated then your family will face laborious legal matters, to avoid this after you draft a Will, have it analyzed by a specialized consultant in Dubai, this step is to ensure that your Will has the right information and nothing is stated incorrectly. Please note that DIFC and Probate Registry will not write a Will for you, it is your complete responsibility to get your Will drafted by an eligible entity/lawyer.
- The Will and any other documents that you are going to submit to Dubai Courts has to be translated in Arabic by an approved legal translating centre which is registered with the Courts and Ministry of Justice. In DIFC Wills and Probate registry your documents do not require an Arabic translation instead the documents can be submitted in English.
- Dubai Courts, DIFC Wills and Probate registry have different coverage of asset Wills. If you have your Will registered in Dubai Courts then you will avail complete Will coverage of whatever assets you own in UAE, whereas if you register your Will at DIFC Wills and Probate registry then your Will coverage of assets only spans within Dubai.
- Registration cost can vary depending on where you are registering. In Dubai Courts Dh 2165 is charged per Will and for DIFC and Probate Registry the cost is Dh10,000 and above.
- Remember that your power of attorney is not an equivalent to a Will. Your POA becomes invalid once death is confirmed. POA can be used to give rights to a specific person to deal with your assets when you are alive but a Will has to be registered to in order for your loved ones to easily attain the assets.
- When your Will is notarized and registered in Dubai Courts then you do not need to handover any will related documents to your respected Embassy/Consulate. Assets in your home country will have different regulations to be followed depending on your country’s inheritance law and it not related to your assets in Dubai.
- The execution of the Will depends on whom you have nominated. The nominee whom you are choosing for the execution of the will should be 21 years of age. The execution requires a bit much of work so note that whoever you are selecting as nominee is will be able to handle all the processing/stress.
