As a UAE Expat with no Will what will happen if I die?

If you do not leave a valid Will you are deemed “intestate” and the laws of any jurisdiction you have assets within, e.g. Dubai, will determine the distribution of your assets and property (your estate).

UAE Expat living is great but I do need to make a Will

If you die intestate whilst an expat in Dubai or any part of the UAE your assets within the UAE will be distributed in accordance with Sharia Law, which is the Islamic inheritance law. Sharia inheritance provisions are a form of forced heirship which is used in a number of countries, e.g. France. However, unlike say France, in the UAE the Sharia provisions will tend to pass a much greater share of the estate to male relatives than female. This might cause some problems within your family.

Additionally your surviving family will have the extra problem that your Dubai, Abu Dhabi or UAE based assets are likely to be frozen whilst the local legal system works through the process of assessing debts that need paying from your estate. The delay might be a couple of years or so getting all these matters dealt with.

Any of your estate in your home country, e.g. England, and any other place will also be dealt with under the applicable intestacy rules and this may not give the best outcome either.

It is probably true that most people including expats in Dubai and Abu Dhabi don’t like thinking about making their legal Will (sometimes called last Will and Testament) but the complications that might arise if the worst happened whilst you are still here in the UAE without a Will are enormous.

So if you want to pass on your estate in the way you wish as opposed to the way UK and/or Dubai Sharia law dictate the sensible thing to do is make a Will now. It can be too late but not too early. Further to that dying intestate in the UAE will probably exacerbate the whole matter as the extra expense, hassle and delay will be significant.

If you want to find out more about how Dubai Expatriate Wills can help you check out this page with more expat will information.