Writing a Will in Dubai

As an expat in the UAE, your assets are in danger, and unfortunately that’s not an overstatement. Paul Jenkinson, Assistant Vice President at financial planning firm Global Eye explains why…

If you die while a resident in the UAE and you don’t have a Sharia Compliant Will, you could leave your loved ones with a nightmare scenario at a difficult time. Even if you have a will drawn up in your own country, it may have become invalid because you’ve changed your personal circumstances and it will certainly not be valid in the UAE. If you:

• Haven’t changed or updated the names of guardians for your children (without this instruction being clear and legalised, decisions about your children’s future could be decided without any input from the family or your named guardians).

Without a Last Will and Testament in your own country, your estate could remain tangled up in probate for up to two years, and if you don’t have one in the UAE, in the event of your passing, your assets will be dealt with in accordance with Islamic Inheritance Laws. This is vastly different from most legal systems and your UAE-based assets will almost certainly be frozen. But your bills, debts and mortgages will not die with you. Making a Will can help you protect your important assets in the UAE.www.globaleye.com