Most expats know, vaguely, that they "should" have a will in the UAE. Far fewer can say precisely what happens if they die without one. Since the new Personal Status Law took effect, the answer has changed in important ways — some reassuring, one sobering.
The immediate effect: assets freeze
On notification of death, UAE banks freeze the deceased's accounts — including, in practice, joint accounts. Salaries stop, and dependants can find themselves unable to pay school fees or rent from funds that are legally "theirs" but procedurally locked until succession is determined. Vehicles cannot be transferred; a company can find its bank mandate paralysed.
Who inherits: the default framework
Without a registered will, the courts determine heirs under the applicable inheritance framework. Non-Muslim foreign residents may in principle invoke the law of their home country, but proving foreign law before a UAE court takes time, certified translations and expert evidence — precisely the burden a registered will exists to remove. The distribution the court reaches may bear little resemblance to what you would have chosen: unmarried partners inherit nothing by default; guardianship of your children is decided by a judge who never met you.
New since the Personal Status Law: heirless estates become waqf
The reformed framework — Federal Decree-Law No. 41 of 2024, which replaced the 2005 law — also codified a question that used to linger for years: what happens to the UAE assets of a foreign resident who dies with no valid will and no identifiable heirs? The answer now is that such assets no longer sit frozen indefinitely; they are converted into a charitable endowment (waqf) administered for public-interest purposes. Orderly — but it means that without a will, it is possible for everything you built here to pass to no one you ever knew.
The fix is disproportionately cheap
Registering a will is a half-day of your attention: a questionnaire, a draft, a registration appointment (DIFC offers video-conference registration). Compared with 12–24 months of frozen accounts and court proceedings for your family, it is the highest-return legal document an expat can sign.
Our wills team — Ms. Naima Labgaa (UAE wills) and Mr. Niaz Brohi (DIFC wills) — handles the entire process remotely. Start with the 10-minute questionnaire and a specialist will call you within one business day.
This article is general information, not legal advice.