Faq

If you pass away without a will the law of the country will apply i.e where the asset is registered law of the country will apply so if the assets are registered in UAE the UAE law will apply if you have assets is UK laws of intestacy will apply so in another words it is the law of the county that applies this is why you should make a will so your wishes can be applied. Good example if you are driving a car in a different county would you take out insurance from your home country or from the in which you are driving.

Executor is a person who will execute the will more like a PRO who follows the instructions, he closes the bank accounts, pays the debts & liabilities and deals with the actual distribution of estate as per the will.

It is 21 in UAE.

No it is not compulsory. You don’t have to do this.

No it is not compulsory. You don’t have to do this.

2 to 3 people are recommended for the purpose of executors. You can have single or joint, single is recommended because joint can be sometimes challenging as both of the executors are required to be present at the time of will execution.

The executor is the person who you nominate to do the execution of the will for him to follow your wishes, making sure debts & liabilities are paid, liquidating assets and so on. It is recommended to appoint someone professional to do the task.

Yes, however please be reminded that you are giving one person a big responsibility of will execution and look after your children. We recommend you to appoint 2 different people for these two different jobs.

You do not have to do it, but if in case you are giving your possession as a gift to someone then it needs to be listed in the will.

Yes, but if you are a Muslim the maximum of your will you can make to a charity is 1/3rd of your estate.

Yes, you can do this.

Yes you can leave everything to each other in wills. Yes again if god forbid you both pass away the benefits are going to children and if they are minor you will have to appoint backup trusties & guardians to look after the children. When it comes to matters like inheritance tax you should take independent tax advice for this.

Usually between husband and wife they become guardian of the children but if you are going to appoint someone else you need to list this down into the will.

Theoretically you cannot do it infact technically you should not do it but there are some countries that allow the person to do it, but in UAE the concept is one will per person so you have a single will or a mirror will which is husband and wife.

That is very difficult because if you will everything to your partner and they remarry once the assets have exchanged then the surviving partner (Beneficiary) controls the assets unless you put into a trust which means that there is some protection for the children but this is why we recommend you leave 50% of your estate to your partner and 50% of your estate to your children.

If should be reviewed specially if there is any changes in the circumstances for example you get married or you are having a divorce, want to change the guardians, desire to change trustees, executors or beneficiaries.

Yes you can cancel your will anytime

Do I need to Sign my Last Will in the Presence of Witnesses?

If you are dealing with UAE court in particular you notarize the will and no witnesses are required.

It is valid life time

Yes Via a “Deed of Verification”

You can change the will after you sign it but please store all the old copies.

Estate planning assures that your estate goes to the right person as per your desires, but more importantly if you have children below the age of 18 you should make a will to make sure the custody of the child goes to the right person rather than court deciding on it.

Yes, but it is not recommended because it is better you speak to a professional who knows the concept of drafting a will also a professional would be able to advice you better.

You do not need to be a resident of United Arab Emirates to draft a will if you own an asset in UAE you can draft a will.

No