Wills for Non-Muslim Foreigners in the UAE

 The United Arab Emirates follows Sharia Law regarding personal status and inheritance. Property is the one of the important parts in wills property lawyers in Dubai will help you to understand that. By the law, the courts of the UAE abide by the provisions of Sharia when there is no will. For example, if a person dies and leaves no will, the UAE courts will distribute their assets and appoint guardians according to Sharia principles. However, according to Sharia principles, sometimes distribution unexpectedly affects non-Muslim foreigners.


Section (4) of the regulations of the UAE Personal Status Law, articles (240) to (272), and the most significant provisions thereof state that the will shall be enforceable within the limits of one-third of the testator's assets after the execution of the rights over it, and will be worth more than the third within the limits of the heirs who accepted it.


In addition, the legislator stated in Article (1/2) of the UAE Personal Status Law No. 28/2005 that:


The provisions of this Law apply to UAE nationals unless non-Muslims have particular rules relating to their religion and sect. Furthermore, such provisions will apply to non-nationals unless they insist on following its laws.


It is legally agreed that there will be no will for the heir unless approved by the heirs of legal age. Therefore, lawyers in dubai will advise to court the endowed funds are transferred to the legatee after the testator's death, unless the testator specifies other conditions, for example (to be transferred to the legatee at a later date after the testator's death).


In addition, according to the provisions of article (272) on the mandatory will of someone who dies, or is presumed dead by a court ruling, and has a son or daughter who died before or with the testator; the grandchildren will have the right to testament for the third part of the inheritance within the limits and conditions of this.


The need for non-Muslim foreigners to write their wills:


As previously stated, the foundation is the application of the requirements of the UAE Personal Status Law to all UAE nationals and foreign residents. However, suppose foreigners follow the application of their law. In that case, this law should be applied in this situation, provided that a legally authenticated copy of it is supplied, even if its provisions are not by Islamic Sharia, and provided that the parties to the dispute are non-nationals and non-Muslims.


Concerning the applicability of foreign law in the United Arab Emirates regarding the will, if it included or contained property owned by a testator within the United Arab Emirates, the legislator of the United Arab Emirates made an absolute prohibition in this regard and decided that the applicable law in such a case shall be UAE law only.


Based on the above, distribution according to Sharia principles sometimes has surprising and unexpected effects on non-Muslim foreigners. Looking for law firms in dubai? The legal firms in Dubai can help with most of the legal services. Talk to the property lawyers in dubai now.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in the UAE

Importance of divorce lawyers in Dubai