Confusion over UAE Inheritance Law for Expats

By Vikrant Pangam

Sovereign Group, Abu Dhabi Office

There have been many conflicting views on inheritance laws in the UAE. "If I were to pass away in the UAE and my bank accounts are frozen, how is my wife to access my funds? What about my will written in the UK?" As these questions among others - were directed to a panel of legal experts at a symposium held at Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ADCCI) on 28th February 2011, not all elicited easy answers.

The panellists, who admitted to a gaping conflict of views on inheritance laws in the UAE, said they would persuade the government to bring about greater clarity on such matters.
"A lawyer can say to you we cannot guarantee you anything because in a civil code country, judges are not bound by judgments of previous cases," said Cynthia Trench, Principal of legal firm Trench & Associates, which organised the symposium at the ADCCI.

"We have a lot of conflicts here because of which courts are giving conflicting judgments, lawyers are giving conflicting advice and the press is giving conflicting articles," she said.

To illustrate her point, Trench referred to different sections of the law and said on the one hand, we can look to the law of domicile of expatriates, Article 17 (1), to determine the distribution of properties or assets. On the other, Article 17 (5) says the laws of the UAE shall apply to wills made by expatriates disposing of their property in the state. And there's Article 2 (Civil Transactions Code), which says the principles of Islamic jurisprudence shall be relied upon in interpreting these provisions. "What law should we apply?" she wanted to know.

Cynthia further cited recent Dubai Court Cases and explored that

1. Presently the majority of the judges apply Sharia Law and ignore any Foreign Wills;

2. Even if you manage to obtain the ears of a sympathetic judge, it would take over 12 months and could cost more than Dhs 50,000 (Advocate fees, notarisation and legalisation of the Foreign documents, translation costs and foreign lawyers’ fees).

Dwelling on a document issued by the Notary Public on wills for non-Muslims which says, "Write it, Attest it, Keep it", Trench referred to Para 12 which in effect notes that the decision would not be upheld by the competent court.

To avoid such unfavourable implications, the most certain way moving forward is to take the ownership of your assets, bank accounts and properties offshore. The UAE laws at the moment allow Expatriates to own any assets under an offshore company, which in effect takes the assets outside UAE jurisdiction for inheritance purposes.