UAE non-Muslim wills: Can you name your wife as the sole beneficiary?
What is the legal procedure to ratify the Will before the court?
Question: I am a non-Muslim and I want to make a Will. My question, according to the law, do I have the right to write all my money and my shares in the company to my wife only? What is the legal procedure to ratify the Will before the court? And if the Will is approved, do my children have the right to object it now or after death? Please advise.
To answer such question, I would advise the questioner that:
You have the right to leave all the money and shares in the company to your wife only as the foreign testator has the right to leave a Will to whomever deemed adequate, concerning all the assets belonging thereto. Article 11 of the Federal Decree Law No. 41 of 2022 on the Civil Personal Status confirms that “The testator shall have the right to leave a Will with the entire property he owns in the State in favor of anybody he wants in accordance with the controls specified by the Executive Regulations of this Decree-Law”.
Procedures to register and ratify the Will are as follows: You have to submit the application via the Dubai Courts website (The Notary Public). There is a form that should be completed and fees to be paid. The notary public will ratify and share it with you.
Your children have the right to consent the Will according to Article 28 of the Cabinet Decision No. 122/2023 On the Implementing Regulation of Federal Decree-Law No. 41/2022 on the Civil Personal Status Law, which confirms “the right of any concerned party to request the interpretation of, or contest, a Will before the competent court” and the court will take the decision at the end regarding this matter.
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