UAE inheritance law
Question: I am a Muslim and I have a wife, a son and two daughters. My question is: Is it permissible for me to legally make a will where I want to give part of my money to my wife and son? What is the share of each of my children after death and does my father and mother inherit my wealth according to Islamic law? Please advise.
Answer: The causes of inheritance are: Marriage and kinship. Your son and wife are heirs according to Sharia and as per Article (250) of the UAE Personal Status Law: “A will may not be made to an heir unless approved by all other major heirs. It is then executable on the share of the one who consented.” Which means that you cannot write a will exclusively for your son and wife.
Your estate and money will be divided first between your wife, mother and father. The rest of the inheritance amount will then be given to the children. In these instances, the male heir shall inherit double the share of a female heir as per Article (334).
The wife receives one eighth of the inheritance as per Article (324), which states: ‘Those who receive one-eighth of the estate are: The wife, even if several, should the husband have a succeeding descendant.’
As for your father and mother, they will receive one-sixth of the wealth as per Article (327) of the same law, which further states: ‘Those who receive one-sixth of the estate are:
1) The father, in concurrence with a succeeding descendant.
2) The mother, with the succeeding descendant of the decedent or with two or more of the brothers or sisters, in the absolute.
Unpaid debt
Question: A year ago, I had given a loan to someone. I had the loan in writing and it was signed by the debtor and me. The maturity date of the loan mentioned was 6/2021. Currently, the debtor has cancelled his residency and is preparing to leave the UAE. My question is, can I file a civil lawsuit in an urgent manner to secure my right, even though the maturity date of the loan is yet to come? This is important because if the debtor leaves the country, I will lose all my rights. Kindly advise.
Answer: To answer this question, I would like to advise the questioner on the following lines:
You can file a petition to issue an order preventing the debtor from travelling, but it depends on the court to accept the petition, taking into consideration the circumstances as well as the conditions mentioned in the law regarding the travel ban. This type of ban may be imposed on the debtor based on a written application of the creditor to the competent court, pursuant with Article (188) of the Civil Procedures Code, even before filing the substantive lawsuit and if serious reasons arise for the creditor to fear that the debtor will escape.
The court may issue a travel ban upon satisfying the following conditions:
• The creditor should prove the existence of a reasonable fear that the debtor may run away without paying the debt.
• The debt amount should be AED10,000 (ten thousand UAE dirhams) or more.
• The debt should be definite and due, i.e. unconditionally payable.
• If the debt amount is not clearly defined, then the judge is entitled to make an interim estimation as long as:
a) The debt is based on written evidence, and
b) The creditor submits a bail sufficient to cover the damages attached to the debtor due to the travel ban if the creditor fails to win the case.
The debtor is entitled to object to the travel ban imposed on him/her by filing a complaint with the competent higher court. The ban can be removed by the competent judge in the following instances:
• If any of the conditions required for the travel ban have been scrapped.
• If the creditor gives written approval to remove the ban.
• If the debtor has submitted a bank bail or solvent bondsman approved by the judge.
• If the debtor has deposited in court a sum of money equal to the debt and the expenditures, and has allotted it for the payment to the right of the creditor who requested for the travel ban.
• If the creditor has not provided to the judge what proves the prosecution of the action of the debt within eight days from the issuance of the travel ban, or has not started the execution of the final decision to his benefit within 30 days from the date of its issuance.
