Dubai Property Inheritance for Expats 2026 | Wills and Rules

When the owner of a Dubai property dies, the home stays in the owner's name until a UAE court confirms who the heirs are and the Land Department issues a new title deed to them.

Nothing moves automatically. The family cannot sell or transfer the property in the meantime, and accounts held by the owner can be restricted while the estate is settled.

If the Owner Left a Registered Will

The court follows the will, and the executor named in it handles the paperwork. A valid will usually makes the whole process faster.

If There Is No Will

The court divides the estate under the inheritance law that applies to the owner. For most non-Muslim expats, that means fixed shares under UAE civil law, which may not match what the owner wanted.

Under the civil personal status law for non-Muslims, Federal Decree-Law No. 41 of 2022, in force since 1 February 2023, the estate of a non-Muslim who dies without a will is shared in a set order.

• Spouse and children: the spouse receives half, and the children share the other half equally, with sons and daughters treated the same
• No children: the parents inherit in equal parts
• No children and only 1 parent alive: that parent receives half, and the brothers and sisters share the other half
• No children and no living parents: the brothers and sisters inherit

The children's shares legally belong to them. A surviving spouse cannot sell the whole property or use the children's part as they wish.

What a Registered Will Changes

The same law lets a non-Muslim leave everything they own in the UAE by will. Foreign residents can also choose to have their home country's inheritance law apply, and unless a registered will says otherwise, any foreign heir can ask the court to apply the law that governs the estate. Married couples can fill in a will registration form when they sign their marriage contract.

Inheritance Rules for Muslim Expats

For Muslims, inheritance follows Sharia shares under Federal Decree-Law No. 41 of 2024, in force since 15 April 2025. A Muslim's will can cover up to one third of the estate after debts and funeral costs, unless the heirs agree to more.

The main change this year is the new Civil Transactions Law, Federal Decree-Law No. 25 of 2025, which took effect on 1 June 2026 and replaced the law in place since 1985.

Assets of Foreigners With No Heirs

If a foreign national dies with financial rights in the country and no legal heir can be found, those rights now become a charitable endowment under the supervision of the relevant authority. Having no will is not the same as having no heirs, because a spouse, children, parents or siblings still inherit under the law.

Wills Covering Dubai Property

The new law says inheritance generally follows the law of the deceased person's nationality, but a foreigner's will covering property in the UAE is subject to UAE law. A will made only in your home country may not settle every question for a Dubai apartment or villa.

Legal Age Is Now 18

Full legal capacity now starts at 18 Gregorian years instead of 21 Hijri years, and a minor can ask the court for permission to manage their own assets from age 15. If your will holds a child's share until 21, review it with your lawyer.

Moving a property to the heirs takes 4 main steps, and most delays come from missing or wrongly prepared papers rather than family disputes.

• Step 1, death certificate: get the official certificate with an Arabic translation. If the death happened outside the UAE, it must be attested in that country and by the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs
• Step 2, legal heirs certificate: apply with the heirs' passports, the marriage certificate and the children's birth certificates
• Step 3, court case: file with the Dubai Personal Status Court, or with the DIFC Courts if there is a DIFC will. The court decides which law applies and how the estate is divided
• Step 4, title deed transfer: take the court's letter to a Trustee centre or the main DLD building to register the property in the heirs' names

Selling an Inherited Property

Heirs can sell once the property is registered in their names. As with any jointly owned property, every heir named on the new title deed must sign the sale, either in person or through a power of attorney.

DLD asks for a short set of papers for an inheritance title transfer, and the fees are fixed per property.

Documents Required

• The legal inheritance certificate
• Emirates ID copies for all heirs living in the UAE
• Passport copies for heirs who do not live in the UAE
• A no objection letter from the bank if the property has a mortgage
• A no objection letter from the developer if the property is still off-plan
• An official letter from Dubai Courts, another UAE court or the Awqaf asking for the transfer to the heirs

Fees Paid by the Heirs

• AED 1,000 per property
• AED 250 for the new title deed
• AED 250 for an apartment or villa map
• AED 130 plus VAT in service partner fees

Fees can be paid by ePay, card, cash or manager's cheque, and the electronic title deed is emailed to the heirs once the transfer is approved.

How the property was bought changes what the heirs need to do.

Off-Plan Property

Before handover there is no title deed, only the Oqood record, so the heirs deal with the developer as well as the court.

Long payment plans make this more important. A buyer at DAMAC Sorrento at DAMAC Lagoons, a cluster of studios and 1-bedroom DAMAC Lagoons apartments in Dubailand, pays 5 percent on booking, 45 percent during construction and 50 percent on completion. The Sorrento Lagoon Views handover is planned for Q1 2030, so anyone buying on a plan like this should check how the sale agreement treats the unpaid balance if the buyer dies.

Keep the sale agreement, the Oqood certificate and every payment receipt in one folder, because the heirs will need all of them when they deal with the developer.

Shorter plans need the same care. On a project such as Kore by Imtiaz at DLRC , a 17-storey freehold building of studio to 3-bedroom apartments, half the price is paid during construction and half on handover, which is expected in Q4 2028. Owners of Imtiaz Kore apartments should name the unit in their will even before handover, since an off-plan home is still part of the estate.

Mortgaged Property

If there is a mortgage, check whether the loan has life cover, because that decides whether the heirs receive the home with or without the debt.

Property Owned Through a Company

If the home is held through a company, the heirs inherit shares in that company rather than the property itself, so its documents and shareholder records also need to be in order.

Non-Muslim expats can register a will with the DIFC Courts Wills Service, the Dubai Courts notary or the wills office in Abu Dhabi. The main differences are cost and language.

DIFC Courts Wills Service

• Who can register: non-Muslims aged 18 or over
• Full will: AED 10,000 for a single will, or AED 15,000 for mirror wills for a couple
• Shorter will types: a property will for up to 5 UAE properties, a business owners will for up to 5 shareholdings, a financial assets will for up to 10 bank or brokerage accounts, and a guardianship will for minor children
• Changing a registered will: AED 550
• Signing: by video call with a compliance officer and 2 witnesses who are not beneficiaries

You will need your passport, your Emirates ID if you have one, your witnesses' passport copies and, for a property will, the title deed of each property listed.

Dubai Courts Notary

Dubai Courts registers non-Muslim wills before a notary public. The will must be in Arabic and English, and the Arabic version has to come from a legal translator licensed by the UAE Ministry of Justice.

Abu Dhabi Wills Office

In Abu Dhabi, the judicial department charges AED 950 for a regular will registration.

A few simple steps now can save your family a lot of paperwork later.

Start with a written list of everything you own here, including property papers, bank accounts, company shares and any loans against them, and keep it with your will.

If you have children under 18, name guardians in your will. In the same September survey, only 24 percent of parents with children under 18 had documented guardianship arrangements.

Tell your executor and one close family member where the will is lodged and where your property papers are kept. A will only helps if your family knows it exists.

Review your will after any big change, such as buying or selling a property or the birth of a child. A DIFC property will covers only the properties listed in it, so a new purchase needs an update.

Laws, fees and procedures in this guide reflect court and land department rules and UAE legislation in force as of October 2026.

Project details reflect the published project pages at the time of writing.