Expat Property And Wills

Many places in Dubai offer expats the ability to make their wills and assign their property for when they are no longer around.

A good reason and facility that comes with availing this chance is that the law of the Emirate allows expats to choose the law of domicile to apply to their estate.

This means the laws of their country of nationality can also apply, although for now, it is not entirely clear if this can also be done for permanent property, such as houses.

On the other hand, leaving a will does not automatically mean that the Islamic laws of the region will not apply to your immovable property. In this case, there is a number of things estate planning in Dubai – Globaleye UAE can help you do to avoid the application.

Getting Title Registered

To make sure your ownership cannot be disputed through regular means, the registration of the title to property is one of the best methods.

The law says that the land department has to issue a deed of registration to safeguard the title of the true owner.

This title deed of property is also considered to be absolute proof of ownership under the law.

In order to get the title registered, a fee based on a percentage of the sold property is to be paid to the land department, which is 0.5% of the purchase price by the buyer, and 1.5% by the seller.

When developers are involved, the norm is somewhat different, and the buyer may have to pay the whole amount.

Inheritance Laws in Dubai

The new rules on property inheritance suggest that all declarations concerning inheritance have to be registered. Without registration, the heirs to the estate cannot enforce their rights against third parties.

For those claiming to be beneficiaries of the property of the deceased, there is a process they have to follow to become recognized as the owners of it.

They have to go to court and get a declaration that names them, ask the Sharia court to start the succession process, and then the declaration is registered against the deceased.

Using An Offshore Company To Own Property

As of now, it is unclear whether the wills of expats are capable of being shielded totally from being distributed according to the Islamic laws of the Emirate.

To make this a guarantee, expats have the option of using a reputable common law jurisdiction to ensure their assets are distributed according to their wishes.

In this case, the property is acquired by an offshore company, with the investors becoming shareholders in it. The legal guidance is contained in the Memorandum of Association (MOA) of the company, to which a clause about how to split the property when a shareholder dies is added.