On 3 October 2022 , the President of the United Arab Emirates issued the Federal Decree Law No. 41 of 2022 on the civil personal status law for non-Muslims (“Civil Family Law” or “CFL”). The CFL is a major amendment to the existing framework for family matters and is intended to provide non-Muslim couples the […]

On 7th of November, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed, Ruler of Abu Dhabi and President of the United Arab Emirates issued amendments to the personal status law in essence decreeing the Abu Dhabi family law (“AFL”) which would be applicable to non-Muslim residents of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. The purpose of AFL is to revamp […]

On 11th of July 2017, His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Presidential Affairs and Chairman of Abu Dhabi Judicial Department (the “ADJD”), announced the creation of an independent Wills registry in Abu Dhabi for non-Muslims (the “AD Wills Registry”). The detailed rules for probate of Wills are yet […]

On 31 October 2017, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, in his capacity as Ruler of Dubai and the Vice-President of the UAE, decreed a new law, Law No. (15) of 2017 regulating inheritance, wills and probate for non-Muslims. The new law is intended to provide further options for the probate of assets […]

It has recently been reported that the Abu Dhabi government has issued a decree (“Decree”) creating a Wills and Probate Registry in Abu Dhabi (“AD Wills Registry”). The AD Wills Registry aims to establish an institutional framework to register Wills for non-Muslims with assets in Abu Dhabi and to raise the level of legal protection […]