ET OnlineEqual inheritance: UAE Law for residents by default grants half estate to spouse and equal share to children in absence of a Will (Representative image)
If you are an expat working in the United Arab Emirates and have built up some valuable properties and assets there, it’s important to be aware of the UAE Civil Personal Status Law which is set to be updated starting January 2026.
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What has changed for UAE residents who died without a Will
Gerry Rogers, Corporate Partner at Habib Al Mulla and Partners, said to ET Wealth Online that as a general principle, Muslim residents in the UAE are subject to Islamic Sharia principles regarding inheritance and succession matters.
On the other hand, according to Rogers, non-Muslim residents are governed by the provisions of the Civil Personal Status Law (Federal Decree Law No. 41 of 2022), which allows them to follow the laws of their home country or other chosen legal framework.
Rogers explains what happens:
Muslim individual passes away: No will but with assets in UAE:
For Muslim residents of the UAE, the default inheritance rules remain based on Islamic Sharia. If a Muslim dies without drafting a will, and leaves behind legal heirs, the estate is distributed according to Sharia-prescribed shares as codified in UAE law.
This means spouses, children, parents, and other eligible relatives receive fixed portions defined by Islamic jurisprudence. UAE law mandates Sharia-based succession for Muslims, and they generally cannot opt out of these rules.
Rogers says: “In summary, Sharia law applies by default to Muslim estates, ensuring the distribution follows Islamic inheritance principles.”
Non-Muslim individual passes away: No Will but with assets in UAE:
For non-Muslim expatriates and residents, UAE law provides a different framework.
In 2023, the UAE introduced Federal Decree-Law No. 41 of 2022 (Civil Personal Status Law) which created a civil (non-Sharia) inheritance regime for non-Muslims. By default, a non-Muslim who dies intestate in the UAE will have their estate divided among close family per this civil law, rather than Sharia.
Specifically, if a non-Muslim dies without a will and is subject to the UAE civil personal status rules, half of the estate goes to the surviving spouse and the other half is divided equally among the children, with no distinction between sons and daughters.
If the deceased has no children, the law directs that the inheritance passes to the parents (equally, if both are alive, or entirely to one parent if the other is deceased and there are no children or spouse), and then to siblings if one or both parents are not alive.
Rogers says: “In other words, under the UAE’s civil personal status regime for non-Muslims, the estate is shared among the spouse, children, or closest next of kin, not according to Sharia but according to a fixed priority schedule (spouse and children first, then parents/siblings).”
What was the 2026 amendment about?
According to Jahnavi Kohli, Head of Private Client Practice- ANB Legal, as per the latest 2026 amendment, if a Non-Muslim UAE resident, who has no legal heir, dies intestate, the financial assets of the estate devolves upon the Waqf (charitable endowment), subject to supervision by the competent authority to ensure proper management and allocation.
Rogers from Habib Al Mulla and Partners agrees with Kohli and adds that with the new legal framework announced, a significant shift has occurred. When a foreign resident dies in the UAE without any legal heirs and without having specified beneficiaries in a will, their UAE-based assets are no longer automatically absorbed into the state treasury.
Rogers says: “Instead, these “heirless” assets are designated as charitable endowments (Waqf) and placed under official supervision, as announced in UAE media outlets.”
UAE law also allows the non-Muslim’s own national inheritance law to be applied in some cases
According to Rogers, the UAE law does allow a non-Muslim’s own national inheritance law to be applied in certain circumstances. A non-Muslim resident can opt for the law of their home country to govern their UAE estate, typically by expressing this in a Will or a formal declaration.
Rogers says: “However, such a choice needs to be made through a registered form (typically a Will). In the absence of such a Will (the context above), the UAE’s Federal Law rules take precedence by default.”
What was the old inheritance law for non-muslims?
According to Rogers, before the introduction of the UAE’s independent Civil Personal Status Law in 2022, the inheritance of non-Muslim expats who passed away intestate in the country and owned assets within its borders was governed by the general principles of the UAE Civil Code.
Rogers says that under the old regime, the law stipulated that inheritance matters would be determined according to the law of the deceased’s country of nationality at the time of death.
Furthermore, Rogers says that the Civil Code made particular reference to “financial rights” existing in the UAE (at the time of death) and belonging to a foreign individual without identifiable heirs; these assets were, by default, transferred to the state.
What was the role of the embassies and consulates of the respective countries?
According to Rogers, under both the previous and current (2026) regimes, the role of embassies and consulates has remained fundamentally supportive rather than administrative.
Rogers says the diplomatic missions of the deceased’s home country have to be notified and involved in the formalities following an expatriate’s death, assisting with the registration of the death, issuance of local death certificates, coordination of the repatriation of remains, identification and notification of next of kin, and providing guidance on local procedures.
Rogers says: “However, it is important to note that embassies and consulates did not – and do not – directly administer or distribute the deceased’s estate.”
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