The two-home problem this session solves
Holding a Dubai apartment alongside accounts or property in your home country means two legal systems will read your papers, and a home-country will on its own may not speak to the authorities here at all. Without a registered UAE will the local estate enters the court process: an inheritance file is opened, the court appoints an administrator, creditors are called, and distribution follows the applicable law rather than your wishes.
Mapping assets and testing old wills
The session maps every asset in both places — property, accounts, business shares, policies — then talks through how each one passes and where your current documents fall short. We review an existing home-country will against UAE reality and advise honestly where its law can still be claimed and where a UAE will must take over.
The default law you decide against
The fallback under Federal Decree-Law No. 41 of 2022 on Civil Personal Status is worth facing before you draft: absent a will the spouse takes half and the other half is divided equally among the children, with no distinction between sons and daughters, while parents and siblings inherit under the fall-back rules. An heir may instead request the law applicable under the Civil Transactions Law — unless a registered will says otherwise.
Boundaries that shape the draft
Two boundaries shape the draft itself: UAE real property follows UAE law, with anything contradicting public order void while the rest of the will stands, and holders of several nationalities should record the applicable-law specification correctly at registration, since the testator’s stated nationality governs. The outcome is a single registered will — filed through DIFC Courts registration in Dubai or ADJD civil will registration in Abu Dhabi — written against the whole map, starting from a careful draft reviewed with you line by line.
Where our advice stops
Candour is part of the service. Muslim expats should take specialist advice on how their estate will be treated — we do not advise on Sharia shares, and the DIFC route is closed to Muslims by rule. Foreign-law questions beyond our scope get referred to the right specialist before drafting, never guessed at. And where the estate is simple and sits entirely in the UAE, a straightforward draft without the full cross-border session may be all you need.
What the planning session gives you
Two countries, two legal systems, one family. The session maps all of it before a single clause is drafted.
Both homes on one map
UAE and home-country assets listed together, so the plan covers property, accounts, shares, and policies in each place.
Default law, explained first
The Federal Decree-Law No. 41 of 2022 fallback laid out plainly, so you decide with open eyes rather than discovering it at probate.
Nationality rule settled early
For multiple nationalities, the applicable law follows the nationality specified at registration, a mechanical choice worth getting right at drafting.
Property boundary made visible
UAE real property follows UAE law and public-order limits, so the draft directs where it can and respects where it cannot.
When this service is NOT what you need
Planning across two homes is not for every file. Four honest exits.
You are a Muslim expat needing share advice
We do not advise on Sharia shares and the DIFC route is closed to Muslims by rule. Take specialist advice on treatment of the estate first.
Your estate sits entirely in the UAE and is simple
A single property and straightforward heirs may need only our will drafting service, without the full cross-border session.
You hold no UAE assets and no children reside here
Without a UAE footprint, a home-country will reviewed at home may be the whole answer. Registration here would add little.
The estate is already in the court process
Once an inheritance file is opened, planning time is over. The file needs our probate section, not a planning session.
Who books a planning session
The expats whose two-home picture needs one plan.
Assets in two countries
You hold a Dubai apartment plus accounts or property at home and want one registered will that addresses the UAE side properly.
Chat About Your CaseSeveral nationalities
You carry more than one passport and want the applicable-law specification recorded correctly at registration.
Chat About Your CaseDubai property holders
You own UAE real estate and want to know exactly what your will can direct and where UAE property law constrains it.
Chat About Your CaseHome will already signed
You signed papers years ago abroad and want them reviewed against UAE reality before relying on them here.
Chat About Your CasePlanned with help versus assuming the home will covers it
A home-country will may not speak to UAE authorities at all. That assumption is the most expensive sentence in expat planning.
| Aspect | With SRAG | On your own |
|---|---|---|
| Asset mapping | Every UAE and foreign asset mapped in one session, with each asset's passing route talked through individually. | You assume the home will stretches to Dubai accounts and property, and the gap appears at the inheritance file. |
| Default-law reality | The spouse-half-and-equal-children fallback and the court-appointed administrator process explained before you decide anything. | You learn the no-will court process from relatives after the file is already opened. |
| Existing papers | We review your home-country will and advise where its law can still be claimed and where a UAE will must take over. | You hold two uncoordinated documents and hope foreign courts and UAE courts read them the same way. |
| Nationality detail | The specified-nationality rule recorded correctly at registration for clients holding several passports. | You leave the nationality field blank or inconsistent and hand the court a choice you never made. |
| Property limits | Distribution clauses drafted with the real-property and public-order boundary visible from the first draft. | You write worldwide distribution wishes that fail against UAE property rules at enforcement. |
Asset mapping
With SRAG
Every UAE and foreign asset mapped in one session, with each asset's passing route talked through individually.
On your own
You assume the home will stretches to Dubai accounts and property, and the gap appears at the inheritance file.
Default-law reality
With SRAG
The spouse-half-and-equal-children fallback and the court-appointed administrator process explained before you decide anything.
On your own
You learn the no-will court process from relatives after the file is already opened.
Existing papers
With SRAG
We review your home-country will and advise where its law can still be claimed and where a UAE will must take over.
On your own
You hold two uncoordinated documents and hope foreign courts and UAE courts read them the same way.
Nationality detail
With SRAG
The specified-nationality rule recorded correctly at registration for clients holding several passports.
On your own
You leave the nationality field blank or inconsistent and hand the court a choice you never made.
Property limits
With SRAG
Distribution clauses drafted with the real-property and public-order boundary visible from the first draft.
On your own
You write worldwide distribution wishes that fail against UAE property rules at enforcement.
Why SRAG Wills for Expat Estate Planning
Expat planning is mostly diagnosis. Our value is telling you what your papers do today, then writing the will that closes the gap.
Cross-border files, daily
As part of the SRAG Group serving UAE families, our team maps UAE-plus-home-country estates and advises the DIFC or ADJD route.
The plan in writing
You leave with the will drafted or a clear written plan where more steps are needed first, never a vague recommendation.
Honest bounds on advice
Where Sharia shares or a foreign-law question exceeds our scope, we say so and point to the specialist before drafting.
One contact throughout
A single point of contact from mapping to registration, reachable on WhatsApp with replies within one business day.
How the planning session works
Mapping your estate
You list what you own in the UAE and abroad — property, accounts, business shares, and policies.
Planning session
We talk through how each asset passes on, where your current papers fall short, and what one registered will can and cannot fix.
The plan in writing
You leave with your will drafted — or a clear written plan if more steps are needed first.
Plan across both homes
Assets here and at home need one clear plan. We map it with you.
We respond within one business day.
Disclaimer: SRAG Wills is a wills consultancy, not a law firm or government body. Registration is completed with the DIFC Courts Wills Service or ADJD; Muslim wills, and estate and inheritance cases, are filed with the Dubai Courts.