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Wills (Single/Mirror)
Power of Attorneys Advance Directives/Living Wills Hiba (The Ultimate Gift).
Wills
What happens if you die without a Will in the UAE?
. Bank Accounts are frozen (Shariah Law).
Life Policies/Death in Service Benefits/Gratuity Benefits can be passed onto your estate instead to your family.
In cases were the beneficiary forms are not completed it is important to have a valid Will as this can cover all Policies that do not have the beneficiary forms completed. Although we always recommend that you complete the nominee forms.
Many Employers do not offer nominee forms for the death in service benefits (DISB) and due to this they will not know were to send the benefit to. Gratuity tends to end up in the Shariah Courts. Due to this it is vital that your have a valid Will so that the courts will know to whom these benefits should go to. According to the Shariah DISB & Gratuity benefits are not owned by the employee at the time of the death therefore this is not part of his estate which means he is free to distribute this according to his wishes.
If you are divorced it is important that this is mentioned this in the Will.
Many divorces may not be absolute which means that the ex-partner may still take a claim in the estate. Always better to mention this in the Will or prepare a Letter of Wishes to explain the matter.
Properties in your home country will be distributed according to the Laws of the Home Country.
Every Country has a default law that if a person dies and left no Will then the Country will decide how the estate will be distributed Countries like the UK, USA & India has there own inheritance Laws which may not agree with the wishes of the deceased. Therefore it becomes very important to have a Will drafted.
A Will is the ONLY document that allows you to appoint Guardians to protect your Childrens future.
Statistics in the UAE 2.9 in every 3 people here in the United Arab Emirates
Power of Attorney
If a person was to become mentally incapacitated/brain dead or in a coma, potentially Bank accounts, Mortgage Accounts could come to a halt especially if two signatures are required to operate the account.
By setting up a Power of Attorney (usually between husband & wife), the attorney will be able to operate bank accounts, mortgage accounts, etc. The attorney cannot change the Will (hopefully the Will would of being signed prior) however the Power of Attorney will be a very useful document to have all your financial documents looked after by the attorney.
Living Wills
If a person is diagnosed of a terminal illness he/she will not be able to have any choice on the lever of care they receive. Basically there at the mercy of the Doctors. By setting up a Living Will the person while in the right state of mind can have some choice on The Level of Cover they receive. There are several websites that you will be able to lean more about this.
8 Major Points
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6 7. 8. Emergency Bank Account Life Assurance (Off Shore Company) Set up a Visa for partner. Assets & Liabilities Statement. Contact Sheet for all listed in the Will Hiba (The Gift). Power of Attorney (Mirror) The WILL (Mirror)
1.
It is important that you have an emergency off shore bank account as all bank accounts are frozen when a person dies. Unfortunately there is no concept of either or survivor bank accounts in the UAE. In other words when a person dies all bank accounts are frozen when a person dies. Banks are giving wrong information to customers that the accounts are not frozen. The only concept they have is JOINT accounts which means that both husband & wife can use the accounts but when one dies all accounts are blocked. Bank accounts are frozen for two reasons: 1. Clear all debts & liabilities. 2. Determine who the legal heirs are. By having an emergency off shore account means that this account will not be frozen so that the partner (mainly the wife) will be able to use this account. Another reason is that if you are going to receive any benefits you will need to have a receiving account as well.
2. Life Assurance
As you are aware that all your Debts & Liabilities have to be cleared before anyone inherits anything regardless of your Religion/Origin. Therefore it is always recommended that you keep additional Life Assurance.
Most companies provides death in service benefits however it is recommended to keep additional life cover as if you leave your present employer your death in service benefits/life cover will cease immediately leaving you without any cover. It is also important that if you have any Life Cover you should complete the beneficiary forms so that upon your death the benefit will be paid immediately.
You will be surprised how many people may not know exactly what they own.
You will be may more surprised to know that husband & wife do not share details of what they own to one another. Just imagine that if both the husband & wife died how will the children will know what their parents owned. What we recommend is to always prepare a list of everything you own (Asset & Liability List A & L List) and keep this up to date. This list does not need to be attested or legalized it is just a guide line on what assets was owned by the deceased. The A & L List should be kept with the Will and kept with the Executors.
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.
Executors (minimum of three). Interim and full time guardians (Minimum of two) How you would like your estate to be distributed Any Gifts (Monetary/Properties, etc) Details of any Business Interests (Trade Licences) Disaster Clause (in case all die). Passport Copies required for all listed.
Please note that you need to prepare your Assets & Liability List anyway
Executors
Dictionary meaning: A person or company named in a will to ensure that all the assets and debts are accounted for and that all property is distributed as specified in the will. Also called a personal representative.
These are people who you nominate that will follow your wishes after your death. Usually the person drafting the Will (the Testator) will nominate their partner as the first Executor.
It is always recommended that the executors should be a person who knows you personally and has details of what you own i.e. the Asset & Liability List as if this person is unaware of this list it will be very difficult for this person to know what assets the deceased had which means the estate may be over looked. I am sure you can agree with me that is why there is so much money in this world and no one knows about this.
Why Us?
1. Just Wills was the first Will drafting company in the UAE. 2. We have a full Will Drafting Licence. 3. We offer a full End to End service (including the Arabic Translation). 4. Professional Execution Service (if required). 5. We have received authentication from the Awqaaf. 6. Registered with the Rulers Court of Dubai. 7. We understand the Shariah Law. 8. 2,000,000 Professional Indemnity Cover per Will. 9. Worldwide Wills (Subject to Status). 10. Dubai Chamber of Commerce registration. 11. Now Registered on the Dubai Government Website ........ 12. Registered with the Institute of Professional Will Writers
FAQs 1
Why do we need to take the Wills to the Dubai Notary Public? Cant we go to another Notary? The Dubai Notary has offered a system where they will notarize the Wills. We will inform you when for example when Abu Dhabi and/or Sharjah will offer this same service. No date has been given yet. Why do the Wills need to go to the Home Embassy/Consulate as well? For certain Nationalities the home Embassy/Consulate offers this service as well so that Assets can be covered in your home country in the same Will. For further information please email us your details. Why are there three sets for the Wills & POA - Can we get more?
The Notary keeps one set and you (the client) will receive two sets. Usually the clients keep one and the other set is given to the attorney. You can receive more than three however there may be an additional charge for this.
FAQs 2
When do we update the Wills? Usually when there is a change in your circumstances. For example Marriage/Divorce or if you want to change the Beneficiaries /Executors/Guardians. Why do we need both Interim & Permanent Guardians? As the majority of us are Expats residing in the UAE the majority of our siblings are usually in our home countries. So in the event of death the permanent guardians may require a Visa to enter the UAE. This can cause problems as who will be looking after the children in the Interim What is a Testator/Testatrix? This is the person making the Will. Testator is the male and Testatrix is the female.
FAQs 3
What is an Executor/Executrix? An Executor is a person named in a Will who is responsible for ensuring that the instructions contained within it are carried out. It is important that you have a person who is a business minded person. Usually the partner is appointed as the first level Executor then you need to appoint a next level. Executor is the male and Executrix is the female. What is a Beneficiary? This is the person who will be inheriting from the Testator. This can be the partner and/or even the children.
FAQs 4
Can an Executor be a Guardian? Yes however we do not recommend this. As from our experience you will be giving one person too much responsibility. Can a Beneficiary witness a Will? No as this will invalidate the Will. An executor can be witness providing that person is not benefitting from the Will. Can I own assets in an off-shore company? At the present moment the UAE authorities are not allowing Immoveable property to be registered in an Off Shore Entity. However Assets can be owed by a Local Freezone company.
FAQs 5
What is a disaster Clause? This is use god forbid when the family passes away in a freak accident. (e.g. the husband, wife & children). Although this clause is not compulsory we always recommend this. Why do we need more than one Executor or Guardian?
Just in case of one Executor/Guardia is not there or is not alive then the second can act as a back up.
How many executors/Guardians are required?
FAQs 6
Why are Visa pages required? When we are translating the documents into Arabic we use the names that are in your Visa pages as this is the legal translation of your name.
What is a Trustee?
This is the person who will be looking after the Trust (If one was to be created). Usually the partner is appointed as the first beneficiary & Executor. Therefore there will be no Trustee as the partner would be over 21 years of age. However if the children were to inherit (being Minors) the inheritance would be put into a trust and the person looking after the Trust would be the Trustee.
FAQs 7
What is a contact sheet and why do we need to prepare one? This is a list you prepare that details all the contact information for the people that are named in the Will. Usually we do not do this as they have been cases where the details were amended in the Will manually by the client and the Wills became invalid. What is an Assets & Liability List and why do we need to prepare one? This is a list where you document everything you own and everything you owe. For example you mention all your bank accounts and, Mortgage accounts and if there are any mortgages you mention the details together with any life assurance. It is highly recommended that you forward this to your Executors so that someone else knows about the financial affairs. Where do we store the Wills?
You can store the Wills in a fireproof safe at home. We will be offering Will storage services by mid spring 2011. You will receive soft copies of all the documents which we recommend that you forward to your executors.
FAQs 8
What is a Letter of wishes?
This is an informal letter that people details their wishes with things like Jewellary, funeral arrangements. Although this is a great way to express your wishes it is important to understand that this is not a legal binding document.
Can Wills cover Worldwide Assets? Please bear in mind that Wills are not designed to over ride/supersede any death duties or Inheritance Tax. Therefore it is important to understand that if you have assets in Countries that has death duties then it is recommended that you have a separate Will.
FAQs 9
Can the Wills in my Home Country cover my assets locally? We cannot guarantee that the Wills you have drafted in your home country will work here. There has been cases where the Wills have been accepted and the cases where the Wills have been rejected. As you can understand that all Wills needs to be translated into Arabic in order for the Courts to accept them. Not forgetting that we always mention the religion of the client and a specific clause to confirm that the Laws of the Home Country should be applied and not the Local Law.
Questions?