CRESCO GUIDES · ESTATE PLANNING
Your US will and your living trust do not automatically reach a Dubai title deed. Without a UAE plan, a Dubai court decides who gets it.
An American who buys in Dubai usually already has a will, often a revocable living trust, sometimes both. Neither was written with a Dubai Land Department title deed in mind. The property is registered in your personal name in Dubai, your trust does not own it, and when you die the transfer to your family runs through a UAE court before the Land Department will change the name on the deed.
A Dubai court decides which law applies to your estate, looking at your nationality, residence, religion and any registered will. For non-Muslims, Federal Decree-Law 41 of 2022 on civil personal status provides default rules that no longer follow Sharia shares by default.
| Who survives you | Default split under Decree-Law 41 of 2022 |
|---|---|
| Spouse and children | Half to the spouse, half shared equally among the children, regardless of gender |
| No children | Parents and siblings, in equal shares |
| No heirs at all | The UAE may take the assets located in the country |
Those defaults may not be what your US plan says. A blended family, a child from a first marriage, a trust for a minor or a charity bequest will not appear in a UAE court's default split.
Your heirs then need an inheritance decree from the court, a no objection letter from any mortgage lender, and a separate application to the Land Department to register the heirs. Until that is done the property can sit in the name of the heirs of the deceased, and your family may not be able to sell or rent it cleanly.
A US revocable trust holds only what is titled to it, and your Dubai unit is titled to you. Advisers warn that UAE rules restrict trust structures holding land, so moving the title into a US trust is not a simple fix. A US will can be presented to a UAE court, but it needs legalization and the court decides how much weight to give it. That is uncertainty your family would be resolving while they grieve.
| Option | Language and law | Who can use it |
|---|---|---|
| DIFC Wills Service | English, common law based | Non-Muslims; the testator does not need to be a UAE resident |
| ADGM wills | Bilingual Arabic and English, common law based | Non-Muslims; probate through the Abu Dhabi courts |
| Onshore Dubai Courts will | Arabic, notarised and registered locally | Residents and non-residents, under local procedure |
For most American owners the DIFC route is the natural one: English language, common law concepts an American estate attorney recognises, and registration that does not require residence. The single most important drafting point is scope. Your UAE will should cover only your UAE assets, and your US will should exclude them, so that neither document accidentally revokes the other. Have your US estate attorney and the UAE drafter read each other's work.
For US estate tax, a citizen's worldwide estate counts, Dubai property included. A UAE will changes who inherits in Dubai; it does not change what the IRS counts. We cover the US estate tax side in US estate tax for Gulf property buyers.
Register a DIFC or other UAE will limited to UAE assets. Tell your US estate attorney the property exists and ask them to carve it out of your US will. Keep a one page note for your family with the title deed number, the developer or management company, the service charge account and the name of your Dubai lawyer.
Not reliably. A US will needs legalization and a UAE court decides how to apply it. A UAE registered will limited to UAE assets removes that uncertainty.
A Dubai court decides the applicable law. Under Federal Decree-Law 41 of 2022 the default for non-Muslims is half to the spouse and half shared equally among the children, regardless of gender.
Yes. The DIFC Wills Service accepts wills from non-Muslims, and the testator does not need to be a UAE resident.
Not simply. UAE rules restrict trust structures holding land, and the Dubai title is registered in your personal name. Take UAE legal advice before trying to retitle.
Sources: Withers, Estate planning for non-Muslims and residents in the UAE; Gateley, Wills for non-Muslim and Muslim expats in the UAE; Dubai practitioner guidance on Federal Decree-Law 41 of 2022 default shares and Land Department heirs registration. We are not lawyers and this is not legal advice. Laws in this area changed in 2022 and 2024; confirm the current position with a UAE lawyer before you sign.
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Price is only part of what you need in the bank. We worked out the full cash requirement, including the Land Department transfer fee, the service partner fee and the Central Bank deposit caps, in how much money you need to buy property in Dubai.