The concept of inheritance includes anything that is received from the estate of a person that has passed away whether by the laws of descent or as a beneficiary of a will, trust or any other corporate vehicle. In this context, there is a new civil personal status law for non-Muslims in UAE namely Federal Decree-Law No. 41/2022 On Civil Personal Status which was introduced on 1 February 2023. Federal Decree-Law No. 41/2022 comprehensively lays down the inheritance mechanism (article 11(2) of Federal Decree-Law No. 41/2022) in case of an unfortunate event of death of a non-Muslim resident and/or citizen of the UAE.

Further, under Federal Decree-Law No. 41/2022, any heirs of a foreigner may seek application of the law applicable to inheritance in accordance with the provision stipulated in Federal Law No. 5/1985 On the Civil Transactions Law of the United Arab Emirates State (article 11(3) of Federal Decree-Law No. 41/2022).

Article 17 of Federal Law No. 5/1985 states that “inheritance will be governed by the law of the deceased at the time of his death”.

• ADJD: Abu Dhabi Judicial Department.