UAE inheritance law

I’ve read online that if I die as a resident in the UAE, Dutch law (since I have Dutch nationality) will apply to my estate due to a change in UAE legislation. So, why do I need a will?

In the UAE, they are unaware that Dutch international inheritance law states that upon the death of a Dutch national abroad, the law of the country of the deceased’s last habitual residence applies. (This rule applies to a large part of Europe and a significant part of the world.) And that law is UAE law. And UAE’s statutory inheritance law is Sharia law.

And realize that this Sharia law will also apply to your properties in the Netherlands or any other country. So, your estate will be distributed according to the Sharia law calculator under Dutch law.

And it gets even more interesting if you have a partner with a different nationality, and you both die at the same time or shortly after each other. Because the Dutch international inheritance law will not apply to the partner’s part of the estate.

The international team of lawyers that your heirs will need in that case will already be booking a vacation, ordering a new car, and even a new boat, because the ship with money is coming in. This is a lawyers paradise, and that is not a good thing for you. But your heirs who will have to pay those bills will be very “grateful” to you for saving seven thousand dirhams because you thought it was all just scaremongering about Wills.