DIFC Courts Wills Service DIFC Will Registration

The DIFC Wills Service is a registry operated by the DIFC Courts that lets eligible non-Muslims register English-language, common-law wills covering UAE assets, with probate through the DIFC Courts rather than the onshore civil courts. Eligibility, per the DIFC Courts Wills FAQ crawled 2026-08-05, requires that the testator is not and has never been Muslim, is 21 or older, and has UAE assets and/or minor children residing in Dubai or Ras Al Khaimah. The service sits within the UAE's post-2022 legal architecture: Federal Decree-Law No. 41 of 2022 on Civil Personal Status for Non-Muslims created a nationwide civil track for non-Muslim succession, and the DIFC registry is its premium, common-law expression.

The product shelf is modular. Six will types are offered: the Full Will at AED 10,000 single or AED 15,000 mirror covers the whole estate; the Property Will at AED 7,500 single or AED 10,000 mirror covers real estate; and Financial Assets, Guardianship, Digital Assets and Business Owners Wills each cost AED 5,000 single or AED 7,500 mirror. Modifications are AED 550 per will, fees are VAT-exempt, and non-refundable booking portions of AED 500 to 2,000 apply by type. Registration happens in person or by video conference from anywhere in the world, and professional drafting is a separate market service typically running AED 3,000 to 6,000.

For Muslims, the significance of this service is what it confirms about the default. Muslim estates in the UAE devolve under Sharia faraid: fixed shares for defined heirs, calculated by rules the testator cannot rewrite. A Muslim may direct up to one third of the estate by wasiyya to beneficiaries who are not already heirs, registrable through court notary services such as the Dubai Courts, and may nominate guardians for minor children. The DIFC route is closed by design, which is doctrinally coherent: faraid's fixed shares are the point, not an oversight. Estate planning energy for a Muslim family goes into the wasiyya third, guardianship nominations, a debt and amanah register, and beneficiary designations on takaful and end-of-service benefits.

One practical fact applies to every UAE resident regardless of faith and is the single most underestimated in the market: banks freeze accounts on death, including joint accounts, pending succession certification. A will, whichever registry holds it, does not prevent the freeze; it speeds up the path through it. Households should hold accessible liquidity in more than one name-structure and keep succession documents current.

Against the ADJD alternative, the comparison is stark and useful. ADJD registers bilingual civil wills at AED 950 single or AED 1,900 mirror, fully digitally, with effect across the emirates under the 2022 federal law. The DIFC premium buys common-law probate, English-language proceedings, and a registry integrated with the DIFC Courts, which practitioners still prefer for complex or high-value estates. For a straightforward non-Muslim expatriate estate, ADJD has quietly become the sensible default; the DIFC service is the specialist instrument.