Questions & Answers
How will the property of an unmarried non -Muslim woman be divided after her death?
A family member (non-muslim, ex-pat, female) passed away. She was registered in the UAE and has a UAE working/residency permit, alongside a company registered in the FFZ. It appears there is no will. She has no UAE real estate. She has no children and was never married.
She has a living mother and sister, alongside an adopted sister with whom no one has a contact.
1) How will heirs be decided? Using home country law or sharia? Can we choose? How do mother and sister show proof of lineage?
2) Using the inheritance law of our home country, the adopted sibling is seen as a full sibling. It will be a 1/3 division between the three persons stated above. Can a court in UAE overrule this part of home country inheritance (e.g. incompatible with UAE laws) and skip the adopted sibling?
3) Can legal heirs (e.g. mother, full blood-related sister) agree to a different division if heirs are decided? E.g. the sister wants to include her children as heirs. Or does this have to be done after the money transfer?
Hello,
As per your answer, please note that there are procedures to deal with the situation, as follows:
i. As per the UAE personal law, it shall be decided and the monies which she has in the bank should be distributed.
ii. As there is no will, so it is better to place an application before UAE court in order to disburse the monies (bank account or other which she has in the UAE).
iii. Along with the death certificate and medical report, there should be an analogous application with the previous one for the division of assets. It depends upon the court; how they will divide the inheritance. However, normally the court will accept UAE Sharia principles.
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