Succession planning and safeguarding your assets – part 2

It is essentially important therefore to keep separate bank accounts in addition to any joint accounts you may have if you are married, as well as a primary offshore bank accounts as Bank accounts that are maintained outside the UAE are not be governed by the UAE's legal jurisdictions and laws.

International Life Insurance is one of the most important steps to succession planning. Beneficiary payouts are paid out of trust held offshore & paid directly to the beneficiary thereby not falling as part of your estate for the purposes of distribution under sharia.

Although preparing a will is not something many people relish it is essential in the UAE and in the long term. Succession planning is something that we all should be prepared with.

Parents of minors should consider the possibility for temporary and permanent guardianship of their children resident in the UAE. Instructions in relation to this should be made before, and lodged at the embassy of which the parents are nationals.

The procedure upon death of an expatriate who has made a Will is to obtain an application for a grant of representation in the deceased’s country of domicile. Once probate is obtained, it must be notarised, and attested at the notary public or the ministry of foreign affairs here before it may be recognised by the UAE courts as authentic and valid. Upon recognition by the government authorities of the deceased’s representatives the trustees or executors would have full power to administer the deceased’s estate in accordance with his wishes. In the case of intestacy, a letter of administration would also have to be obtained from the country of domicile and duly notorised & attested.

People are often misinformed that when they die their estate will be passed to their next of kin even without a will. This is certainly not the case as the laws relating to inheritance of an estate are often complicated when there is no will in place. Without a Last Will and Testament (“Will”), these very important decisions will be made by the government.

Rajiv Shah
Head - Life and Pensions
Earnest Insurance Brokers

(Rajiv Shah is a Personal Finance Specialist and Head of Life & Pensions at Earnest Advisors. The opinions expressed by the author are his own)