Last Updated: October 1, 2026
Dying without a will in the UAE after the 2024 law: what actually applies now
Which law applies to a UAE estate with no will depends on a short sequence: the deceased’s religion, citizenship and residence, whether anyone invokes home-country law, the assets, and the emirate. The current instruments are Federal Decree-Laws 41/2024 and 41/2022, Abu Dhabi Law 14/2021 and the conflict rules in Federal Decree-Law 25/2025. Pages describing the pre-2023 regime are out of date.
Law stated as at September 2026. Scope: federal onshore law, with the Abu Dhabi regime where it applies; Dubai procedure where stated. Federal Decree-Law 25/2025 entered into force on 1 June 2026.
Why so much of what you have read is wrong
Most pages a bereaved family finds on this question were written for a framework that no longer exists. Until 2023, the practical answer for a non-Muslim foreigner without a will was that the court applied Sharia-derived shares unless the family could persuade it to apply home-country law. That regime has been replaced in two stages, and the replacement is not a single rule but a set of instruments with their own scope provisions. A page that says “without a will, Sharia applies to everyone” is describing the old law. A page that says “non-Muslims now get 50:50” is describing one fact pattern under one instrument. Neither is the answer to your question.
Which law applies to my family?
Work through these five questions in order.
1. Was the deceased a UAE citizen, and was anyone Muslim?
Under Article 1, this law applies to UAE citizens if both parties, or one, is Muslim. It applies to non-Muslim citizens unless they have sect-specific provisions or agree to apply another law. And it applies to non-citizens unless one of them insists on applying their own law as UAE legislation permits.
This law is not simply “the Muslim law”: its default reach includes non-citizens of any religion, subject to the applicable-law qualifications.
2. Is the deceased a non-Muslim foreigner resident in the UAE?
Under Article 1(1), this law applies to non-Muslim UAE citizens and to non-Muslim foreigners residing in the UAE, unless any of them adheres to home-country law. Article 4(2) provides that inheritance is distributed equally between men and women.
Article 11(2), the default: half to the surviving spouse and half equally among the children; if no children, the parents equally; if one parent has died, half to the surviving parent and half to the siblings; if neither parent, the siblings equally.
Article 11(3): any of a foreigner’s heirs may request the law applicable to the estate under the Civil Code provisions, unless there is a registered will.
The seam between the two laws. Both reach non-citizens. Federal Decree-Law 41/2022 is the more specific instrument for non-Muslim foreign residents, and the working assumption is that it governs that group unless they have adhered to home-country law, with 41/2024 governing everyone else within its Article 1. But the statutes do not rank themselves against each other, and how a court treats a non-Muslim foreigner who was not resident at death, or a mixed-faith family, is being worked out case by case.
3. Is the family in Abu Dhabi?
Abu Dhabi Law No. 14 of 2021, as amended, adds a third instrument. Under Article 3(2) it applies to wills and inheritances of the persons it governs where the estate is in the UAE. Article 11 mirrors the federal civil regime: will over all UAE assets to anyone; the same spouse-and-children default; the same right for any heir to request the law of the deceased’s nationality. Article 17 establishes the Abu Dhabi Civil Family Court with bilingual proceedings. Where the deceased was connected to Abu Dhabi, expect the Civil Family Court to be the forum.
4. Has anyone invoked home-country law?
Article 17(1): succession is governed by the law of the country to which the deceased belonged at death. A nationality connection, not residence or domicile.
Article 17(5): UAE law applies to a will made by a foreigner over immovable property in the UAE.
Article 30: UAE law applies if it is impossible to prove the applicable foreign law or to determine its meaning. The family invoking foreign law carries the burden of proving it.
Article 3(3): the personal status of Muslims, including inheritance, is treated as a matter of public order.
5. What are the assets, and where?
Article 18 makes the law of the place where property is situated govern ownership and other real rights. UAE property is transferred under UAE registration rules whatever law decides the shares. Assets outside the UAE are governed by that country’s law and procedure; a UAE instrument does not transfer them.
Comparison: fact patterns and the instrument that governs them
| Fact pattern | Governing instrument | Default outcome | Key caveat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Muslim estate (citizen or foreign resident) | FDL 41/2024, Article 1 | Court determines heirs and shares; spouse’s share per Articles 211, 212 | A non-citizen may insist on home-country law (Article 1(3)) |
| Non-Muslim foreign resident, no will, no election | FDL 41/2022, Article 11(2) | Half to spouse, half equally to children | Any heir may request the law of nationality under Article 11(3) |
| Non-Muslim with a registered will | 41/2022 Article 11(1) or Abu Dhabi 14/2021 Article 11(1); for a DIFC will, Dubai Law 15/2017 | The will governs within the applicable controls | Article 17(5) applies UAE law to a foreigner’s will over UAE immovable property |
| Abu Dhabi non-Muslim estate where Law 14/2021 applies | Abu Dhabi Law 14/2021, Articles 3(2) and 11, Civil Family Court | Same spouse-and-children default | Persons governed defined by Article 1 and Regulation 8/2022 |
| Death before 1 June 2026 | The instrument in force at death; 1985 Civil Code conflict rules | As above, but conflict analysis under the old Code | 25/2025 Article 4(1): no retroactivity |
What happens if there is no will at all?
For a Muslim estate. The court determines the heirs and fixes their shares in the certificate. Under Article 201 of FDL 41/2024: the funeral, the debts, the will within one-third, then the heirs. The spouse’s share is fixed by Articles 211 (husband) and 212 (wife).
For a non-Muslim estate with no will and no election. Under FDL 41/2022, the court applies Article 11(2): half to the spouse, half equally to the children. Under Abu Dhabi Law 14/2021, the same result before the Civil Family Court. Any heir may derail the default by requesting the law of the deceased’s nationality, which changes the outcome only if the family can prove the foreign law. The Executive Regulation (Cabinet Resolution 122/2023) adds the machinery: Article 25 sets the order of charges before distribution.
In both cases, the Civil Transactions Law supplies the administration: executor appointment (Articles 1118 and 1119), inventory (Article 1130), the bar on heirs disposing before the net-share certificate (Article 1126), debts paid in Article 1134’s sequence, and delivery of what remains (Articles 1139 to 1141). Heirs are not personally liable merely by inheriting (narrow exception: Article 1137).
Why this is the strongest argument for a will
Everything above is what happens when the deceased left the decision to the statutes. Each instrument gives the person, in life, a way to decide instead. A registered will removes the Article 11(3) door through which any heir can reopen the applicable-law question, because that right exists only where there is no registered will to the contrary. Which registry suits a particular family is the subject of DIFC will or onshore probate.
Frequently asked questions
Does Sharia law apply to a non-Muslim who dies without a will in the UAE?
Not by default any longer. A non-Muslim foreign resident falls under FDL 41/2022, whose Article 11(2) gives half to the spouse and half equally to the children, and in Abu Dhabi under Law 14/2021 with the same default. Pages stating Sharia applies to everyone describe the law before 2023.
Which law applies if my late husband was a Muslim expatriate?
FDL 41/2024 applies to non-citizens under Article 1(3) unless one of them insists on their own law. The court determines the heirs and fixes the shares, with the wife’s share set by Article 212.
Can the heirs choose which law applies?
Not freely. A choice of governing law is available only for a will (Article 17(3) of FDL 25/2025). For intestacy, any heir of a foreigner may request the law of nationality under Article 11(3), and the family must then prove that law to the court.
What if the family cannot prove the foreign law?
Under Article 30 of FDL 25/2025, UAE law applies. The burden of proving the home-country law, in authenticated and translated form, is on the family invoking it.
Which court deals with an estate in the UAE?
Under Article 3(4) of FDL 41/2024, the court of the deceased’s most recent domicile, residence or place of work. In Dubai, the Probate Court (Decree 25/2023); in Abu Dhabi, the Civil Family Court for persons governed by Law 14/2021.
A note on getting help. If someone in your family has died without a will, we can identify which instrument governs, set out what the court will require, and, where home-country law is invoked, prepare the proof. Representation before the mainland courts is arranged through appropriately licensed UAE advocates.
Write to us through the consultation form or at [email protected], with the deceased’s nationality and religion, where they lived, and the emirates in which the assets are held.
This article is general information about UAE law as at the date stated. It is not legal advice, and how the law applies depends on the facts of each estate.
Abid Millath, Managing Partner, Millath and Associates
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