157 non-Muslim wills registered in Abu Dhabi in five months

Abu Dhabi - The office was set up in August 2017 to look into matters of inheritance for non-Muslim residents

The Non-Muslims Wills Office at the Abu Dhabi courts has registered 157 inheritance wills over the past five months.
The special office, which was started in August 2017, was set up by the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department (ADJD) to look into matters of inheritance for non-Muslim residents.
With the initiation of the wills registration office, non-Muslim expatriates can now dictate how their assets should be distributed when they die. This will ensure there is no dispute or confusion over a deceased's belongings and custody of children, according to judicial officials. 
The Undersecretary of Abu Dhabi Judicial Department, Counsel Yousef Saeed Al Ibri, said the wills registration office for non-Muslims contributes to raising the degree of legal protection over assets owned by non-Muslims in Abu Dhabi, by granting them freedom to select the appropriate method to write and register their will concerning disposal of their estate after their death.  
"The registration of wills offers flexible legal options to assist non-Muslim families in the event of the death of the father or mother in order to protect assets and properties," said Al Abri. 
"The office receives the written will from the resident and all documents of properties listed in the will. The documents are checked first for approval and then the person is given an appointment to appear to the office and sign his or her will," Hamed Hasan Al Ayadaroos, administrative manager of Notary-Public and Authentication at the Judicial Department had told Khaleej Times last year after the opening of the office.

Documents required for registering a will: