Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) has recently amended the rules with respect to its Wills & Probate Registry. From June 30th 2019, any Will can now include assets located in not only all of the Emirates, but internationally too. Previously, it had just been restricted to assets in Dubai and Ras al Khaimah. This is a significant change, which will allow non-Muslims to include the entirety of their estate in a DIFC Will.

Caution should be exercised as always; most cases will be reviewed on case-by-case basis. We recommend that anyone interested should come speak to Alpha Management, or seek legal advice.

The DIFC Wills & Probate Registry are allowing all existing Wills to be amended to include assets in other Emirates or global assets, at no additional cost between 30th June and 29th August 2019.

An additional change relates to how a DIFC Will will be executed going forward. From now on the Testator shall be responsible for providing two independent witnesses for the execution of the Will. Both witnesses must be over the age of 21 years and shall not be either a Beneficiary or a Guardian of any of the minor children specified in the will (or a spouse of a Beneficiary or a Guardian). For more info, get in touch with Alpha Management.