ADGM Wills for non-Muslims in Abu Dhabi and the UAE
An ADGM Will lets a non-Muslim choose who inherits their UAE assets and who cares for their children. Without one, the estate passes under the civil intestacy rules in Federal Decree-Law No. 41 of 2022: half to the surviving spouse and the rest equally among the children, unless an heir asks the court to apply home-country law. It is registered before the ADGM Courts Notary Public, in English and Arabic, and is often the natural choice where your assets and family are centred in Abu Dhabi.
What is an ADGM Will?
A civil Will for non-Muslims, registered before the ADGM Courts Notary in English and Arabic, and on death submitted for probate to the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department. It is made under Federal Decree-Law No. 41 of 2022 on Civil Personal Status and Abu Dhabi Law No. 14 of 2021 (as amended), which give non-Muslim expatriates full freedom to decide how their estate is distributed. The Will can be drafted broadly as you would expect under English common law, making it a workable, cost-effective solution for most clients.
Who can make one?
Non-Muslims
Aged 18 or over
With assets in the UAE, or appointing guardians for children here
Both let a non-Muslim decide who inherits their UAE assets, free of default rules. Which one fits usually turns on where your assets and family are based, and your wider plans; sometimes the answer is both. We will tell you which to use.
Compare with DIFC WillsFixed fees, in full view
ADGM offers two Will types. Our fee covers basic revisions before registration. ADGM registration is charged separately, per Will.
Frequently asked questions
What is an ADGM Will?+
A Will for non-Muslims, registered before the ADGM Courts Notary Public in both English and Arabic. It is drafted on common-law lines, so it reads much as a Will would in the United Kingdom or another common-law jurisdiction, and it can appoint executors and guardians, create trusts for young beneficiaries, and set out gifts of specific assets.
The important structural point is what happens afterwards. An ADGM Will is administered onshore by the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department under Abu Dhabi and federal civil law, not by the ADGM Courts. That is the main difference from a DIFC Will, where registration and probate both stay within the DIFC Courts. In practice it means the document is bilingual by design and the eventual probate application is made through the local courts, which suits families whose property, employment and banking are all in Abu Dhabi.
Should I make a DIFC or an ADGM Will?+
Both routes achieve the same core result: as a non-Muslim you decide who inherits your UAE assets and who cares for your children, instead of leaving it to the statutory defaults. The difference is procedural. A DIFC Will is registered with the DIFC Wills Service and, on death, is proved in the DIFC Courts entirely in English, which many families find simpler to administer from abroad. An ADGM Will is registered before the ADGM Courts Notary in English and Arabic and is proved onshore through the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department.
The choice usually turns on where your assets and family are based, which authorities your executor will have to deal with, whether you need worldwide coverage or UAE-only, and cost. Sometimes the right answer is both, with each Will expressly confined to particular assets so the two cannot conflict. We will look at what you own and where, and tell you plainly which route to take.
Do I have to live in Abu Dhabi, or in the UAE at all?+
No. Residency is not a requirement. The route is open to any non-Muslim aged 18 or over who holds assets in the UAE or has minor children living here, wherever they are based. Registration takes place before the ADGM Courts Notary through the online platform, so it can be completed from outside the country.
What matters is the connection to the assets and the family, not a visa. If you have left the UAE and no longer hold anything here, we will tell you that you no longer need a UAE Will rather than register one.
What does registration actually involve?+
We take your instructions, prepare the Will in English and Arabic, and send the draft for your approval. Once you are happy with it, we book the notary appointment and confirm the signing formalities that apply to your Will in advance, so nothing is left to be resolved on the day.
At the appointment you appear before the ADGM Courts Notary Public by video, confirm your identity and confirm that the Will is yours and that you are signing freely. We provide the witnesses at no additional charge; it is included within our service. The notarised Will is then attested and recorded, and you receive the registered document.
I already have a Will in my home country. Is that not enough?+
Usually not. A foreign Will is not automatically given effect over UAE assets. It has to be produced to the local courts, translated, legalised and then interpreted under UAE law, which takes time and cost at the worst possible moment for your family. In the meantime accounts stay frozen and property cannot be transferred.
We strongly recommend restricting your UAE Will to your UAE estate and putting separate Wills in place in each other jurisdiction where you hold assets. That makes the end result certain. The documents must be drafted to work together: a general revocation clause in a later foreign Will can quietly cancel the UAE one. We review both before advising.
What happens if I die without a UAE Will?+
Your UAE estate falls to be dealt with under the civil intestacy rules in Federal Decree-Law No. 41 of 2022, which divide the estate half to the surviving spouse and the remainder equally among the children, unless an heir applies to have the law of your home country applied instead.
The practical consequences arrive first. Accounts in your sole name are frozen, including those a surviving spouse depends on. Property cannot be sold or transferred until the court determines who inherits. Shares in a UAE company can leave a business unable to operate. Where there are children and no appointed guardian, the question of who cares for them is decided by the court. A registered Will avoids all of it.
Can I change or cancel my ADGM Will later?+
Yes, at any time while you have capacity. There is no codicil procedure on this route: changes are made by revoking the existing Will and registering a fresh one in full. That keeps a single clean document on the record rather than a chain of amendments that have to be read together.
We recommend a review after any material change, including marriage or divorce, a birth, the death of a named beneficiary, buying or selling property, or leaving the UAE. A Will that is valid but out of date causes the same disputes as no Will at all.
Who can I appoint as executor or guardian?+
Your executor can be a family member, a friend, or a professional adviser, and there is no requirement that they live in the UAE. Always name a substitute in case your first choice cannot act when the time comes.
The same applies to guardians for children under 18. Where the guardians you want live abroad, we also appoint interim guardians based in the UAE who can take responsibility immediately, so there is no gap between the death and the permanent guardians arriving. Guardianship appointments take effect on death and do not wait for probate.
Can an ADGM Will cover assets across the UAE?+
An ADGM Will can cover assets held in Abu Dhabi and, depending on the type of Will chosen, assets elsewhere in the UAE. A Guardianship Will deals only with the appointment of guardians for your children and does not distribute property at all; a Full Will covers all asset classes together with guardianship and trust provisions.
Where property sits in another emirate, or where you also hold assets abroad, we check how each of those jurisdictions treats the Will before settling on the structure, and we draft the revocation and territorial clauses carefully so that one Will does not accidentally cancel another. The aim is a single coherent set of documents that covers everything you own, with no gaps and no overlap.