A YouGov survey commissioned by estate planning platform Blanket revealed that 56 per cent of UAE expatriates believe their assets would automatically pass to their spouse or partner in the event of their death. The study of 1,014 UAE expat residents, conducted in September 2026, also showed that 49 per cent of respondents have yet to start drafting a will.
Legal experts told Gulf News that marriage alone does not guarantee full asset transfer under UAE inheritance regulations. Under the default civil inheritance framework applicable to non-Muslim expatriates, an estate is divided by a fixed formula: 50 per cent goes to the surviving spouse, and the remaining 50 per cent is divided equally among the children, rather than automatically granting unrestricted control to the spouse.
The findings also highlighted that only 24 per cent of expatriate parents with children under the age of 18 have formally documented legal guardianship arrangements, even though 73 per cent believed their families could determine their wishes. Without registered legal documentation, families can face court-directed guardianship assignments and frozen accounts following an unexpected death.
Samara Iqbal, founder at Aramas International Lawyers, cited cases where the absence of a finalised will led to disrupted property sales and prolonged legal cross-border procedures involving overseas relatives. Anton Pirinen, founder of Blanket, stated that the assumption that marriage automatically transfers assets and preserves immediate financial access remains the single largest misconception among UAE residents.
Sources
- Gulf News · 2026-10-20
