I am a non-Muslim European Citizen. My fiancé wrote a will leaving me a house in the Dubai but the house has not yet been fully paid for and it still has some debts. Can I take the house only without the house loan and can I ask the rest of the heirs to pay for the debt, although I have to pay the real estate debts if I wish to take it.
To answer your question I would refer you to Law No 15 of 2017, which is relevant to management of non-Muslim estate and will in Dubai. Article No 13 of this law does not give you many options. It considers that the state transferred by the will would be transferred along with all of its debts. If you refuse to pay the estate’s liabilities, you would lose your rights created by the will.
I want to write a ‘will’ with regards to my assets in the UAE. Can I write on this ‘will’ that the applicable laws on these assets will be applied according to the laws in my home country?
Unfortunately, although you can apply your home country’s law in the will, but Article No 4 of Law No. 15 of 2017, excludes cases like yours if it is related to a real estate, which is based in the UAE.
If you have a question for our legal consultant, email media@professionallawyer.me with the subject line "Family Matters".
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