Ask expat parents why they finally registered a will and the answer is rarely the apartment or the portfolio. It is the question they could not leave to chance: who takes the children?
Why parents cannot rely on "obviously my sister would"
Your family's informal understanding has no legal force in the UAE. If both parents die without appointing guardians in a registered will, guardianship of minor children resident here is decided by the court under the applicable family framework. The judge will act in the children's interest as the law defines it — but the person appointed may not be the person you would have chosen, and the process takes time your children do not have.
There is also an immediate, practical layer parents rarely consider: in the hours and days after an accident, who may lawfully collect your children from school and care for them before any court has ruled?
The two-guardian structure we recommend
A well-drafted UAE or DIFC will separates guardianship into two appointments:
Temporary (interim) guardians — trusted adults resident in the UAE who can step in immediately. Their role is measured in days and weeks: keep the children safe, housed and in school while the permanent arrangements are activated.
Permanent guardians — often family abroad — who will raise the children long-term. The will should name substitutes in case the first choice cannot act, and should be coordinated with any will you hold in your home country so the two documents appoint the same people.
Practical points that decide cases
- Both parents should register wills with mirrored guardianship clauses; a clause in one parent's will does not cover the estate or wishes of the other.
- Travel and relocation: state expressly whether guardians may relocate the children to another country.
- Money follows the children: pair the guardianship clause with clear directions on how the estate funds the children's living costs and education — a guardian without access to funds is a guardian handicapped.
- Review on every life event: birth, divorce, a guardian's own relocation or death.
Both the DIFC and Dubai Courts registries accept guardianship provisions; our wills team drafts them as a standard part of every parent's will, not an optional extra. The questionnaire takes ten minutes — the section on your children is the one to answer most carefully.
This article is general information, not legal advice.