Corporate and estate documents, Dubai
Estate and inheritance documents
Someone has died and you have been handed a list of documents in vocabulary nobody has explained. This page is about what happens first, and in what order.
We are a document services provider. The notarial act is performed by a Dubai Courts notary, not by us.
01
AED 1,500
Our fee for the power of attorney that lets one person act for the family
02
AED 4,000
Our fee for a will covering UAE assets, where one is needed
03
Two languages
Every instrument drafted in Arabic and English together
04
Same working day
A draft read and answered inside the working day
What this page covers
Someone has died and you have been handed a list of documents in vocabulary nobody has explained. This sets out what an estate in Dubai usually needs, and the order those documents come in. Heirs are frequently in different countries, so a power of attorney for estate administration, letting one person deal with the file on behalf of the others, is normally the single most useful document to get in place early. The steps below are not a menu: each one tends to be a precondition for the next, and doing them out of sequence produces documents that institutions will not accept yet. There is no charge for a conversation before anything is prepared, and at this stage a conversation is usually worth more than a document.
The documents typically involved
Power of attorney for estate administration
AED 1,500
Lets one person deal with the file, the banks and the registries, on behalf of heirs who are not able to attend everything themselves.
Will covering UAE assets
AED 4,000
Where the estate needs a will made for assets held here, rather than a distribution decided by rules nobody chose.
Documents issued abroad
A death certificate or an equivalent issued outside the UAE, translated and carried through the legalisation chain before a UAE institution will look at it.
Agreements between heirs
Where the heirs agree on how something is to be dealt with, that agreement recorded rather than assumed.
The order documents are usually needed in
01
Establish who the heirs are
Nothing else can move until the entitled parties are identified in a form banks and registries will accept.
02
Appoint someone to act
A power of attorney for estate administration, so one person can deal with the file rather than requiring everyone to attend everything.
03
Gather and translate the foreign documents
A death certificate or an equivalent issued abroad usually needs translation, and sometimes further steps, before a UAE institution will look at it.
04
Record the agreements between heirs
Where the heirs agree on how something is to be dealt with, that agreement is recorded rather than assumed.
05
Deal with the bank accounts
Each bank has its own document set and its own process. We tell you which set your bank needs and prepare what can be prepared, and where a bank insists on its own form, we check it against the rest of the file.
06
Transfer shares held by the deceased
Company shares do not transfer themselves. The company’s own constitutional process runs alongside the estate process, and both have to be satisfied.
Documents from abroad
A death certificate, a grant of probate or an equivalent issued outside the UAE does not automatically carry the standing here that it had where it was made. Tell us the country and we will set out the legalisation chain that applies before you commit to anything.
How the chain usually runs, for a document issued outside the UAE
01
Formalised in the issuing country
The document is authenticated in the country where it was issued, the first link in the chain.
02
Confirmed by that country’s foreign ministry
Or the equivalent body, before it can move any further.
03
Confirmed by the UAE mission there
The UAE embassy or consulate in that country adds its own confirmation.
04
Confirmed again on arrival
Often by the relevant UAE ministry once the document reaches the country.
05
Translated at the right point
Translation happens at a specific point in this sequence, not wherever is convenient, because a translation attached before a confirmation may not be covered by it.
What the specific instruments cost
| AED | What it includes | |
|---|---|---|
| Power of attorney for estate administration | 1,500 | Drafting in both languages, the Dubai Courts appointment arranged and attended |
| Will covering UAE assets | 4,000 | Drafting in both languages |
| Translation, legalisation and registration steps | Quoted on the draft | Depends on the country of origin and the institution involved |
There is no single fee for an estate as a whole. Each instrument is priced on its own, and the Dubai Courts fee is separate and charged at cost.
What we will and will not do
You are dealing with this at a bad time, so it is worth being plain about the boundary. A notary attests to documents; drafting the instruments an estate needs, and making sure they will be accepted by the institutions that have to act on them, is the work we do. Advice on entitlement, on disputes between heirs, or on whether a distribution is correct, is a legal question and belongs to a lawyer, and we say so at the first conversation rather than sell you a document you do not need.
Individually
Heirs acting individually
Every heir who needs to sign, attend a bank or appear at a counter has to do it themselves, in person, which is difficult when the family is spread across different countries.
Through one attorney
Heirs acting through one power of attorney
One person, appointed by a power of attorney for estate administration, deals with the file on behalf of the others. It is normally the single most useful document to get in place early.
The detail that decides how smoothly this goes
Establishing who the heirs are, in a form banks and registries will accept, is the step everything else depends on. Nothing later in the file, the power of attorney, the bank accounts, the share transfer, can move until that is settled, which is why it is worth getting right first rather than skipping past it.
What we need from you at the first conversation
Who has died, and roughly when
The country where the death certificate or grant of probate was issued
Who the heirs are, as far as it is currently known
Whether a power of attorney is needed, and who would hold it
Which banks, registries or companies are involved
A number we can reach you on
Where this stalls if done out of order
The steps above are not a menu. Each one tends to be a precondition for the next, and doing them out of sequence produces documents that institutions will not accept yet. There is no charge for a conversation before anything is prepared, which is usually the fastest way to avoid it.
Common gaps, and the fix
01
Heirs not yet established
The fix: confirm who the heirs are, in a form banks and registries will accept, before anything else is drafted.
02
No one appointed to act
The fix: put a power of attorney for estate administration in place, so one person can deal with the file on behalf of the others.
03
A foreign document arrives untranslated, or out of sequence
The fix: tell us the country of origin before anything is prepared, so we can set out the legalisation chain that applies and where translation sits within it.
04
Heirs have agreed something informally
The fix: record the agreement between heirs, rather than assuming it will be accepted as understood.
05
A bank asks for its own form
The fix: we check the bank’s own document set against the rest of the file before it is signed.
06
Shares dealt with separately from the rest of the estate
The fix: the company’s own constitutional process runs alongside the estate process, and both have to be satisfied.
Once the documents are in place, where they go next
01
Presenting to the bank
Each bank has its own document set. We tell you which set applies and prepare what can be prepared, checking any of the bank’s own forms against the rest of the file.
02
Transferring shares
Company shares do not transfer themselves. The company’s own constitutional process runs alongside the estate process, and both have to be satisfied.
03
Closing out the file
Once every institution involved has accepted what it needs, the file is complete.
Why translation has a place in the chain, not just a stage
A translation attached before the confirmation it depends on may not be covered by that confirmation. That is why translation happens at a specific point in the legalisation chain rather than wherever is convenient, and why a document translated out of turn sometimes has to go back and be done again.
Tell us the country the documents came from. We will set out the chain before you commit to anything.
Documents we prepare are accepted by the authorities and institutions our clients deal with every week, because we write to what each of them actually requires.
Will covering UAE assets
For a will that specifically covers assets held in the UAE, rather than a general power of attorney.
Company power of attorney
Where the estate includes a business, and someone needs to act for the company itself.
Special power of attorney
A narrower authority for one named transaction, where a general estate power of attorney is more than is needed.
Share transfer
Where company shares held by the deceased have to be transferred to the heirs.
Questions we are actually asked about estate documents
Do all the heirs need to be in the UAE?
No. A power of attorney for estate administration lets one person deal with the file on behalf of heirs who are elsewhere, which is normally the most useful document to get in place early.
What is the first thing we should do?
Establish who the heirs are, in a form banks and registries will accept. Nothing else can move until that is settled.
Our death certificate was issued abroad. What happens to it?
It usually needs to go through a legalisation chain before a UAE institution will look at it, and translation happens at a specific point in that chain. Tell us the country and we will set out the chain that applies.
Can you tell us who is entitled to what?
No. A notary attests to documents, and we draft and prepare them. Advice on entitlement, or on disputes between heirs, is a legal question and belongs to a lawyer.
What does this cost?
There is no single fee for an estate as a whole. The power of attorney is AED 1,500 and a will covering UAE assets is AED 4,000. Translation, legalisation and registration steps are quoted once we see the document.
Do you handle the bank accounts and the shares directly?
We prepare what can be prepared, and check any form a bank or a company’s own process requires against the rest of the file. Company shares do not transfer themselves, so the company’s own constitutional process runs alongside the estate process.
What clients say
Nine reviews from our Google Business Profile. We publish them as written, and we do not write them.
Had experience of getting some of my documents attested from the firm. Service was top notch. Mr. Ali explained everything in detail and was of great assistance. I would recommend firm for any legal assistance or document attestation.
Highly Recommended and Excellent Service. I had to do notarization for some documents and Miss Razan assisted us greatly with exceptional professionalism and courtesy. I extend my utmost commendation for the exemplary quality of service provided.
Excellent service from notary services Dubai. They are instant replying agency. Others take long hours to reply for simple questions. Highly recommended for notaries in Dubai
I needed statutory declaration for new Zealand notarized. They did for me online since I was based in Abu Dhabi. Thanks for your service.
Great and speedy service for getting the NOC to sponsor my child. Big thanks to Ali for handling everything smoothly and on time!
Excellent notary service! Everything was handled smoothly and professionally. They even agreed to schedule a call at a time that worked best for us, which was outside their usual practice, a real sign of their flexibility and client focus. Top professionals, willing to go above and beyond. Highly recommended
I contact this office for a notary today on Sunday they processed my notary and I got my documents today online
I am 100 percent satisfied with their true copy attestation highly recommend
Lovely staff professional work nice knowledge highly recommended
Reviews published on our Google Business Profile and verified by Trustindex. Shown as written.
Send the draft. We will tell you whether it will be accepted, before you commit.
One document, one line about what it has to achieve, and an email address. No charge, no obligation, and an answer the same working day.
Where to find us
Address
Empire Heights Tower B, Fountain Street, Business Bay, Dubai
Phone
+971 55 564 0358
info@dubainotaryservices.ae