We help busy expats and investors around the world register their UAE will from home, in 2 to 3 hours of their time, without paying hourly lawyer rates. We coordinate everything else, from drafting to government submission, until it's registered.
500+ expat families trust SmartWills.ae
Why we exist
No scare tactics. The UAE system works. The only question is whether it works on your instructions, or on default assumptions.
Without a will
Accounts, joint ones included, could stay frozen for months while the estate goes through legal processing.
With a registered will
The court has your instructions: the process could take weeks instead of months or years.
Without a will
A default formula decides, and it may include relatives you never intended.
With a registered will
You decide who gets what, in percentages, written and registered.
Without a will
UAE courts decide who takes care of them. Your preference stays unknown.
With a registered will
The guardians you chose, temporary and permanent, are named in a registered document.
Without a will
Cannot be sold and typically cannot be rented until the court completes the transfer.
With a registered will
Your instructions guide the transfer from day one.
Without a will
Paperwork, court visits and uncertainty, in a system they may not know.
With a registered will
One clear document, in Arabic and English, that speaks the court's language.
Ownership and inheritance work through different mechanisms in the UAE. A registered will is the document that closes that gap.
Validation can involve notarisation, attestation, certified Arabic translation and court approval, and could take 6 to 12 months. One will per country is the clean solution.
Under UAE law, your partner has no automatic legal right to your estate. If you want them protected, it has to be written. A will is the instrument that does it.
20-second gut check
Property, a car, a bank account, some savings.
There are three ways to register a UAE will. The right one depends on where your assets are, how fast you need it and your budget, exactly what the free call clarifies.
DIFC The English-only route, inside Dubai’s international financial centre. Gov. fees ~10,000 AED / ~15,000 AED 
ADJD The Abu Dhabi Judicial Department route, open to the widest audience. Gov. fees 950 AED / 1,900 AED 
Dubai Courts The onshore Dubai Courts route, fully remote. Gov. fees ~2,000 AED / ~4,000 AED Still unsure? Take our free quiz to find out which type of will may be right for you.
Click here to start nowGovernment fees are public and paid directly to the registry. Our service fee is transparent and discussed on your free call.
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A free 30-minute video call where we map your situation: where your assets are, which route fits them, whether a mirror or single will protects your family better. You leave with a clear plan, and zero obligation.
You leave knowing exactly what you need.
One guided working session, the only real time investment you make. We walk you through every decision a will requires, in plain English, with a specialist keeping you on track the whole way.
Every choice made, and written down.
Your part is done. Our partner law firm turns your decisions into a will that speaks the court's language. You review the draft with anyone you like, and we do not move forward until you approve.
A draft you have actually checked.
For the ADJD and Dubai Courts routes, the will is translated into Arabic, the version the court relies on. One Ministry of Justice-certified translator does the work, then a native Arabic speaker on our team checks every name and clause. The DIFC route is English-only and skips this step.
Court-ready Arabic, with no surprises.
A short video call with the court's notary, in English, to confirm it is you and that you signed freely. We send you a checklist the evening before. The wait depends on your route: days for Dubai Courts, a few weeks for DIFC, longer for ADJD.
Registered, without you chasing anyone.
A will is a snapshot of your life, and life moves. Every 6 months we check in: new child, new property, new country? If something changed, we update your will. If nothing did, you are simply covered.
Still accurate, year after year.
0+
expats guided through the full process
Other providers offer hundreds of services. We do one: helping expats register their UAE will. Specialisation is why the process feels simple.
Every will is drafted and reviewed by our partner law firm. The professional leading the drafting has 10+ years of legal experience in the UAE and is a DIFC registered draftsman. Out of the thousands of lawyers in the UAE, only a few dozen hold this specialist qualification.
The certified Arabic translation comes from our partner translation office, registered with the UAE Ministry of Justice, then double-checked against the details courts reject most often.
Government fees are public and paid directly to the registry. Our service fee is fixed, explained on the first call, before you commit to anything.
Three ways to get a UAE will done. Here is what actually changes for you, side by side.
The process
Pricing
Speed
Guarantee
Remote
Translation
Submission
What goes in your will
Choosing the registry
Who reviews the draft
Beneficiaries, guardians and executors
What happens after
Preparing your executor
After registration
Government fees are not included in our professional fees.
If your estate is genuinely simple, a template done properly can be enough, and we will tell you that on the call. This is for everyone whose life has more moving parts than a single bank account.
Real reviews from expat families who registered their UAE will with us, start to finish.
500+
expat families guided through the full process
2-3h
of your time, from first call to registered will
+5 and hundreds more expat families
From start to finish, the actual time I spent on it was under three hours, split into small chunks across two weeks. The team worked around my pace, instead of expecting me to work around theirs.
Fixed price declared on the first call, fully remote process, zero surprises on the final invoice. What you are told on day one is what you pay.
SmartWills opened a WhatsApp group on day one with the Legacy Guide. Every question got an answer in hours, not days. I don't think I ever had to write the words 'any update on this?'.
I tried to save money at first with a cheap online template. Months later I realised I had no idea whether that document would actually be accepted by the UAE courts. The specialist flagged two issues with my original setup that would have caused real problems.
A single Protection Assessment for both of us, two parallel will documents prepared at the same time, registered together. Done in a fraction of the time I had expected.
Protection Assessment on Saturday morning, draft in my WhatsApp group by Wednesday exactly as promised. Every single deadline the team committed to on the first call, they hit.
The thing I valued most wasn't the price or even the timeline: it was that I never had to chase anyone. When something needs chasing, they chase it. When something needs your input, they ask once.
The Arabic translation came from a certified legal translator, then a native Arabic speaker on their team checked every name and clause against our documents. Our will was submitted once and accepted first time. No revisions, no delays.
My situation was complicated: multi-country assets, specific wishes that didn't match standard templates. I expected SmartWills to give me something generic. Instead the specialist flagged issues in my initial distribution that would have caused problems in court. They proposed specific alternatives that preserved what I actually wanted. This is a real service, not a template factory.
Very professional and had all the knowledge to assist in understanding the process. Teams calls were used where all parties could join and discuss the process together, which was excellent. Thanks team!
Smartwills made what could have been a complicated process very clear and straightforward. Doing this on our own would have been much more difficult, so we really appreciated their guidance throughout. Overall, we are very happy with Smartwills' service and support. They were professional, responsive, and made the entire process as easy as possible. We would definitely recommend them to anyone looking to prepare a will in the UAE.
Straightforward, efficient, and great value for money, no problem recommending!
The overall experience has been excellent. Every team member has been on time, all steps explained clearly, amazing follow-up and reminders.
Smartwills made it, from the start and throughout the process, very intuitive and simple for me. The process took only some weeks and now I am glad to have peace of mind.
I had an excellent experience with SmartWills from start to finish. The entire process was professional, efficient, and surprisingly straightforward. The team was always responsive, explained every step clearly, and made what could have been a complicated legal process feel simple and stress-free. The online system was easy to use, communication was prompt, and the video notary appointment was well organised and seamless. I felt supported throughout and confident that my wishes and my family's future were being properly protected. I would highly recommend SmartWills to anyone looking to prepare a will in the UAE.
Great and very patient team. Very highly recommended.
I'm an investor and honestly I had no idea a UAE will was something I needed to register until I came across one of SmartWills' videos online. That alone got me curious enough to book a call. Once we started, the team didn't make me chase anything. When I had specific questions on some of the more complex assets I owned, a vessel among others, they offered to jump on additional video calls beyond what we'd scheduled, just to walk through the implications properly. No hourly fees, no friction. They genuinely went out of their way. The whole thing was done in a fraction of the time I'd expected.
I highly recommend the team at SmartWills. They went through each and every step of the process patiently and drafted the agreement professionally. They even expedited the Abu Dhabi courts verification process. I highly recommend SmartWills to anyone willing to formulate and register a will in the UAE.
Most providers hand you the will and disappear. SmartWills has a 6-month review built in. I'd just had my second child and hadn't got round to updating my will, so they prompted me, and we updated beneficiaries in two days. This is the part people don't think about when comparing providers. Wills go out of date. SmartWills makes sure yours doesn't.
Such a great experience! Honestly, for such a challenging process, the team were extremely professional, helpful, knowledgeable and made it so easy and comfortable. The whole process took around 1 month all in all!
If you're an expat living in the UAE and you've been putting off drafting your will, this is the nudge you needed. SmartWills makes the whole process surprisingly painless. Everything happens remotely, via WhatsApp, and the dedicated Legacy Guide walks you through every step at your own pace. No awkward office appointments, no chasing lawyers for callbacks. The will is drafted by their partner law firm, specialised in UAE succession law, then translated into Arabic by a certified legal translator and independently double-checked by an Arabic speaker on their team. That level of rigor is rare and genuinely reassuring when the stakes are this high. They also match your submission to the right route (Abu Dhabi, Dubai Courts, or DIFC). Pricing is transparent with no hidden fees, and if the court doesn't accept your will for any reason on their side, they redo it entirely at their cost. Highly recommended.
I'm the person who puts off anything admin-related for years. A UAE will had been on my to-do list forever. I'd even gotten quotes from two traditional law firms (around 6,500 and 7,000 AED, both hourly-rate, both requiring three in-person meetings) but the thought of blocking out three office visits is exactly what kept me procrastinating. With SmartWills the whole process was remote: WhatsApp, calls, documents, court submission, everything. No office visits, handled it between meetings and flights. Fixed price from day one was a bonus, but the real thing for me was that they made it simple enough that it finally got done.
I own two apartments here in Dubai in different freehold areas. My biggest concern going into this was how the will would handle the property transfer to my wife and kids without dragging through the Dubai Land Department in some kind of long approval process. SmartWills mapped out exactly what would happen with each property: registration, beneficiary nomination, expected transfer timeline. The specialist explained the local quirks I didn't know about and made sure both apartments were covered by the right clauses. For anyone with UAE real estate, this is not a generic legal exercise. Worth doing properly.
I had been telling myself I'd sort out the UAE will "next month" for almost four years. Two law firms had quoted me over 7,000 AED with three in-person meetings each. SmartWills handled the whole thing remotely: a Protection Assessment call covered every decision I needed to make, draft back in 3 working days, translation and court submission all handled for me. About two hours of my actual time spread across a few weeks and it was done. Only regret: not doing it sooner.
Good service, good advice, and very reactive.
Simply great experience with Smartwills, a real professional team, following up and assisting me from the very beginning (with extraordinary info and advices) till the end when fixing the appointment with the ADJD notary. I really can't expect a better service! They did everything beyond my expectations, even their price is very fair and worth the job done. Thank you Smartwills team.
They were 100% what they described / advertised and 100% more. Responsive, professional, accurate, mentoring, well prepared, amazing. Very very very impressive.
If a sentence needs a law degree, we rewrite it. That is our rule for the whole site, and for every conversation with us.
Very likely yes. A will from your home country may not work automatically in the UAE. Validation can involve notarisation, attestation, certified Arabic translation and court approval, and could take 6 to 12 months, while your UAE assets could remain inaccessible. The clean solution is one will per country: your home-country will covers your assets there, your UAE will covers your assets here.
Two to three hours in total, spread across a few weeks: one guided session, a draft review, and a short government video call in English. We coordinate everything in between: drafting, certified translation, submission and every follow-up until the will is registered.
No. The process is remote for all three registries. The only live step is a short government video call in English, and we prepare you for exactly what to expect before it starts.
There are specific options for Muslim expats, and the details matter. The right route and structure depend on your situation, that is exactly what the free Risk Profile Audit clarifies, with no obligation.
Percentage-based wills cover assets you acquire in the future, so a new bank account or property does not require a new will. And every 6 months we check in with you: if life has changed, a child, a move, a new executor, we tell you whether an update makes sense.
Government fees are public and paid directly to the registry: ADJD 950 AED (single) or 1,900 AED (mirror), Dubai Courts around 2,000 / 4,000 AED, DIFC around 10,000 / 15,000 AED. Our service fee is transparent and discussed on the free call, before you decide anything.
Still unsure about your situation?
Ask us directlyYour next step
Most expats live here for a decade without ever sorting this out. Thirty minutes, zero pressure, and you finally know exactly what your situation needs.
Book your free Risk Profile Audit. It takes 2 minutes.
Understand your options: route, single or mirror, documents.
Decide if SmartWills is right for you. No obligation either way.
Our guarantee: Any time before we submit your will to the government, if you are not happy for any reason, you get a full refund. And if the court later rejects the application, we fix it and resubmit at our own expense.