Importance of having a Will

Just Wills Al Wasiyya JLT

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© Just Wills Al Wasiyya JLT 2009. All Rights Reserved..... No part of this presentation or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied, modified or adapted, without the prior written consent of the author.

The Importance of Succession Planning

(in Advance).


Who are Just Wills

Just Wills UK

UK based Company with 20 years + experience in drafting Wills.

Just Wills PLC is the largest Independent specialist Will Writing Company in the UK.

Over £2,000,000 PI cover per Will.

Just Wills Al Wasiyya JLT

First branch of Just Wills in the UAE/Oman/Bahrain/Kuwait/Qatar.

Now have received the exclusive rights for the UAE/Oman/Bahrain/Kuwait/Qatar..

First company in UAE to offer a complete Will drafting service.


1. Wills (Single/Mirror)

2. Power of Attorneys

3. Hiba (Life Time Gift).

We offer 3 Products:


. Bank Accounts are frozen (Local Law).

. Visa’s are cancelled (Immigration Matter).

. Home Country is informed of your death (International Law).

• Local Law will/may apply to the distribution of the estate.• Life Policies can be passed onto your estate instead to your family.• Any other Investments can be frozen/delayed.• Family arguments within the Estate.• Ex Partners (husband/wife) can stake a claim in your estate.• Properties in your home country will be distributed according to the Laws of the Home

Country.• Children from any previous relationships could receive nothing.• Tax Man can have up to 40%+ of your money (Applies to countries where IHT is applicable)

•

What happens if you pass away without a Will in the UAE?


Freezing of Bank Accounts

• When a person passes away in any Country within the GCC the first thing that happens is that all of their bank accounts are blocked/frozen (both single and joint). This can happen in little as 2 to 3 hours or even sooner depending on the circumstances of the death.

• Most (not all) HR departments has a duty to inform the bank where the employee’s salaried is paid into of the death. The moment they are informed the bank accounts are blocked. Please note that the death certificate is not required for the bank account to be frozen.

• For your information there is no concept of either or survivor bank accounts (right of survivorship) within the GCC which means that if the husband passes away then the bank account is frozen the partner will not be able to withdraw any monies from the account.


Visa’s been cancelled

• At least 90% of the house wives are usually on the husband sponsorships. When the husband passes away his Visa has to be cancelled for the death certificate to be released which means that his wife, children and even the house maid Visa's are cancelled.

• This can be a big problem for the wife. Just imagine that all bank accounts are blocked then she is told to leave the country. How can she book the flights? Don’t forget the credit cards are also blocked.

• Please bear in mind that Visa’s been cancelled is an Immigration matter - this has nothing to do with the Islamic Law of Inheritance.

• The dependents are given a total of 30 days to leave the country. For certain nationalities they can have an additional 30 days extension.


Home Country is informed of your death

• Due to International Law the Embassy of your home country will be have to be informed of the death.

• In some countries the bank accounts are also frozen there which is due to LOCAL Laws of their home Country not the laws of the UAE/Oman/Bahrain/Kuwait/Qatar.

• For example if a South African national passes away within the GCC, the bank accounts are frozen then the South African Embassy will be informed of the death. They will then inform the authorities in South Africa which means the bank accounts in the home country are frozen there as well.

• Please note that International Law is always applied when a person dies.


Local L aw is applied on the distribution of your estate

• There are a lot of misconceptions surrounding the distribution of the shares. according to the Islamic Law of Inheritance. The Law has been around for almost 1400 Years ago and this is the default Law for UAE/Oman/Bahrain/Kuwait/Qatar.

• The Law states that the whole family should benefit from the death of the person not just one person. To work out the shares it is very important to know who the legal heirs are. As the shares changes depending on who the survivors are. E.g. In the case of a husband dying leaving behind a wife, son & daughter & parents the share are as follows:

• Wife 1/8th, Mother 1/6th, Father 1/6th, Son & Daughter 2:1 share respectively.

• Please note that the brother of the deceased is not a legal heir as the son & the father of the deceased are alive. The brother will only become a legal heir if both the father and the son are both not alive.


Life Policies/Death in Service Benefits/Gratuity Benefits can be passed onto your estate instead to your family.

• In cases were the beneficiary/nominee forms are not completed - it is important to have a valid Will as this document will cover all benefits/Policies. Although we always recommend that you complete the beneficiary/nominee forms many companies do not offer this.

• As many Employers do not offer beneficiary/ nominee forms for the end of service of benefits (ESB) and due to this they will not know were to send the benefit to.

• Gratuity tends to end up in the Local Courts. Due to this it is vital that your have a valid Will so that the courts will know to whom these benefits should go to.

• According to the Shariah DISB & Gratuity benefits are not owned by the employee at the time of the death therefore this is not part of his estate which means he is free to distribute this according to his wishes (Hiba).


Any other Investments can be frozen/delayed.

• If you own any properties (off-plan as well), National Bonds/Shares Stock/Shares or any other Investments they will be delayed/frozen until the Courts decides on who the beneficiaries are.

• Courts requires a Will to decide on who the beneficiaries are before they release any funds. As mentioned if there is no Will the Local Laws will be applied.

• This may take a longtime and cause a lot of family friction.


Family arguments within the Estate.

• There have been so many situations when people pass away and where there is no Will the family are fighting for the estate.

• Due to this there are many cases that are still in the court stuck there for so many years. Since there is no Will and the Judge will have apply his own decision to the case which will go against the wishes of the deceased.

• There is only one document that can speed this process.

• “Where there is a Will there is a way”……………………………………


Ex Partners (husband/wife) can stake a claim in your estate.

. If you are divorced it is important that this is mentioned in the Will.

. Many divorces may not be absolute which means that the ex-partner may still take a claim in the estate.

. Always better to mention this in the Will or prepare a Letter of Wishes to explain the matter.


Properties in your home country will be distributed according to the Laws of the Home Country.

• Every Country has a default law that if a person dies and left no Will then the Country will decide how the estate will be distributed

• Countries like the UK, Canada & India has there own inheritance

Laws which may not agree with the wishes of the deceased.

• Therefore it becomes very important to have a Will drafted.


Children from any previous relationships could receive nothing.

• By not having a Will if you have children from a previous marriage they may end up with nothing……………………..

• There have been many cases where the children from the previous marriage end up with nothing and due to this many estate have been contested. Once the estate is contested the case may be in court for several months/years fro the judge to arrive to a decision.

• By having a Will the testator (person writing the Will) can decide to whom the estate can pass to. This is a very important note to point as there are so many divorces and making a provision in the Will document will make all the difference.


Tax Man can have up to 40% of your money

(Applies to countries where IHT is applicable)

• This usually applies to countries where Inheritance/death duties apply to.

• Just Wills are not Tax advisors so we always recommend that you seek independent advice from a Tax Advisor.

• We always advice clients that all Countries share information on what the deceased owned which means that your home country will know what you assets you owned. Therefore you may be taxed on all your assets Worldwide………

• For example if a US citizen dies in the State of the UAE the IRS will find out all the assets the person owned both in the UAE & the USA.


If you have a Will

• Speed the Process of the distribution of your estate• Your wishes will be accepted UAE/Oman/Bahrain/Kuwait/Qatar in the UAE **• Decide where you would like your estate to pass to.• Decide where you want your Bank Accounts to go to. • Life Policies can be passed to the people of your choice. • Any and all Investments can pass to the people of your choice. • NO Family arguments - everyone knows you gets what. • Set up Exclusion clauses to block your Ex Partners.• Make a provision for children from any previous marriage(s). • Make a gift of money to a family member e.g. A parent.• Choose your own Executors.• Make a provision for a Charity **depending on your religion

AND MORE IMPORTANT.......© Just Wills Al Wasiyya JLT 2009. All Rights Reserved..... No part of this presentation or any of its contents may be reproduced,


Appointing temporary & permanent Guardians

• What happens to your children if you and your partner pass away ???• If you have not prepared for this, and there are disputes, Local

Authorities of your home country and or UAE/Oman/Bahrain/Kuwait/Qatar can appoint Guardians or put your children in temporary care.

. You need to appoint both Interim & Permanent Guardians• Making a provision for your guardians to look after your children

A Will is the ONLY document that allows you to appoint Guardians to protect your

Children’s future.

Protecting your Children


2 in every 3 people

Do Not Have a Will.

Statistics within UAE/Oman/Bahrain/Kuwait/Qatar


What does a Will do?

It protects your assets & your CHILDREN !!!


Power of Attorney

If a person was to become mentally incapacitated/brain dead or in a coma, potentially Bank accounts, Mortgage Accounts & Businesses could come to a halt especially if two signatures are required to operate the account.

By setting up a Power of Attorney (usually between partners), the attorney will be able to operate bank accounts, mortgage accounts, etc. The attorney cannot change the Will (hopefully the Will would of being signed prior) however the Power of Attorney will be a very useful document to have all your financial documents looked after by the attorney.

Further information is available upon request.


What Just Wills recommends....

?


7 Major Points• 1. Emergency Bank Account• 2. Liability Protection (Off shore provider to cover debts, Partnership Assurance & Key man)

• 3. Set up a Visa for partner.• 4. Assets & Liabilities

Statement/Contact Sheet for all listed in the Will

• 5. Hiba (The Gift).• 6. Power of Attorney (Mirror)

• 7. The WILL (Mirror)© Just Wills Al Wasiyya JLT 2009. All Rights Reserved..... No part of this presentation or any of its contents may be reproduced,


1. Emergency Bank Account

It is important that you have an emergency single/off shore bank account as all bank accounts are frozen when a person dies. Unfortunately there is no concept of either or survivor bank accounts within the GCC. In other words when a person passes away all bank accounts are frozen when a person dies. Banks are giving wrong information to customers that the accounts are not frozen. The only concept they have is JOINT accounts which means that both husband & wife can use the accounts but when one dies all accounts are blocked.

Bank accounts are frozen for two reasons:

1. Clear all debts & liabilities.2. Determine who the legal heirs are.

By having either a single account in the wife’s name and an emergency off shore account means that this account will not be frozen so that the partner (mainly the wife) will be able to use this account. Another reason is that if you are going to receive any benefits you will need to have a receiving account as well.


2. Life Assurance • As you are aware that all your Debts & Liabilities have to be cleared

before anyone inherits anything regardless of your Religion/Origin. Therefore it is always recommended that you keep additional Life Assurance.

• Most companies provides death in service benefits however it is recommended to keep additional life cover as if you leave your present employer your death in service benefits/life cover will cease immediately leaving you without any cover.

• It is also important that if you have any Life Cover you should complete the beneficiary forms so that upon your death the benefit will be paid immediately.

• Further information is available on request.


3. Set up a Visa for the partner

• As mentioned the Visa is always cancelled when the main sponsor (usually the husband) passes away.

• This can be a major problem as the wife/children/house maid Visa's are all cancelled. They have leave the UAE/Oman/Bahrain/Kuwait/Qatar within 30 days. For certain nationalities they can have another 30 days extension, however afterwards they will have to exit. For other nationalities they will have to leave and then they cannot enter until they get a tourist Visa or someone sponsors them.

• Usually it would up to the HR manager to provide temporary Visa’s for the families.

• For further please contact us.


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4. Assets & Liabilities Statement

• You will be surprised how many people may not know exactly what they own.

• You will be may more surprised to know that husband & wife do not share details of what they own to one another.

• Just imagine that if both the husband & wife died how will the children will know what their parents owned.

• What we recommend is to always prepare a list of everything you own (Asset & Liability List – A & L List) and keep this up to date. This list does not need to be attested or legalized it is just a guide line on what assets was owned by the deceased.

• The A & L List should be kept with the Will and kept with the Executors.


5. Contact Sheet for all listed in the Will

• Just Wills usually list ONLY names and ID/Passport Numbers for the people listed in the Will.

• As the contact details may change frequently people used to make amendments on their Wills. Amendments should not be carried out on the Will as this may cause problems later on.

• We do recommend that you keep a separate list of (a contact sheet) contact numbers, such as mobile, home/office numbers, email ID’s and addresses and on a word/excel document and you can keep on changing this when their details changes. This means that you do not need to change the Will you just simply change the contact list.

• Again this does not need to be legalized or attested.


What information is required when drafting a Will ???

• 1. Executors (minimum of two).

• 2. Interim and full time guardians (Minimum of two each)

• 3. How you would like your estate to be distributed

• 4. Any Gifts (Monetary/Properties, etc.)

• 5. Disaster Clause (in case all pass away).

Please note that you need to prepare your Assets & Liability List anyway


Why Us?1. Just Wills was the first Will drafting Company in the GCC.

2. We have a full Will Drafting Licence (first one ever of its kind).

3. Offer full End to End service including execution Service. ).

4. Awqaaf appreciation (Islamic Affairs Department).5. Registered with the Rulers Court of Dubai (LAD).6. We understand the Islamic Law of Inheritance.7. Worldwide Wills (Subject to your personal status).8. Registered with the Dubai Chamber of Commerce. 9. On the Dubai Government Website as an approved Co.10. Registered with the Institute of Professional Will Writers


Tel: +9714 311 6592 Fax: +9714 332 8810Email: [email protected] Or Visit: www.just-wills.net

You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHerf7E4ISw

To Contact us


Case example 1

• Husband dies only 38 and leaves no Will.

• Grandfather claiming physical custody of the child

• Case is now going through the Courts.


Case example 2

• Husband commits suicide and leaves no Will.

• Parents receives 75% of the estate.

• Wife receives 25% only.


Case example 3

• Husband dies and leaves no Will.

• As there are no sons and no father his brother his receives 75% of the estate.

• Wife receives 25% only.


Case example 4

• Wife dies and leaves no Will.

• Employer wants to pay all company benefits to the husband. Mother in Law objects the share. Local Law is applied. In Laws now receive 50 per cent of the estate.

• Husband receives 50 per cent.


Questions?


What to do next?

• Scan and email passport copies/Visa pages for the immediate family.

• Decide on both your temporary & permanent guardians and email the details.


Executors

• Dictionary meaning: A person or company named in a will to ensure that all the assets and debts are accounted for and that all property is distributed as specified in the will. Also called a personal representative.

• These are people who you nominate that will follow your wishes after your death. Usually the person drafting the Will (the Testator) will nominate their partner as the first Executor.

• It is always recommended that the executors should be a person who knows you personally and has details of what you own i.e. the Asset & Liability List as if this person is unaware of this list it will be very difficult for this person to know what assets the deceased had which means the estate may be over looked.

• I am sure you can agree with me that is why there is so much money in this world and no one knows about this.

• © Just Wills Al Wasiyya JLT 2009. All Rights Reserved..... No part of this presentation or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied, modified or adapted, without the prior written consent of the author.

Guardians – Interim & Permanent

• When drafting a Will it is important to mention who the guardians of the children will be upon your demise. As the UAE operates under the Shariah Law more preference is given to the father’s side of the family.

• This may not be in agreement with you and as most of us are Expats in the UAE the majority of our siblings/family are in our home country. Which means that we should be appointing local guardians (interim) to look after our children if this was to happen.

• It is always recommended to have more than 2 Interim and 2 Permanent guardians. In case one leaves the UAE there will always be a back up. All this information will be included in your Will.

• If a person dies and there is no one to take control the decision of deciding on the guardianship may be taken by the Local authorities which will not agree with your wishes.


FAQ’s 1

• • Why do the Wills need to go to the Home Embassy/Consulate as well?• • For certain Nationalities the home Embassy/Consulate offers this service as

well so that Assets can be covered in your home country in the same Will. For further information please email us your details.

• • Why are there three sets for the Wills & POA - Can we get more?• • The Notary keeps one set and you (the client) will receive two sets. Usually the

clients keep one and the other set is given to the attorney. You can receive more than three however there may be an additional charge for this.


FAQ’s 2

• When do we update the Wills?

• Usually when there is a change in your circumstances. For example Marriage/Divorce or if you want to change the Beneficiaries /Executors/Guardians.

• Why do we need both Interim & Permanent Guardians? • As the majority of us are Expats residing in the UAE the majority of our

siblings are usually in our home countries. So in the event of death the permanent guardians may require a Visa to enter the UAE. This can cause problems as who will be looking after the children in the Interim

• What is a Testator/Testatrix?

• This is the person making the Will. Testator is the male and Testatrix is the female.


FAQ’s 3

• What is an Executor/Executrix?• • An Executor is a person named in a Will who is responsible for ensuring

that the instructions contained within it are carried out. It is important that you have a person who is a business minded person. Usually the partner is appointed as the first level Executor then you need to appoint a next level. Executor is the male and Executrix is the female.

• • What is a Beneficiary?• • This is the person who will be inheriting from the Testator. This can be

the partner and/or even the children.


FAQ’s 4

• Can an Executor be a Guardian?• • Yes however we do not recommend this. As from our experience you will be

giving one person too much responsibility.• • Can a Beneficiary witness a Will?• • No as this will invalidate the Will. An executor can be witness providing that

person is not benefitting from the Will.• • Can I own assets in an off-shore company?• • Yes this is possible, however the costs can be very high.


FAQ’s 5

• What is a disaster Clause?• • This is use god forbid when the family passes away in a freak accident.

(e.g. the husband, wife & children). Although this clause is not compulsory we always recommend this.

• • Why do we need more than one Executor or Guardian?• • Just in case of one Executor/Guardia is not there or is not alive then the

second can act as a back up.• • How many executors/Guardians are required?• • Usually a minimum of two (of each) is required, however we recommend

three.


FAQ’s 6

• Why are Visa pages required?• • When we are translating the documents into Arabic we use the names that

are in your Visa pages as this is the legal translation of your name.• • What happen if the passport number changes?• • There are always paper trails for all passport numbers on the system.

Therefore details can be traced.• • What is a Trustee?• • This is the person who will be looking after the Trust (If one was to be

created). Usually the partner is appointed as the first beneficiary & Executor. Therefore there will be no Trustee as the partner would be over 21 years of age. However if the children were to inherit (being Minors) the inheritance would be put into a trust and the person looking after the Trust would be the Trustee.


FAQ’s 7

• What is a contact sheet and why do we need to prepare one?

• This is a list you prepare that details all the contact information for the people that are named in the Will. Usually we do not do this as they have been cases where the details were amended in the Will manually by the client and the Wills became invalid.

• What is an Assets & Liability List and why do we need to prepare one?

• This is a list where you document everything you own and everything you owe. For example you mention all your bank accounts and, Mortgage accounts and if there are any mortgages you mention the details together with any life assurance. It is highly recommended that you forward this to your Executors so that someone else knows about the financial affairs.

• Where do we store the Wills?

• You can store the Wills in a fireproof safe at home. We will be offering Will storage services by mid spring 2011. You will receive soft copies of all the documents which we recommend that you forward to your executors.


FAQ’s 8

• What is a “Letter of wishes”?

• This is an informal letter that people details their wishes with things like Jewellary, funeral arrangements. Although this is a great way to express your wishes it is important to understand that this is not a legal binding document.

• Can Wills cover Worldwide Assets?

• Please bear in mind that Wills are not designed to over ride/supersede any death duties or Inheritance Tax. Therefore it is important to understand that if you have assets in Countries that has death duties then it is recommended that you have a separate Will.


FAQ’s 9

• Can the Wills in my Home Country cover my assets locally?• • We cannot guarantee that the Wills you have drafted in your home country

will work here. There has been cases where the Wills have been accepted and the cases where the Wills have been rejected. As you can understand that all Wills needs to be translated into Arabic in order for the Courts to accept them. Not forgetting that we always mention the religion of the client and a specific clause to confirm that the Laws of the Home Country should be applied and not the Local Law.


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