UPDATE: Federal Decree Law No. 41 of 2022 changed the inheritance laws for non-Muslims living in the UAE. The law states that a wife is entitled to half of the estate upon the death of her husband and there is no distinction between male and female heirs in regard to inheritance.
Article 334 of the Federal Law No. 28 of 2005 of the UAE Personal Affairs Law prescribes that males inherit twice as much as females where there are both male and female heirs.
- Country: United Arab Emirates
- Law status: Partially Amended
- Law Type: Inheritance and Property
Article 334 of the Federal Law No. 28 of 2005 of the UAE Personal Affairs Law prescribes that males inherit twice as much as females where there are both male and female heirs.
Article 334. 1. Where there is a combination of male and female heirs:
(a) When the deceased has one or more daughters and one or more sons;
(b) When the deceased has one or more granddaughters and one or more grandsons who are of the same degree of descent or lower, if needed to ward off her exclusion; a male of higher ascendancy, however, would exclude her;
(c) When the deceased has one or more sibling sisters and one or more sibling brothers; and
(d) When the deceased has one or more half sisters and one or more half brothers.
2. In such cases, the male inherits twice as much as the female.