Personal Status Law

Personal Status Law is the body of law that governs marriage, divorce, child custody, guardianship, inheritance, and wills in the UAE. For Muslims, the federal Personal Status Law — most recently Federal Decree-Law No. 41 of 2024 — applies and draws substantially on Islamic Sharia. For non-Muslims, Federal Decree-Law No. 41 of 2022 on Civil Personal Status introduced a secular, gender-neutral family regime covering marriage formation, joint custody, no-fault divorce, and equal inheritance, and Abu Dhabi Law No. 14 of 2021 runs a dedicated Non-Muslim Family Court. Parties may choose to apply the law of their country of nationality to their personal status under certain conditions. Courts applying personal status law are typically a specialised division of the Court of First Instance.