UAE Inheritance Calculator

Inheritance in the UAE follows two very different tracks depending on the religion of the deceased. For Muslims, the estate is distributed under Islamic (Sharia) rules set out in the UAE Personal Status Law — originally Federal Law No. 28 of 2005 and now Federal Decree-Law No. 41 of 2024. The law first settles debts and funeral expenses, allows a will of up to one-third of the estate for people who are not legal heirs, and then divides the remainder among heirs using fixed shares known as furud and residuary shares known as asaba.

Under the Sharia track, certain relatives receive a fixed fraction. A husband takes one-half when there are no children and one-quarter when there are; a wife takes one-quarter when there are no children and one-eighth when there are. A mother usually takes one-sixth when children survive and one-third otherwise. A father takes one-sixth when children survive, and otherwise inherits the remainder as a residuary heir. Daughters with no brothers take one-half (one daughter) or two-thirds shared (two or more). When sons survive, the children divide the remaining estate with each son receiving double a daughter's portion.

For non-Muslims, Federal Decree-Law No. 41 of 2022 on Civil Personal Status, in force since 1 February 2023, sets a default distribution that treats sons and daughters equally. Where the deceased left a spouse and children, the default is one-half to the spouse and one-half divided equally among the children. Where there are children but no spouse, the whole estate is split equally among them. Non-Muslims can also register a will — for example through the DIFC Wills Service Centre or the Dubai and Abu Dhabi courts — or elect the law of their home country, which overrides the default split.

This calculator supports only the basic configuration of spouse, parents, sons and daughters, and it produces an indicative estimate, not a binding distribution. Real inheritance cases routinely involve grandparents, siblings, multiple wives, blocking rules (hajb), and proportional adjustments (awl and radd) that a simplified tool cannot fully model. Use the result as a rough orientation, then confirm any actual entitlement with a qualified UAE lawyer or the relevant court.