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Succession Planning in the UAE: Protecting Your Family and Your Legacy
Hoxton Blog • Succession Planning in the UAE: Protecting Your Family and Your Legacy
For many internationally mobile families, the UAE is home. It’s where you build your career, grow a business, and invest in property. But when it comes to passing on wealth, the rules here can be quite different from what you may expect.
Without clear planning, assets may be distributed under Sharia inheritance principles, which can lead to outcomes that don’t reflect your wishes. Family businesses may be fragmented. Dependants may find themselves in uncertain situations.
Succession planning is about more than just writing a will – it’s about protecting your loved ones, ensuring continuity, and securing the legacy you’ve worked hard to build.
The Legal Landscape in the UAE
The UAE has taken significant steps in recent years to give families – especially expatriates – more clarity and control. Tools available to residents include:
Registered Wills
Non-Muslim expatriates can register wills with either the DIFC Wills Service Centre or the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department (ADJD). These provide certainty that your wishes are respected and reduce the risk of costly disputes.
Trusts and Foundations
Available in the DIFC, ADGM, and RAK ICC, these structures allow families to consolidate and protect assets, including businesses and real estate, in a secure manner.
Family Business Ownership Laws
Recent legislative reforms across the Emirates provide a framework for formal governance of family-owned enterprises, creating stability and helping prevent generational disputes.
These tools offer much more flexibility than in the past – but they can be complex, especially for families with international connections and cross-border considerations.
Important Note: Hoxton Wealth does not provide will-writing, legal structuring, or trust services within the UAE. We provide financial advice on broader succession considerations and can refer clients to suitably licensed professionals for implementation, where appropriate.
The Human Side of Succession
While legal tools are important, the most effective succession strategies address both structural and human factors. That includes:
- Clarifying Your Legacy: Defining your values and long-term goals for wealth and business continuity.
- Preparing Successors: Supporting the development of family members or trusted professionals to take on leadership or stewardship roles.
- Simplifying Complexity: Streamlining arrangements across jurisdictions and entities to support clarity and decision-making.
- Establishing Governance: Setting clear rules, policies, and decision-making frameworks to reduce conflict and ensure fairness.
The process can involve sensitive conversations – but it’s those conversations that lay the foundation for lasting family unity and business resilience.
Why Act Now
Recognising this, the UAE government is actively encouraging families to develop formal succession plans. With rising international investment and wealth in the region, proactive planning is more important than ever.
If you don’t take control of the process, circumstances – or courts – may do it for you.
How Hoxton Wealth Supports Clients
At Hoxton Wealth, we view succession planning as a critical part of long-term wealth management. Our role includes:
- Helping clients understand the landscape of financial tools available for succession planning in the UAE and internationally.
- Ensuring your financial succession plans align with tax, residency, and cross-border compliance considerations.
- Simplifying financial arrangements to create practical, understandable strategies.
- Coordinating with trusted third-party legal and structuring professionals to support implementation — always with appropriate licensing in place.
Succession planning is not a one-time event. Life changes, regulations evolve, and your strategy must adapt. That’s why our advisory relationship is ongoing – to keep your plan aligned with your future.
Securing Your Legacy
Dubai may be a city of skyscrapers, but legacies are built on stronger foundations. A well-crafted succession plan helps ensure that what you’ve built continues to provide for those you care about, for generations to come.
At Hoxton Wealth, we bring international ability and local insight to help families navigate complexity and act with clarity and purpose.
Because protecting your legacy isn’t just about money – it’s about confidence, clarity, and peace of mind.
Take the Next Step
Succession planning doesn’t have to be overwhelming – but it does need to be done thoughtfully. At Hoxton Wealth, we help internationally mobile clients clarify their vision, understand financial implications, and connect with the right legal experts where necessary.
Whether you’re starting from nothing or reviewing existing arrangements, we can help you approach the process with structure and care.
📩 [Book a complimentary consultation] to explore your financial succession options and begin building a legacy with intention.
Hoxton Wealth (DIFC) Limited is regulated by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) and holds a Category 4 licence. We provide financial advisory services but do not provide legal, tax, or trust structuring services.
This content is for informational purposes only and is not a financial promotion under DFSA rules. The opinions shared here are based on current conditions, which may be subject to changes., based on EU regulatory framework (RF).
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