Dubai-based lawyer Barney Almazar answers the most common questions regarding your legal options in various cases related to living and working in the UAE.

A reader asks: My husband died in Dubai without registering a last will and testament. What will happen to his bank accounts? Will the money be seized by the bank?

Atty. Barney says: The UAE bank account of the deceased will be frozen by the concerned bank once it has knowledge of the death. To claim money from the bank, the legal heirs will need to get a succession certificate from the Personal Status Court in the emirate that issued the visa of the deceased.

Based on the application filed by the heirs, the court, upon the testimony of two witnesses, may issue a succession certificate on the share of each heir in accordance with the provisions of Personal Status Law of UAE or the national law of the deceased.

The legal heirs will need to open an inheritance case at the court and submit the succession certificate along with documents, including details of assets, bank accounts, investments, and personal identification documents of the deceased person. The court, after deducting all liabilities of the deceased, will distribute the remaining assets to the legal heirs.

This column also appears in the Expat Media Special Edition magazine. Do you have a question for Attorney Barney? Contact him at barney@gulflaw.info or know more about him here. Barney Almazar is a director at Gulf Law in the UAE, Philippines, UK and Portugal. He is a member of the Philippine Bar and holds a UAE legal consultancy license. He is listed by Thomsom Reuters as one of the Super 50 lawyers in the Middle East and North Africa. Asian Legal Business has ranked him as top lawyer in the Philippines, Southeast Asia and Middle East.