If you wish to register a DIFC Courts Will to govern the distribution of your assets (and a Property Will, Business Owners Will or Financial Assets Will is not suitable) or one which is to encompass both assets and guardianship provisions, then you should look to register a Full Will. The mandatory provisions for a Full Will are set out in Schedule 1 of the DIFC Courts Wills and Probate Registry Rules. To help you think about the type of Full Will that would fit your circumstances and the next steps you should take, we have set out below the key points for you to consider.
If you have more than five (5) real estate properties and/or a variety of assets, then your choice of DIFC Courts Will must be a Full Will. If you also wish to nominate guardians for your children then you can include guardianship provisions in your Full Will. If you only want to register guardianship provisions and do not wish to distribute your assets then this can be achieved by registering a Guardianship Will. If you register a Full Will and start a family at a later date, the Full Will can be modified at that time to include the required guardianship provisions.
If you are not married you should select the Single DIFC Courts Will option whereas if you are married and both you and your wife/husband wish to register a DIFC Courts Will at the same time, then you should select the Mirror DIFC Courts Will option (giving an overall net reduction in registration fees).
Your DIFC Courts Will is an extremely important document and you are strongly advised to consider taking legal advice in its preparation. The Rules set down certain minimum requirements that must be met for a Will to be registerable and if these are not met, your Will would be unenforceable. To help you find a suitable lawyer, the Wills Service publishes a list of legal practitioners that have met certain minimum standards in relation to their knowledge of the Rules and in relation to drafting DIFC Courts Wills. Click here to access this list of approved draftsmen.The pre-registration checks for a Full Will can only be carried out by appointment in person with the Wills Service (and not via the Virtual Registry).
If you would like any more information about Full Wills or the registration of other DIFC Courts Wills, please contact us via the enquiry form below and one of our Compliance Officers will get back to you.
