Family and inheritance matters
Inheritance Power of Attorney in the UAE
When a family member dies, the heirs often need one person on the ground in the UAE to deal with the courts, a property or a bank. An inheritance POA is how the other heirs give that person authority to act for them.
- Arabic and English drafting
- Signed abroad or here
- We attend the appointment
Inheritance POA in short
An inheritance POA is a written authority in which one heir appoints another person to act for them in a UAE inheritance matter. It is drawn up, translated into Arabic and then ratified in front of a notary public, and it does not decide who inherits anything.
Who gives it
Each heir, in their own name
Where it is ratified
Before a notary public
Federal notary fee
AED 100 for each party
What happens to a POA when someone dies
Many families arrive with a power of attorney that the person who died had signed, and hope to keep using it. Under Article 897 of Federal Decree-Law 25/2025, the Civil Transactions Law, an agency ends on the death of the principal, and it also ends on the death of the agent. So an authority given by the person who died cannot carry on after them, and it is not something an heir can take over.
The authority for what comes next has to come from the heirs themselves. Each heir signs their own power of attorney, naming the person who will act for them here, and that document is the one a court, a registry or a bank will look at. We draft it, put it into Arabic, check it against what the receiving body asks for, and go with you to the notary appointment.
When an heir needs one
Four situations where a POA is usually what is missing. If more than one of them applies to you, a single carefully written document can often cover them together.
An heir who cannot travel
An heir living abroad who cannot come to the UAE can sign a power of attorney in their own country, so that someone here can act in their place.
Several heirs, one representative
Where several heirs want one person to act, each heir has to give that authority in their own name. We can check whether one instrument with several parties works, or separate documents.
A property in Dubai
If the estate includes a Dubai property, the POA has to name property acts in specific terms. A POA written in general words only covers acts of management.
A bank account here
Banking steps need the same care. The wording has to match what the bank and the court ask for, and it has to say plainly what the representative may do.
What the POA can be written to allow
UAE law recognises agency as general, special, conditional or deferred to a future time. Anything beyond management and preservation needs a special agency that spells out the act, so these are the powers we name one by one.
Pleading before the court
Appearing and pleading in court is named in Article 870 as needing a special agency. If your representative will stand before a judge, the POA has to say so.
Collecting and receiving
Receiving documents, certificates and money on your behalf, and signing for them. Write down who may receive what, so nobody has to guess at the counter later.
Sale and disposal
Sale is one of the acts Article 870 puts in the special agency list. If a sale is even possible later, the POA should name it now rather than be redone.
Mortgage and settlement
Mortgage and settlement are also on that list. Where an estate carries a loan or a dispute, leaving these out means a second trip to the notary public.
Dealing with banks
Attending a bank, asking about an account, and handling what the bank requires. Name the bank and the account where you can, because a vague document is easy to refuse.
Appointing a lawyer
Your representative may need to engage a lawyer locally. Whether they can pass authority on, and how far, is a decision to make while drafting rather than afterwards.
The law this sits under
The Civil Transactions Law is now Federal Decree-Law 25/2025, which repealed Federal Law 5 of 1985 and came into force on 1 June 2026. Agency is at Articles 866 to 903. A lot of older writing still cites Article 955 of the 1985 law for revocation, which no longer stands. The current revocation provision is Article 898, and extinction of the agency is Article 897.
Article 871, Federal Decree-Law 25/2025
If the agency is expressed in general terms without specifying what is intended, it shall only grant the agent the power to perform acts of management.
What we will ask you for
Nothing here is unusual, and you do not need all of it on day one. Send us what you already have and we will tell you what is still missing.
Identity
For the heir and the representative
- Passport of the heir giving authority
- Emirates ID where the person has one
- Passport of the person being appointed
- Emirates ID number of the representative
The matter itself
Whatever the court or the body asks for
- Any court reference or case number
- Title deed if a property is involved
- Bank and account details where relevant
- Any earlier POA on the same matter
Documents issued abroad
These need the attestation chain
- The original, and it must not be laminated
- In Arabic or English, or with a certified translation
- Foreign ministry attestation in the issuing country
- UAE embassy or consulate there, then MOFAIC here
How we work through it with you
Four steps, and the heir only has to be present for one of them. If the heir is abroad, that step happens where they are rather than here.
1
Tell us what the matter is
A short call or message is enough to start. We need to know who the heirs are, who will act here, and what actually has to be done in the UAE.
2
We draft the wording
We write the powers out act by act, so the special agency covers everything the matter needs. You read it in English before anything is filed or signed.
3
Legal translation into Arabic
The notarised instrument is in Arabic. A legal translator registered with the Ministry of Justice produces the Arabic, and both versions are signed by the parties.
4
Ratification before a notary public
The notary public checks identity and capacity, reads the content out and ratifies it. We prepare it, book it and attend the ratification with you.
If an heir is outside the UAE
The route depends on where the heir signs. The UAE is not a party to the Apostille Convention, so an apostille obtained in a Hague member state does not by itself make a document usable here.
Signed in the UAE
Straight to the notary public
If the heir can be here, the document goes to a notary public in the UAE once the Arabic is ready. That is the shortest route.
Signed abroad
The consular chain, not an apostille
A POA signed abroad is attested by that country’s foreign ministry, then by the UAE embassy or consulate there, and then by MOFAIC inside the UAE before it is used.
What holds a document up, and what moves it along
Two short lists, taken from the requirements the notary public and the receiving body actually apply.
- Powers written in general words only
- A laminated original brought from abroad
- Arabic from a translator who is not registered
- Each act named in its own words
- Passport or Emirates ID for every party
- The attestation chain finished before the appointment
Frequently asked questions
The questions we are asked most often on this one.
Can a power of attorney be inherited?
No. Under Article 897 of Federal Decree-Law 25/2025, an agency is extinguished by the death of the principal, and also by the death of the agent. The authority is personal to the two people named in it, so it does not pass to anybody else. A new POA has to come from the heir.
My spouse died. Can I use the power of attorney they gave me?
Not after the death. The same Article 897 ends the agency when the principal dies, whatever the document says about its term. What you can do is give your own power of attorney, in your own name as an heir, to whoever will act for you here. Send us the document you hold and we will read it with you.
Which law applies to the estate of a non Muslim?
That is a question for the court and for your own legal advice, and it is not something to settle from a web page. What we can do is make sure the power of attorney you give says clearly what your representative may do in the UAE, whatever is decided about the estate itself. Send us what you have and we will tell you what the document needs to say.
Do I need an apostille on a POA signed abroad?
The UAE is not a contracting party to the Apostille Convention, so there is no apostille route into the country. A document signed abroad is attested by the foreign ministry of the issuing country, then by the UAE embassy or consulate there, then by MOFAIC in the UAE. An apostille on its own will not replace that.
What does it cost at the notary public?
The federal fee schedule sets AED 100 for executing or notarising a general or special power of attorney, charged for each party to it, and AED 50 a page for notarising a translation included in the instrument. Dubai Courts has its own schedule, so ask us to check the figure that applies to your route.
What does MOFAIC attestation cost?
MOFAIC publishes AED 150 for Individual Affairs documents and AED 2,000 for Commercial documents. A power of attorney of a personal nature sits in the first list, and a commercial or general power of attorney in the second, so which one your document falls into makes a real difference. We check that before you pay anything.
Does the heir have to appear in person?
Personal appearance is the default under the notary decree-law, but the same law lets a notary use IT tools without the parties appearing in person, and Dubai Courts verifies capacity and eligibility by virtual or personal attendance. Accredited UAE consuls abroad may also perform notarial duties. Which of these fits depends on where you are.
Can an heir change their mind later?
Yes. Article 898 lets the principal revoke or restrict the agent’s authority at any time, unless the agency involves a right of a third party or was issued in the interest of the agent. Article 899 adds that revoking at an inappropriate time or without acceptable justification can mean compensating the agent. Tell us and we will handle it.
Start here
Talk to us before you sign anything
If you are dealing with this for a family member, you do not have to work out the wording on your own. Send us what you have, tell us who is where, and we will come back with what the document needs to say and what has to be attested first. We draft, translate, check and attend. The ratification itself is done by a notary public.
Tell us what the document has to do
Say who will receive it and what you need it to allow, and you will get a straight answer on the wording, the government fees and what to bring. You can also send it through the contact form.
Call us
Speak to the person who will handle your file and get an answer on the same call.
Send photographs of your passport, your Emirates ID and anything the matter attaches to.
Best for a company matter, or anything that runs to several documents.
Visit the office
Jebel Ali area, Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai. Come in, or have it handled remotely and only turn up to sign.
Opening hours. Monday to Thursday, 9:00 to 18:00. Friday, 9:00 to 12:00. Saturday, 9:00 to 18:00. Sunday, closed.