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Wealthy individuals from the Middle East are increasingly using English law to make wills so they can temper the strictures of sharia law, which favours sons over daughters when it comes to inheritance.
Charlie Sosna, a partner at law firm Mishcon de Reya, said the Gulf rich liked this strategy as it allowed them to “work within the spirit of sharia but in a way that achieves what they want in their wealth and succession”, which can include more equal distribution of assets outside their home country between children.
He said he was seeing greater interest in this strategy “without a doubt”.
In English law, testamentary freedom means those making wills can leave their assets to whoever they like almost without restriction. By contrast, sharia law, the moral and religious code of Islam, has precise rules about how much relatives receive. A daughter typically inherits half a son’s portion, for example.
However, Hannah Wailoo, a partner at Withers, said she was seeing a shift in favour of a more “egalitarian” approach.
“We have seen examples of Gulf families with more daughters than sons, or even only daughters, who do want to look globally at how they can make sure that those daughters are protected and their wealth is looked after,” she added.
The increasing use of English wills by Gulf families was in part a consequence of their children’s growing globalisation, said advisers.
Sosna said that “sometimes the next generation is slightly more westernised” and might have more complicated marital statuses, for example separations and divorces.
He pointed to one client who wanted his wealth to go to his son but under sharia rules, if the son died, the fortune would go to the client’s wife, from whom he was separated. An English will could prevent this.
Oliver Piper, a partner at Farrer & Co, called this approach of moderating sharia rules by using English wills “sharia-lite”.
The war in Iran has been a driver in encouraging Middle Eastern estates to “slightly concentrate minds on asset-holding structures and planning”, said Jonathan Burt, a partner at Charles Russell Speechlys.
Gulf countries have been introducing western court systems, such as a parallel path for divorce in Abu Dhabi, to ease foreign residents’ concerns about facing sharia law.
Andreas Buelow, partner at LEK Consulting, said: “The core challenge of the generational wealth transfer is that the wealth needs to be divided across a larger group of heirs than before.”
That means advisers have to oversee “careful management of legal structures, business continuity and family harmony”.
Laura Uberoi, a partner at Addleshaw Goddard, said this strategy “started probably in earnest maybe about a generation ago” and was already leading to more wealthy women in the region.
Not all lawyers are convinced by the effectiveness of the strategy, given English law’s treatment of those making wills who are domiciled abroad: the law of the testator’s home country generally applies to assets outside the UK.
Simon Malkiel, partner at Howard Kennedy, said these wills “may sometimes work in practice, especially if uncontested” but are not “a reliable workaround”.
“Much depends on the assets and asset holders, as well as the likely attitude of disgruntled heirs,” he added.
Trusts, particularly in Jersey, are another popular way of choosing who benefits from an estate. Middle Eastern clients were 11.8 per cent of non-Jersey customers or beneficial owners with Jersey trusts in 2024, up from 10.6 per cent in 2020, according to figures from the Jersey Financial Services Commission.
“Within most trust structures you can elect who your beneficiaries will be, who will receive what and when,” said Wailoo. “It effectively brings those assets outside of a sharia regime.”
