Family-owned businesses form the backbone of the UAE’s private sector, and the coming decade will see an unprecedented volume of wealth and business control pass to the next generation across the region. At the same time, the UAE has built one of the most sophisticated private wealth structuring environments in the world, with DIFC and ADGM offering common-law trust and foundation regimes alongside DIFC Wills for non-Muslims. Our family business and private wealth lawyers advise business-owning families, family offices, and high-net-worth individuals on succession planning, governance structuring, and the legal frameworks that protect wealth across generations.

Family Business Succession Planning

Succession is the single greatest risk most family businesses face, and UAE inheritance law — which, absent a valid will, applies Sharia-based forced heirship rules even to non-Muslim expatriates in some circumstances — makes proactive planning essential rather than optional. Our lawyers work with business-owning families to design succession structures that reflect the family’s actual wishes rather than default statutory outcomes, addressing both the transfer of business control and the broader estate.

• Advising on succession planning to override default forced heirship outcomes
• Structuring shareholding transfer mechanisms for the next generation
• Advising on leadership transition planning alongside ownership succession
• Reviewing existing corporate documents for succession-readiness gaps

DIFC Wills and Estate Planning

The DIFC Wills Service Centre allows non-Muslims with UAE assets to register a will under a common-law framework, providing certainty that assets will pass according to the will’s terms rather than default Sharia inheritance rules. Since its extension, the DIFC Wills framework now covers registrable assets across the UAE, not only within DIFC itself, making it a central planning tool for expatriate families with UAE-based wealth.

• Drafting and registering DIFC wills covering UAE real estate, bank accounts, and business interests
• Advising on guardianship nominations for minor children under DIFC wills
• Reviewing existing wills for UAE-specific enforceability gaps
• Advising on the interaction between DIFC wills and foreign wills covering overseas assets

Family Constitutions and Governance Frameworks

A family constitution sets out the principles governing how a family business is owned, managed, and passed on, addressing issues such as family employment policy, dividend distribution, and dispute resolution before conflicts arise rather than after. Our lawyers facilitate the drafting of family constitutions that balance family values with practical, enforceable governance mechanisms.

• Facilitating family constitution drafting and family council structuring
• Advising on family employment and remuneration policies
• Structuring dividend and distribution policies balancing reinvestment and family liquidity needs
• Drafting shareholder agreements aligned with family constitution principles

Family Office Structuring

An increasing number of UAE business families are establishing dedicated family offices, often based in DIFC or ADGM, to centralise investment management, governance, and philanthropic activity separate from the operating business. Our lawyers advise on structuring single and multi-family offices, including the regulatory considerations that apply where the family office undertakes regulated investment activity.

• Advising on single and multi-family office structuring in DIFC and ADGM
• Reviewing regulatory licensing requirements for family offices undertaking investment activity
• Structuring investment holding entities and co-investment vehicles
• Advising on family office governance and reporting frameworks

Trusts and Foundations

DIFC and ADGM both offer common-law trust regimes, while the UAE more broadly, and DIFC specifically, also offer foundation structures similar to those available in Jersey or Liechtenstein, giving UAE-based families access to internationally recognised wealth-holding vehicles without needing to structure assets offshore. Our lawyers advise on selecting and establishing the structure best suited to a family’s specific succession and asset protection objectives.

• Advising on DIFC and ADGM trust structuring for asset protection and succession
• Establishing DIFC and RAK ICC foundations for wealth holding and philanthropic purposes
• Drafting trust deeds, letters of wishes, and foundation charters
• Advising on trustee and council member duties and liability

Pre-Nuptial and Marital Property Planning

For business-owning families, marital breakdown involving a family member with shares in the business can pose a significant risk to business continuity and confidentiality. Our lawyers advise on pre-nuptial and post-nuptial agreements structured to protect family business interests, recognising that UAE courts approach marital property differently from many Western jurisdictions and that enforceability considerations vary depending on the couple’s nationality and applicable law.

• Drafting pre-nuptial and post-nuptial agreements to protect family business shareholding
• Advising on enforceability considerations for foreign marital agreements in the UAE
• Structuring shareholder agreement provisions restricting transfer to non-family spouses

Next-Generation Preparation and Family Governance Education

Legal structuring alone rarely secures a successful succession — the next generation also needs a clear understanding of their rights, responsibilities, and the governance framework they will inherit. Our lawyers support families in translating family constitution principles and succession plans into practical onboarding processes for rising-generation family members entering the business or joining governance bodies such as a family council or board.

• Advising on rising-generation governance onboarding processes
• Structuring family council membership criteria and rotation policies
• Reviewing family employment policies applicable to next-generation entrants

Family Business Investment and Diversification

As family businesses mature, many diversify beyond the founding operating business into real estate, private equity, and public market investments, often managed through a family office or dedicated investment holding structure. Our lawyers advise on structuring these diversified holdings to maintain appropriate separation from the core operating business while preserving centralised family governance and reporting.

• Structuring investment holding vehicles separate from the core operating business
• Advising on co-investment and joint venture structures for family diversification
• Reviewing governance separation between operating business and investment portfolio

Family Business Disputes

Disputes among family shareholders — over management control, dividend policy, or succession decisions — carry unique sensitivities compared to ordinary commercial disputes, given the overlapping family and business relationships involved. Our lawyers advise on resolving these disputes with an emphasis on preserving both business value and, where possible, family relationships, while remaining prepared to litigate or arbitrate where resolution outside the family cannot be reached.

• Advising on shareholder disputes among family members
• Structuring mediation and family dispute resolution processes
• Representing family members in minority shareholder oppression claims
• Advising on buy-out and share valuation disputes among family shareholders

Cross-Border Wealth and Tax Structuring

Many UAE business families hold assets across multiple jurisdictions, requiring coordination between UAE structuring and the tax and succession rules of each relevant overseas jurisdiction. Our lawyers work alongside international tax advisors to ensure UAE wealth structures integrate coherently with a family’s global asset base, including considerations arising from the UAE’s Corporate Tax regime for structures holding business interests.

• Coordinating UAE wealth structures with overseas tax and succession planning
• Advising on Corporate Tax implications for family investment holding structures
• Reviewing double taxation treaty considerations for cross-border family wealth

Philanthropy and Family Legacy Planning

Many UAE business families incorporate philanthropic giving into their long-term legacy planning, whether through dedicated foundations or structured giving programs tied to the family business. Our lawyers advise on structuring philanthropic vehicles that align with the family’s values while maintaining appropriate governance and reporting standards.

• Structuring family foundations for philanthropic purposes
• Advising on governance frameworks for structured family giving programs

Family Business & Private Wealth Disputes

• Succession and inheritance disputes among family members
• Shareholder disputes and minority oppression claims
• Trust and foundation administration disputes
• Pre-nuptial agreement enforceability challenges
• Family constitution breach and governance disputes

Why Choose Our Family Business & Private Wealth Lawyers

Advising family businesses requires more than technical legal knowledge — it requires an understanding of how family dynamics, business continuity, and long-term wealth preservation intersect. Our lawyers combine UAE succession and corporate law expertise with practical experience structuring DIFC and ADGM wealth vehicles, advising business-owning families and family offices on both the proactive planning and the disputes that arise when planning has been left too late.