Covid-19 uncertainty spurs more families to draft their wills

The pandemic is driving households to safeguard their assets and guardianship of children

When Dr JS Rajkumar and his wife, Dr Chitrakala Rajkumar, volunteered to work at a Covid-19 isolation centre in Al Warsan, in April, they knew they would be exposed to the deadly coronavirus for extended periods of time and understood the health risks they were taking.

“We saw the devastating effects of Covid-19 from close quarters,” says Dr Rajkumar, a general and laparoscopic surgeon who is also the medical director of a Covid-19 ward at Medstar Healthcare in Dubai. “We knew that if something untoward were to happen to one of us, things would get difficult for the surviving spouse.”

UAE residents can draft a will themselves or hire a law firm and choose to get the document registered at the ADJD, Dubai Courts or DIFC Courts Wills Service. Wills can be registered online at the ADJD and DIFC Courts Wills Service, but in the case of Dubai Courts, the testator will have to go in person to sign the document.

Many expats, especially people from the subcontinent, don’t consider the need for a will as a priority. Western expats are generally savvy about inheritance planning. The reality of the risk of the pandemic has sunk in. People are experiencing demises of near and dear ones. We are also doing quite a bit of probate work, so that the assets can be transferred to legal heirs

Source – The National – Read the full article here