‘If I don’t have any investments, do I need to write a will?’

A will is not just about assets, it is also about the legal protection of your children. Getty Images

Question: My husband and I do not have wills but as we don’t have any investments, do we really need to get one? We have two children and I was told that if I just write a letter saying who should look after them here, that will be enough. They said that if I keep a copy with me, that will be sufficient until a family member gets here. I am British. CE, Dubai

Answer: A letter regarding temporary custody is just that. It is not a substitute for a legal will specifying guardians and stating who should be the beneficiary of any assets you have.

Guardianship, where no will has been arranged, is in the hands of the courts, either in the UAE or the UK, and you have no way of knowing whether their ruling would be what you want.

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While a letter of wishes for an interim guardian (the formal legal term) is important, it should be arranged as an addition to a proper legal will. Without a will, parents have no say in who would bring up their children. A will is not just about assets, it's also about the legal protection of your children.

Even if you don’t have much in the way of assets, or perhaps more importantly if you have none, parents should have life cover and that can be included in the will, so there are funds left for the benefit of the children or to cover the cost of their upbringing.

If a person doesn’t have assets now, I would hope that most people are saving for their future, so that situation will change. It is also likely that CE has more assets than she thinks, such as a pension plan and bank accounts. She maybe even has a jointly owned property in the UK.

If someone dies without a will, it makes matters even more complex for those left behind, so it is also the kind thing to arrange.

Wills should only be written by lawyers with a proper understanding of the legalities in relevant jurisdictions. While I appreciate that arranging a will is not cheap, proper advice matters when it comes to protecting the most valuable thing in your life – your children.

Q: I am planning to move to the UAE in January and am interviewing for a few roles. My fiancee plans to quit her job and move with me. Will it be possible for me to sponsor her if we are not yet married? Someone said that I could sponsor her as a maid. NG, Canada

A: The law in the UAE changed in 2020 so that co-habitation is now permitted. However, that does not mean a person can sponsor anyone other than their legal spouse or children, or parents in certain cases. It is not possible to sponsor a fiancee.

It is also not possible for him to sponsor her as a maid. A major reason is that single men are not permitted to sponsor domestic workers.

While there are fewer restrictions regarding nationalities than in the past, the worker must be from a country approved by the UAE for domestic work. Canada will not be on this list.

The other general restriction is if the sponsor and domestic worker have the same nationality, the sponsor must provide a document from their consulate or embassy verifying there is no family relationship.

NG’s fiancee will need to find employment or set up a business to obtain a visa to live in the UAE. Or if they decide to get married, he can then sponsor her as his wife.

Q: I have resigned from my job as I plan to return to my home country, but my boss said there will be a delay in paying my gratuity. I can’t leave until I get it as I need to repay money I owe to a friend. How long can they make me wait? RV, Abu Dhabi

A: The UAE labour law specifies a time limit as to when the end-of-service gratuity should be paid.

Article 53 of the law says: “The employer shall pay to the worker, within 14 days from the end date of the contract term, his wages and all his other entitlements stipulated herein and resolutions issued for its implementation, the contract or the establishment’s by-laws.”

This makes it clear that the employer should not delay making the payments due and, if they fail to pay RV by the deadline, he can register a case again them with the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation.

A complaint can be made as soon as the 14-day deadline is missed, although I recommend chasing the employer first and reminding them of the law rather than having to go down the route of a formal complaint.

Contact Keren Bobker at [e-mail] or at www.financialuae.com. The advice provided in our columns does not constitute legal advice and is provided for information only