A new UAE study finds most expat parents have not formally documented who would care for their children if they died, despite many building long-term lives in the country.
Guardianship gap among expat families
Only 24% of UAE expat parents with children under 18 have formally documented guardianship arrangements, according to a YouGov survey commissioned by UAE estate planning platform Blanket.
Another 25% said they had discussed or agreed who would care for their children but had not put the arrangement in writing. A further 22% said they had not considered the issue.
The survey covered 1,014 UAE expat residents in September 2026.
The findings also point to a gap between confidence and formal planning. While 73% of parents believe their family would be able to find their wishes for their children or dependants, only a quarter have formally documented those arrangements.
Nearly half have not started a will
The same pattern appears in estate planning more broadly.
Nearly half of respondents, 49%, said they had not started a will. Another 14% had begun the process but had not completed it.
While 36% said they had a will in place, only 20% said it was currently up to date.
There is also uncertainty about what would happen to assets after death. More than half of respondents, 56%, believe their assets would automatically pass to their spouse or partner. However, only 49% said they understand what would happen to their assets if they died as an expat in the UAE.
Older expats less likely to have a will
The research found that older respondents were less likely to have completed estate planning than younger expats.
Among those aged 45 and above, 64% had not started a will and 22% had one in place. By comparison, 45% of respondents aged 25–34 had a will.
The difference was also evident among parents. Only 12% of parents aged 45 and above had formally documented guardianship arrangements, compared with 31% of parents aged 25–34.
UAE assets add to planning needs
The findings come as many expats hold increasingly significant financial and family interests in the UAE.
According to the survey, 30% of respondents own a local business or company, while 27% hold shares or equity in a UAE business. Another 29% own residential property in the country.
More than half, 55%, hold bank, investment or crypto accounts in the UAE.
The survey also found that estate planning competes with other priorities. Over the previous year, 36% of respondents had spent more time on fitness or wellness than on their will, while 32% spent more time planning holidays and 30% managing investments.
Blanket founder and CEO Anton Pirinen said: “The UAE has become somewhere people come to build a future. Expats are buying homes, establishing businesses and raising their children here – but the arrangements they have in place don’t reflect the lives they’re creating.
Anton Pirinen – Founder of Blanket
“What really stood out to us was the guardianship finding, alongside the fact that younger expats are further ahead when it comes to having a will in place. It challenges the idea that estate planning is something people naturally get around to later in life.
“The long and short of it – if you’re building a life here – putting the right plans in place needs to be a part of that journey too. And that’s exactly why we created Blanket – to make estate planning simpler and more accessible for expats.”
tanvir@dubainewsweek.com
