A guardianship will names who takes care of your children if you and their other parent die, and in the UAE it is registered separately from anything to do with money. The DIFC Courts register one for AED 5,000, or AED 7,500 for a couple registering mirror wills, and it covers children under 18 years. Registering it is the whole point: the court can only follow directions it has.

What that document does not do is settle anything in India. If your children would go to family in India, or if they own or will inherit anything there, the appointment that matters on the Indian side is made in an Indian will under Indian law, and it is a different appointment in a different document.

Where this page sits

This page covers guardianship for Indian families living in the UAE: what happens if no will names anyone, what a DIFC guardianship will does and costs, how Abu Dhabi's registry differs, and why the Indian side needs its own appointment.

Related guides:

• Can an NRI make a will in India, which is where the Indian appointment is made
• Will registration in Dubai, for the wider UAE registration question
• DIFC versus ADJD versus Dubai Courts, if you are choosing a registry

What Happens to Your Children if Neither Parent Has Named a Guardian?

A court decides, on no instructions from you, and someone has to apply to it before anyone has authority.

The DIFC Courts describe their own power as issuing interim and permanent guardianship orders "in accordance with the directions in your DIFC Courts Will". The significant words are the last five. Where there is a registered will, the court is applying a choice you made. Where there is not, it is making one, from whatever the people in front of it tell it, at the worst possible moment for your family to be organising paperwork.

The gap that worries parents most is the first few days, and it is a real gap rather than a marketing one. The DIFC's own explanation separates an interim guardian, meaning "an individual that is appointed to take care of your child or children temporarily before your appointed 'Permanent' guardians come forward", from the permanent appointment. That distinction exists because the person you want raising your children is very often in another country and cannot be at a Dubai hospital the same evening. A guardianship will lets you name both, and naming only the second one leaves the days that matter most uncovered.

What Does a DIFC Guardianship Will Actually Do?

It appoints guardians for your children and nothing else, which is why it exists as a separate document from a will about assets.

The DIFC Courts allow a will "which solely provides for the appointment of guardians for your children", registered as its own form. Two conditions attach to it and both are worth reading before you choose anyone: the guardians you nominate have to meet the eligibility requirements of the Rules, and the appointment must not contravene UAE public policy. Neither is a formality, and a nomination that fails one of them is a nomination the court cannot act on.

Pre-registration checks for a guardianship will are done by appointment, in person, with the Wills Service, rather than being a form you file and forget.

What Does It Cost to Register a Guardianship Will in the UAE?

AED 5,000 for one parent and AED 7,500 for a couple registering mirror wills, on the DIFC Courts' own published schedule.

The booking fee comes off the service fee rather than being charged on top, but it is not refundable if the appointment is cancelled, rescheduled more than three times, or pushed more than ninety days past the original date. Legal drafting, if you use a lawyer, is separate from all of these and is not a court charge.

The guardianship will is the cheaper document because it does less. A family that needs both guardianship and asset distribution registered in the UAE is looking at the full will, not at the two added together.

Is Abu Dhabi's Registry a Cheaper Alternative?

Yes, materially, and it covers guardianship too, but this page will not print its fee.

The Abu Dhabi Judicial Department runs a wills registry for non-Muslims that sits under the onshore Arabic-language courts rather than a common-law free zone. An ADJD will can cover assets across all seven Emirates, allows temporary and permanent guardians to be appointed for minor children, and does not require you to be a UAE resident if you own property here. Registration is handled remotely by video with a notary rather than in person.

Every figure circulating for the ADJD fee comes from firms selling the service, and we were not able to read one off the department's own published schedule. It is well below the DIFC's, which is the useful part and is safe to say. The number is not, so it is not on this page. Ask the registry, or a firm that will show you the schedule rather than quote you from memory.

Does a UAE Guardianship Will Cover Your Children in India?

No, and this is the part most families discover late.

A DIFC or ADJD guardianship will operates in the UAE. It is registered with a UAE court, it directs a UAE court, and its authority runs to what UAE courts control. If your children are Indian citizens, if they would be raised by family in India, or if they own or stand to inherit property there, none of that is governed by the document you registered in Dubai.

The Indian appointment is made in a will, under Indian law, and for a Hindu family the provision is section 9 of the Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act 1956. It reads:

A Hindu father entitled to act as the natural guardian of his minor legitimate children, may, by will, appoint a guardian for any of them in respect of the minor's person or in respect of the minor's property (other than the undivided interest referred in section 12) or in respect of both.

Three things in that section decide how it is drafted. The appointment can cover the child's person, the child's property, or both, and choosing is a real decision rather than a box. Under sub-section (2), a father's appointment has no effect if he predeceases the mother, though it revives if she then dies without appointing anyone herself, which means an appointment made by one parent alone is conditional in a way most people do not expect. And sub-sections (3) and (4) give the mother her own power to appoint, so in practice both parents making the appointment is the arrangement that survives the most outcomes.

A guardian appointed this way takes "all the rights of a natural guardian under this Act", subject to whatever the will itself restricts. So the will can hand someone the job and still limit what they may do with the child's property, which is often what a family actually wants.

The Indian will that carries this appointment costs nothing to make. Registering it is optional and costs Rs 100 at any Sub-Registrar in Maharashtra, under the state's registration fee table, and a will attracts no stamp duty there at any value.

What Should an Indian Family in the UAE Actually Do?

Treat it as two appointments in two documents, and make the Indian one first if your children's long-term home would be India.

The UAE document handles the emergency and the immediate custody question where your children physically are. The Indian will handles the appointment that governs a child who is an Indian citizen, holds Indian assets, or would be raised there, and it is also where your Indian property is dealt with, since Indian law governs Indian immovable property regardless of where you live.

Name an interim guardian who is actually in the UAE and can reach your children the same day, and a permanent guardian who may be anywhere. Check that whoever you name in India is willing, is realistic about a child arriving from abroad, and is named in a will that has been drafted rather than adapted from a template written for someone else's family. Then tell both sets of guardians that you have done it, because an appointment nobody knows about is one nobody acts on.

The Indian will is the part we handle, and the guardianship clause is drafted with the section 9 conditions above in mind rather than added as a line at the end.

FAQs

What is a guardianship will in the UAE?

A will registered with a UAE court that solely appoints guardians for your children, separate from any will dealing with assets. The DIFC Courts register one as its own form and can then issue interim and permanent guardianship orders in accordance with its directions. It covers children under 18 years.

How much does a DIFC guardianship will cost?

AED 5,000 for a single guardianship will and AED 7,500 for mirror guardianship wills, on the DIFC Courts' published fee schedule, plus a booking fee of AED 500 or AED 750 which is deducted from the service fee but is not refundable. A full will covering assets is AED 10,000 single and AED 15,000 mirror. Legal drafting fees are separate.

What is the difference between an interim and a permanent guardian?

An interim guardian takes care of your children temporarily, before the permanent guardians come forward. The distinction matters because the person you want raising your children is often abroad, and the first few days need someone who is already in the UAE.

Does a DIFC guardianship will work for my children in India?

No. It is registered with a UAE court and directs a UAE court. An appointment governing a child who is an Indian citizen, holds Indian assets or would be raised in India is made in an Indian will under Indian law.

How do I appoint a guardian for my children under Indian law?

By will. For a Hindu family, section 9 of the Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act 1956 lets a father entitled to act as natural guardian appoint a guardian for the child's person, property, or both. Sub-sections (3) and (4) give the mother her own power to appoint. A father's appointment has no effect if he predeceases the mother, but revives if she dies without appointing anyone.

Do both parents need to make the appointment?

It is the arrangement that survives the most outcomes. Because a father's appointment lapses if the mother outlives him, an appointment made by one parent alone is conditional in a way most families do not intend.

Can I register a guardianship will in Abu Dhabi instead?

Yes. The Abu Dhabi Judicial Department's registry for non-Muslims covers guardianship, allows temporary and permanent guardians, covers assets across all seven Emirates, and is handled remotely by video with a notary. Its fee is materially lower than the DIFC's. We do not publish a figure for it because we could not read one off the department's own schedule.