SmartWills UAE Avis 18

A mirror will for both of us, done together in one process

My husband and I wanted will documents that mirrored each other, whoever survives the other inherits cleanly, and the kids inherit if both of us go. I'd assumed this would mean two separate processes or some kind of premium package. With SmartWills it was a single Protection Assessment for both of us, two parallel will documents prepared at the same time, registered together.

What surprised me was how naturally the specialist navigated the two of us occasionally disagreeing on a clause. They didn't take sides, they presented the consequences of each option until we could decide ourselves. Two coordinated documents, done in a fraction of the time and budget I'd expected.

Had two quotes from traditional UAE law firms before finding SmartWills both in the 6,500-7,000 AED range, both hourly-rate with disclaimers that the final number "could be higher," both requiring three in-person meetings. SmartWills: fixed price declared on the first call, fully remote process, zero surprises on the final invoice. What you're told on day one is what you pay. Great thank you for the service

I came across SmartWills through a video and booked a call. What I hadn't expected was how much the Protection Assessment surfaced that I went home and told my brother about that same evening. He booked his own session the next week, same Legacy Guide, separate file, separate process. Both of us walked out with properly registered UAE wills within the same month.

Some things you realise you've been avoiding for both of you.

I’d honestly set aside an entire weekend for this because I assumed registering a UAE will would involve endless paperwork, calls, emails, and constant follow-ups. Instead, SmartWills made the whole process surprisingly straightforward.

The Protection Assessment call took around 90 minutes, and the specialist guided me through every step clearly and patiently. After that, it was just the occasional message reply over the next couple of weeks.

The draft came through quickly, the translation was handled seamlessly, and the court submission was taken care of without me having to chase updates or wonder what was happening. Overall, the amount of time and effort it took from my side was far less than I’d expected.

I own two apartments here in Dubai in different freehold areas. My biggest concern going into this was how the will would handle the property transfer to my wife and kids without dragging through the Dubai Land Department in some kind of long approval process.

SmartWills mapped out exactly what would happen with each property: registration, beneficiary nomination, expected transfer timeline. The specialist explained the local quirks I didn't know about and made sure both apartments were covered by the right clauses. For anyone with UAE real estate, this is not a generic legal exercise. Worth doing properly.

If you're an expat living in the UAE and you've been putting off drafting your will this is the nudge you needed. SmartWills makes the whole process surprisingly painless. Everything happens remotely, via WhatsApp, and the dedicated Legacy Guide walks you through every step at your own pace. No awkward office appointments, no chasing lawyers for callbacks.

What sets them apart is how seriously they take accuracy. The will is drafted by lawyers specialised in UAE succession law, then translated into Arabic by two certified legal translators with an independent blind verification that level of rigor is rare and genuinely reassuring when the stakes are this high. They also match your submission to the right registry (Abu Dhabi, Dubai Courts, or DIFC), which is something you'd probably spend hours researching on your own.

The "education first, decisions second" approach really shines. You never feel rushed into signing something you don't understand. Pricing is transparent with no hidden fees, and the guarantee if the court doesn't accept your will for any reason on their side, they redo it entirely at their cost gives you real peace of mind.
Highly recommended.

I'll be honest: I tried to save money at first with a 500 AED online template. Filled it in, put the PDF in a folder, thought I was done. Six months later I realised I had no idea whether that document would actually be accepted by the UAE courts or whether the clauses matched what the registry requires. Switched to SmartWills the specialist flagged two issues with my original setup that would have caused real problems. If you have kids, property, or anything complex: cheap templates are cheap for a reason.

Got it done over a couple of evenings, around work

I’d been putting this off because it never felt like the right time. Between work, the kids, weekends, and everything else, the calendar just never seemed to line up. SmartWills made the whole process fit around real life.

The Protection Assessment was done in one evening call. We exchanged replies on WhatsApp during work breaks. My partner and I reviewed the draft together on a Sunday morning.

From start to finish, the actual time I spent on it was under three hours, split into small chunks across two weeks. The team worked around my pace, instead of expecting me to work around theirs.

For anyone who keeps telling themselves they don’t have the time, you do. You just need the right setup.

My situation was complicated, multi-jurisdiction assets, specific wishes that didn't match standard templates. I expected SmartWills to give me something generic. Instead the specialist flagged issues in my initial distribution that would have caused problems in court. They proposed specific alternatives that preserved what I actually wanted. This is a real service, not a template factory.

Going in I assumed this would be like every other UAE legal process, lawyer emails, attached PDFs labelled "Draft V3 FINAL", waiting two days for replies. Instead SmartWills opened a WhatsApp group on day one with the Legacy Guide. Every question got an answer in hours, not days. Every revision was shared there, every clarification discussed there. For a process I'd been dreading because of the admin friction, this changed everything. I don't think I ever had to write the words "any update on this?".

They check in every 6 months — it matters

Most providers hand you the will and disappear. SmartWills has a 6-month review built in. I'd just had my second child and hadn't got round to updating my will — they prompted me, we updated beneficiaries in two days. This is the part people don't think about when comparing providers. Wills go out of date. SmartWills makes sure yours doesn't.

The thing I valued most wasn't the price or even the timeline… it was that I never had to chase anyone. SmartWills assigns you a single point of contact (they call it a Legacy Guide) who coordinates documents, lawyer, translation, court submission. When something needs chasing, they chase it. When something needs your input, they ask once. For busy professionals where time is the real cost, this is the value.

My situation was complicated — multi-jurisdiction assets, specific wishes that didn't match standard templates. I expected SmartWills to give me something generic. Instead the specialist flagged issues in my initial distribution that would have caused problems in court. They proposed specific alternatives that preserved what I actually wanted. This is a real service, not a template factory.

Protection Assessment on Saturday morning, draft in my WhatsApp group by Wednesday exactly as promised. Two minor revisions, revised draft back the next day. Every single deadline the team committed to on the first call, they hit. For the UAE, that level of reliability is genuinely rare.

Didn't realise until after the fact that Arabic translation is the part that causes most UAE wills to get bounced back by the courts. SmartWills uses two certified legal translators — the second independently verifies the first, word by word. Our will was submitted once and accepted first time, no revisions, no delays. For a process where the translation can make or break the whole thing, this matters.

I'm the person who puts off anything admin-related for years. A UAE will had been on my to-do list forever. I'd even gotten quotes from two traditional law firms (around 6,500 and 7,000 AED, both hourly-rate, both requiring three in-person meetings) but the thought of blocking out three office visits is exactly what kept me procrastinating.

With SmartWills the whole process was remote: WhatsApp, calls, documents, court submission, everything. No office visits, handled it between meetings and flights.

Fixed price from day one was a bonus, but the real thing for me was that they made it simple enough that it finally got done.

Most providers hand you the will and disappear. SmartWills has a 6-month review built in. I'd just had my second child and hadn't got round to updating my will — they prompted me, we updated beneficiaries in two days. This is the part people don't think about when comparing providers. Wills go out of date. SmartWills makes sure yours doesn't.

I had been telling myself I'd sort out the UAE will "next month" for almost four years. Two law firms had quoted me over 7,000 AED with three in-person meetings each.

SmartWills handled the whole thing remotely, Protection Assessment call covered every decision I needed to make, draft back in 3 working days, translation and court submission all handled for me.
About two hours of my actual time spread across a few weeks and it was done.

Only regret: not doing it sooner.