The DIFC Wills and Probate Programme [June 25 & July 4 | 9AM-1PM]

Will Drafting (4 Accredited CLPD Points)

Learning Outcomes:

- Describe the structure and explain the formalities of a DIFC Will as prescribed by the WPR Rules. 

- Manage a formal client interview and assess a client’s estate devolution requirements.

- Take comprehensive instructions from your client for the preparation of a DIFC Will.

- Draft a DIFC Will in accordance with your client’s specific instructions and circumstances.

- Learn to identify and mitigate professional conduct challenges and concerns commonly associated with the preparation of DIFC Wills.

- Satisfy the requirements of the Wills Service Practice Direction No.1 of 2016 to be authorized to draft Wills for registration in the Register of Will Draftsmen.

Speaker:

VICTORIA PERKIN                                                     

Private Client Solicitor

Victoria is a proficient Private Client Solicitor, admitted to The Law Society of England and Wales in 2009. She received a BA in Law and Business Studies from the University of Warwick, UK and completed the Legal Practice Course at BPP Professional Education in Leeds, UK. She is also a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners. 

Victoria worked with TWS Legal Consultants, a leading Dubai based Private Client firm specializing in Wills and Probate services, and frequently advised clients of varying nationalities on the distribution of their assets situated in Dubai in accordance with both Sharia and DIFC WPR Rules. During these two years, she was also an active member of the legal working group committed to establishing the DIFC Rules.

In the UK, Victoria trained and practiced with the Private Client team at Gordons, an award winning UK Commercial law firm, for over five years and specialized in advising clients on succession planning and inheritance tax issues, often involving multi-jurisdictional matters. Victoria drafted Wills for some of the wealthiest individuals in the North of England and developed specialist advice services to families with vulnerable beneficiaries and individuals suffering from mental capacity issues. She also provided tailored succession advice to the elderly and infirm, in particular end of life tax planning and prepared several urgent death bed Wills.

WPR Rules (4 Accredited CLPD Points)

Learning Outcomes:

- Explain the structure and the main tenets of the DIFC Wills and Probate Programme, namely the roles of the Wills Service and the non-Muslim Wills Registry at the DIFC Courts (“the Registry”), application of the WPR Rules to a DIFC Will, the probate process and claims. 

- Perform the entire process of DIFC Will registration, estate planning and probate work within the framework given by the legal basis, namely the rights, duties and obligations of users of the Wills Service and their legal advisors. 

- Explain the general mandate and powers of the Wills Service, the Registry and the DIFC Courts. 

- Describe the overall structure of the WPR Rules and explain how they integrate into the wider UAE laws. 

- Describe Part 55 of the Rules of the DIFC Courts (in relation to Probate proceedings in the DIFC Courts) and explain how it works in conjunction with the WPR Rules. 

- Implement the WPR Rules in advising clients on their Dubai and Ras Al Khaimah estate planning in relation to DIFC Wills and the subsequent probate process.   

Speaker:

MIHAELA CORNELIA MOLDOVEANU                                                        

Associate Director– DRA Projects

Mihaela’s academic record combines economics, law and policy, within a Master’s study in Public Policy and Human Development at the Maastricht Graduate School of Governance (The Netherlands). Her interdisciplinary background and BA in European Studies has been geared to prepare her for advisory work in legal and administrative reforms.

She brings 11 years of work experience, amongst which are previous appointments at the European Parliament and the United Nations. With fluency in six European languages, she has applied her skills in a variety of management and consultancy positions, overseeing projects in Europe, the United States and Central Asia. 

Most recently based in Kabul for 4 years, she completed the New Competition Law for Afghanistan, contributed to the National Trade Policy and helped design the first Alternative Dispute Resolution Centre for Commercial Disputes in Afghanistan. With her solid understanding of strategy and setting up new structures, she had been appointed in 2014 as Project Manager at the DIFC Courts, to oversee a novel development, namely the design and launch of the DIFC Wills and Probate Registry. She was heavily involved and mainly responsible for the drafting of the WPR Rules during the period of a year, along with specialist legal practitioners abroad and with the support of the legal community in Dubai. 

For further information or to request for an assistance, please contact [email protected] or call 04-4273390