Guide · updated 31.07.2026 · 11 min read · Lucent Legal team

Bank Account Frozen After a Death in the UAE: How to Unblock It

If you're reading this a few days after losing a family member in the UAE, and you've just learned the bank froze not only their personal account but the joint account you shared — the one you used for rent and school fees — you're not alone, and it's not a bank error. It's standard procedure. The bad news: no phone call or death certificate unfreezes it on its own. The good news: the process is predictable once you know the steps, instead of figuring them out mid-panic. Below is what actually happens to a deceased person's accounts in the UAE, why joint accounts get caught too, and the concrete steps to get access to the money.

Why the bank freezes everything, joint accounts included

Under Article 379 of the UAE Commercial Transactions Law, all of a deceased person's accounts at local banks — joint accounts included — are frozen the moment the bank is notified of the death, and stay frozen until a court rules. The logic is simple and not especially comforting: the account becomes part of the estate, and the bank has no authority to decide on its own who gets what, even if the account was technically held by two people. Until a court issues a document establishing the heirs and their shares (or, with a DIFC will in place, an order to execute it), the bank cannot legally allow any transaction — no withdrawals, no transfers, no bill payments from that money.

This is exactly why surviving spouses are so often blindsided: "it's our joint account, why can't I take out my own money?" From the bank's perspective, a joint account works one way while both account holders are alive, and a completely different way once one of them dies — the deceased's share automatically becomes part of the estate, and the bank has no mechanism to technically split "your half" from "theirs" without a court ruling. In practice, that means the entire balance gets frozen, not just the deceased's notional share.

Step 1. Death certificate and attestation

The first document you can't move past is the death certificate. If the death happened in the UAE, local authorities issue it (typically via DHA/MOHAP for the emirate where death occurred), and it then needs attestation before a court will accept it. If the death happened abroad — say, back home during a visit — the chain is longer: a death certificate from that country, attestation in the country of issue, and then certification at a UAE embassy or consulate there. Only after that can the document go to a UAE court along with the unblocking application.

Build in extra time here — international document attestation rarely takes a single day, especially where there's no simplified recognition process between countries (an apostille alone often isn't enough for UAE courts; consular attestation is usually required). None of the following steps can formally start until this document is ready.

Step 2. Court and succession certificate — if there's no will

If the deceased left no registered will, the family needs to apply to the court where they lived (usually a Sharia court for this category of case, or a dedicated division of the local court) for a succession certificate — the document that officially establishes the legal heirs and their shares. The application needs the attested death certificate plus proof of relationship (marriage certificate, children's birth certificates), and in some cases governed by Sharia succession rules, the court may ask for testimony from two witnesses.

This certificate is what the bank will actually accept as grounds to unblock the account and distribute funds according to the shares it sets out. Until it exists, the bank has no document to point to and won't unblock anything, no matter how many times the family shows up with just the death certificate. What actually happens to an expat's estate in the UAE without a will — Sharia and civil distribution rules included — is covered in detail in inheritance and wills in the UAE for foreigners.

Step 3. DIFC probate — if a will was registered

If the deceased registered a will in advance through the DIFC Wills Service Centre, the path is shorter and more predictable: the executor named in the will applies for a Grant of Probate through DIFC Courts. The court works from an already-registered document instead of establishing the heirs from scratch. Once the order is issued, it's enforceable across all emirates, covering bank accounts, property, and other assets named in the will — with no need to re-litigate anything in local courts.

That doesn't mean the freeze never happens — it still kicks in automatically the moment the bank is notified of the death. But with a DIFC will already in place, unblocking is generally faster and skips the uncertainty of default Sharia distribution. The step-by-step process for registering one is covered in DIFC will, step by step, and how its cost compares to alternatives (ADJD in Abu Dhabi, a notarized will) is covered in what a will costs in Dubai.

Timelines and costs

There's no single timeline that applies to every case — sources disagree, and the real duration depends on the court, the emirate, how complete the paperwork is, and whether any heir disputes the shares. Open estimates put a DIFC probate order at roughly 1–3 months from filing a complete package. The succession certificate route without a will is generally described as longer and less predictable — anywhere from a few weeks to several months, and longer still in disputed or unusual cases.

Costs also vary by source: registering a DIFC will reportedly runs AED 5,500–15,000 depending on the type of will, ADJD registration in Abu Dhabi is around AED 950–1,900, and local court fees (Dubai Courts) for a succession certificate are cited at roughly AED 2,020 — but that's typically just the court fee, before a lawyer's fee, document translation, and attestation, which can add up meaningfully. Confirm the actual figure for your situation with a lawyer and the court itself — these numbers get updated periodically.

Getting through this period as a family

While the accounts are frozen — which can drag on for weeks or months — the family still has to cover rent, school, and groceries without access to shared money. Practical options are limited, and none is guaranteed to work in every case. Some banks will, as a matter of internal policy, release a limited amount for funeral costs or urgent expenses ahead of a full unblock — but that's not a legal right, it's up to the individual bank, and it's not something to count on in advance.

If the family has accounts outside the UAE that aren't tied to the deceased's local bank, that's often the one reliable source of funds during the process. Relatives or friends willing to help out temporarily are another option families genuinely rely on while the court process runs. It's also worth consulting a lawyer who specializes in UAE inheritance cases as early as possible — they can help get the paperwork right the first time, instead of losing weeks to a rejected application.

This material is for information only and is not legal advice. UAE law changes — a lawyer will assess how it applies to your situation.