United Arab Emirates: Trusts

Dubai Multi Commodities Centre has introduced new Foundations Regulations, creating a separate legal entity structure for private wealth holders and family offices. The framework enables long-term asset holding, succession planning and wealth preservation, with flexible governance arrangements and reserved powers for founders starting from USD 100 in initial assets.

In September 2026, the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre Authority (“DMCCA”) introduced its new Foundations Regulations, adding another private wealth and succession planning structure to the UAE landscape.

BLK Partners is a multi-jurisdictional law firm operating across Saudi Arabia, UAE, Lebanon, and Egypt, providing comprehensive legal services under registered trademarks in each region.

In Legal context a trust is a foundational concept that has played an incremental role in property ownership and the protection of equitable interests for centuries.

When is a company not a company? When is a trust not a trust? When it is a UAE foundation. Many trust, corporate and structural tax professionals have pondered over the form of entity entity...

With the number of foundations registered in the UAE surpassing 650, the structure is increasingly being used as an ‘off the shelf product', rather than a bespoke wealth solution, explains Nina Auchoybur...