Woman Demands Daughter Of Deceased Husband To Pay His Unsettled Dh 900,000 Debt

A woman is demanding her stepdaughter pay her the unsettled Dh 900,000 debt of her late father. The complainant said the inheritance that her stepdaughter received after her father's death was from the money that her late husband had taken away from her when he was still alive.

The woman claimed in the lawsuit that she had lent her late husband a huge amount of money but failed to pay her back before he passed away. In response to the lawsuit, the Abu Dhabi Appeal Court for Family and Civil Administrative Claims upheld a ruling by the lower court instructing the stepdaughter to clear her father's debt with her inheritance.

The woman said her late husband granted his daughter the powers of administration of his estate. She said before she filed the lawsuit, she had asked the other heirs of her late husband to pay her back but to no avail. She added that she was forced to drag her stepdaughter to court after a series of failed reconciliation efforts.

After presenting documents to prove that she had lent money to her late husband and that the debt hadn't been cleared until his death, the civil court of appeals is now obliging the stepdaughter to pay Dh 900,000 to her stepmother. The stepdaughter is also required to pay for her stepmother's legal expenses.

According to UAE law, the person whose name is on the debt is the only one accountable for the same. In fact, even the spouse of a deceased person can only be liable if the debt made is in joint names, or if the spouse is a guarantor.

"Under UAE law, only the person whose name is on the debt is accountable for it and that applies whether it is a mortgage, a personal loan or a credit card. A spouse is only liable if a debt is in joint names, they have provided a security cheque or they are a guarantor," explained Keren Bobker of The National.

"Any debt should be settled from the estate of the deceased before money can be passed to any beneficiary. This is one of the many reasons why proper life insurance is advisable where there are debts and/or dependents," she added.