Private Wealth

Hadef & Partners has established itself as a premier private wealth legal practice in the UAE, serving high-net-worth individuals, family offices, and multi-generational family businesses across the Middle East. The practice combines deep local expertise with a global perspective on wealth management, offering a holistic approach to the intricate legal needs of sophisticated clients. Recently recognized as Private Wealth Team of the Year at the prestigious Law Middle East Awards 2025, the practice has demonstrated its excellence since its inception in 2012, when it began advancing private wealth management in the UAE through comprehensive guides, legal white papers, and regular advisory work on major legislative developments including the Federal Onshore Trust Law, DIFC Foundations Law, and Federal Family Companies Law.

The core of the practice lies in specialized advisory services addressing family business dynamics, including succession planning, governance structures, wealth transfer, estate management, and corporate restructuring for family-owned enterprises. The team also develops family constitutions and mediates conflicts in complex family business environments—a particularly valuable service given the pivotal role of family-owned businesses in the UAE's economic ecosystem. For high-net-worth clients, the practice offers comprehensive wealth protection strategies, cross-border wealth management solutions, and regulatory compliance expertise delivered by a multidisciplinary team spanning corporate law, tax planning, real estate, and international wealth management.

What distinguishes the practice is its client-centric model emphasizing personalized strategy development, comprehensive risk assessment, and proactive regulatory compliance, supported by a multilingual team reflecting the UAE's diverse business landscape. Operating across key jurisdictions including Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Sharjah, the practice provides flexible engagement models ranging from comprehensive annual retainers to project-specific support, all characterized by discretion and a commitment to preserving and growing generational wealth through long-term partnerships.

• Advising the majority class of heirs holding 70% of shares in a prominent UAE family conglomerate group, one of the most significant business enterprises in the region with tens of thousands of employees and a critical role as a strategic food supplier for the UAE economy. This complex succession matter involved navigating intricate family dynamics, corporate governance requirements, and strategic economic considerations following the passing of the group's founder.
• Advising several of the most well-respected family companies in the UAE on their family succession plans.
• Assisting and advising one of Kuwait’s wealthiest families on establishing a foundation structure to hold its Kuwaiti assets. Through Hadef’s strong reputation in wealth and succession planning, the family chose this structure to align with their unique succession preferences.
• Advising one of our key and longstanding clients, a prominent group with a complex trust structure outside the UAE, which ultimately holds an interest in a UAE-based holding and group of companies.