Expatriate Caution THE DANGER OF DYING IN BAHRAIN Living in a beautiful kingdom like Bahrain, it’s quite seldom that we think of things that are daunting … like death. Bill Grieve takes a short layman’s look at what the dangers of dying in Bahrain are regarding Last Will and Testament situations, and the complications which may arise. “Business Friendly Bahrain” are the commercial watchwords of the Kingdom; the ease of doing business, and friendliness of the local nation and its government, are an attraction which pulls businesses and people toward the small archipelago of islands that form the Kingdom of Bahrain People come to Bahrain from all around the world because of many reasons, including business, banking, its open lifestyle, and welcoming attitude. However, Bahrain also facilitates the legal requirements of most governments from where visitors, residents and workers emanate and originate especially in the event of the passing of one of their subjects inside the Kingdom. A problem faced by many expats in Bahrain already, has been the lack of anticipation, planning and preparation for their deaths whilst having ties and roots inside Bahrain such as bank accounts, assets and even just general accounts and the requirements of living life in Bahrain. At present, when an expat dies all bank accounts including joint accounts may be/are frozen pending a court order issued by a Bahrain court to release the funds held. To get a court order to do this in Bahrain, a duly notarised/apostilled certificate that confirms the legal heirs/beneficiaries or a court order issued by the passport “Death comes for us all. Even for kings he comes …” Robert Bolt www.bahrainthismonth.com 66 December 2022 opinion
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