Q: I am divorcing my wife. She will have custody of our 3 children. My monthly salary is AED 20,000. I have a bank loan that I repay every month, and the repayment amount is AED 9,000. When the UAE courts calculate 'child maintenance' and 'alimony', will they calculate based on the AED 20,000 that I earn or on the AED 11,000 that is remaining after I pay my monthly loan instalment? Please advise. Thank you

Q: Hi, We have been granted a divorce notice from Dubai courts on Jan 2018, signed by me and ex-wife in front of the judge while she being pregnant, we both are living separately since Oct. 2017. She has delivered successfully recently and I have supported her through these times financially as per her wish of doctors and healthcare. My question is, she has been demanding a huge amount for monthly support for a settlement, and adding, she requires a car and an extra amount for healthcare and education. How can I deal with this situation?

Q: Alimony Money after Divorce Hi, I am going through a divorce with my first wife. The court has advised up to discuss the alimony money. She continues to increase her demand and is demanding much more than she originally requested to the court as she filed for the divorce. I would like to understand how much will be the alimony money if the court makes the decision, and how much should be the kids' expenses. Info: My current salary is 23K. I have 4 children with my first wife from whom I am getting a divorce. I have one kid with my second wife. I have my mother under my sponsorship as my father passed away recently. I have a bank loan where I need to pay AED 9,000 every month. My first wife is demanding approximately AED 11,000 (as expenses) plus accommodation, school fees and custody charges, which comes around 20K every month. In this situation, I am left wit 3Kh only to pay loans, my living, support the second wife, kid and mother. Thanks!

Q: I'm an Australian non-Muslim expat resident for 10 years. My wife is the same, as are our three children, ages 19,16 (girls) and 11 (boy). I have opened a case for divorce in Australia, and the hearing is in November. My wife wants to take me to court in the UAE regarding child maintenance. I currently pay 35% of my monthly salary to my wife for child support. She wants more. I am due to leave the country next July permanently. If she opens a court case, will that stop me from leaving? Has she got a case for more money?

Q: I got divorced from my husband in July 2012. At the time he was in jail for financial problems so I didn’t file an execution case on him then. I got a job and started supporting our only son. Now I filed for execution case (9 years later). Back then, the judge had awarded AED 800 per month for our son. He is now 13 years old and obviously, AED 800 is certainly not enough! Can I file a case to increase the amount? Would I need a lawyer for that?

Q: My wife left the house with my small baby without any reason. She took all the gold and everything. Now she is putting cases against me, asking for huge amounts of money and claiming that she doesn’t have a marital home, whereas I am alone living in my four-bedroom townhouse. I need advice as she is getting execution against me claiming house, maid money, and alimony money. I have put appeal. Still need advice.

Q: My wife and I are Indian Christians with one child and are in the process of a no-fault mutual divorce. While I understand the father has to take full responsibility for the child's maintenance, my spouse is claiming 3 years of backdated expenses as per Article 67 of the personal status law. I have provided financial support to my wife during our marriage and we have agreed to share the expenses but still under extreme financial strain which is one of the reasons for divorce. Can she force these 3 years of backdated expenses if produced as an agreement as this is a completely unreasonable point to agree with? What are the chances to let the court decide whether this is acceptable or not?

Q: Hi My wife has filed a maintenance case in Abu Dhabi. Now after the judgment, what are the possibilities that I can permanently return to my home country? If I go back to my home country, will the maintenance amount go down as my salary will be less in India? Please suggest.

Q: My divorce was finalized in 2018. Following was the ruling, for my younger son, my ex-wife will get 2000 Dirhams per month and for my youngest son, she will get 1500 per month. Furthermore, she will get AED 65,000 per annum for house rental. She went ahead and claimed the above in execution in May 2019, the sum total outstanding in May 2019 was 131,000. My younger son's custody shifted to me in 2020. Now she only has the youngest one with her. I kept 5000 dirhams per month as mutually agreed in court and since 2019 till today I’ve paid 275,000 in court and transferred 45,000 to her bank account via my friend's account. She has again gone to court yesterday and asked to increase the court monthly installment, which the judge has agreed to. However, now I have 2 kids aged 20 years and 16 years and she only has 1 kid aged 7 years. Earlier, I was well earning and in the family business when the old ruling was passed but now, I separated from family and business and I now have a job where I earn 7000. What do I do?

UAE Personal Status Law (also known as Personal Affairs Law) governs marriage, divorce, inheritance and other personal affairs in the United Arab Emirates. The law equally applies to citizens of the UAE and non-citizens unless one of them asks for the application of his home country law.