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: 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: Hi, My husband and I are non-Muslim ex-pats in Dubai. During my husband's divorce 3 years ago, his ex-wife demanded custody of their son and alimony monthly payments of 30K, which the judge granted. He did not have money for his own lawyer. He runs his own small company and is now in deep financial debt due to the payments. We have tried our best to keep up the payments (my salary supports us, as he gives most of his earnings to his ex-wife). She has threatened repeatedly to have him arrested if he is late/short on payments or does his best to honour the court order. She remarried 3 months ago, to a man that is financially well off, lives in a great house, goes on holidays and refuses to work despite being qualified. She is now on her new husband's visa. We would like to understand if her remarriage can help us to reduce and renegotiate the payments to a more reasonable, sustainable amount. He wants to support his child, but we face certain bankruptcy and his company is failing.

Q: Hi, I have been divorced since few months and have now found that my ex-wife and my children have been staying with her family. I am already paying her yearly rent which she decided to save and stay with her family. Can this be challenged in court? or do I need to wait for one-year completion of the divorce? The judgment only says to pay rent and doesn't mention sharing or moving with family.   Thanks

Q: My ex-wife had opened an execution file against me last year for non-payment of outstanding dues. I am now in the process of paying off the total outstanding balance. I would like to know: 1- Once the balance is cleared, is the execution file closed forever or can be re-opened? (assuming nothing in the divorce judgment is violated). 2- Can she reopen the execution file at a later stage to financially harass me; disputing something in the execution file not being calculated correctly? 3) Can the execution judge force a settlement if she is not being cooperative? 4) What are my options if she refuses to give me her passport for canceling her visa and force me to sponsor her? 5) She is unemployed and custodian of our daughter, I am financially supporting our child. If she decides to leave Dubai claiming that she will move abroad to her family for a better future of the kid (5 years old), is it possible even if I do not agree (as I won't be able to bond with her)? Thanks!

س: السلام عليكم، تقدمت لقاضي التنفيذ في دعوى تنفيذ الطاعة الزوجية بإمارة أبوظبي بطلب شهادة تفيد رفض الزوجة تنفيذ حكم الطاعة. وكان قرار القاضي كالتالي: "بعد الاطلاع تقرر الآتي: استعجال مخاطبة الدعم الاجتماعي لإعلان المنفذ لها بالدخول في طاعة زوجها المنفذ له والرجوع لمسكن الزوجية المعد من قبله. وفي حال عدم تنفيذها لما سبق أعلاه، يتم اعتبارها تحت طائلة ممتنعة عن التنفيذ واستعجالهم بإرفاق الإفادة." هل هذه الإفادة كافية لرفع دعوى إسقاط النفقة أم لا بد من عمل دعوى توجيه أسري لإسقاطها؟ وفي حال أنه لا بد من دعوى توجيه أسري، ما فائدة هذه الافادة؟ وهل إسقاط النفقة يتم عن طريق رفع دعوى ابتدائية أم من خلال قاضي التنفيذ؟

Q: Greetings, I have been divorced since 3 years and have been paying my ex-wife yearly rental and have found out that she and my children are staying with her family instead of renting an apartment. This means that she has been saving money. When I questioned her, she said that it's her choice and also refusing to provide a house contract that she is renting an apartment. She is now demanding full rental payment and threatening to go to court to make a complaint. What can I do in this situation? Can I report to the court about the situation or request them to investigate this matter before she makes a complaint or let her proceed and inform the court about the situation once I am contacted and questioned?

Q: I opened a custody case. I asked for proof of custody, house, and alimony. I added a lawyer to the case, who submitted the last memo asking for everything for me except the alimony for the child. The judge did not rule on alimony. He does not mention the alimony request in the verdict. Is it true that the judge considers only the requests mentioned in the last memo?

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.