Q: Dear, I have been recently divorced in Abu Dhabi. My ex-wife converted to Islam in order to get a sharia divorce, though during our marriage she's always been a Christian. She has gained custody of the children, I had guardianship. As I had no employment in the UAE, end of March, I had to return to Belgium. Since then she has blocked any contact with my 2 boys. This weekend, I found out she is pregnant and is living with her boyfriend and my children in our flat (we own it) in Abu Dhabi. On top of that, she has stolen most of my belongings (family souvenirs, all my photography equipment). I want to know what I could be doing, being in Belgium right now. I want to get my kids, I don't want her to get away with being pregnant, unmarried (she made me suffer and accused me of many lies). Her law firm is Al Rowaad!

Q: My wife and I got divorced 3 months ago, she has custody of our 6-month old daughter. She wants to remarry but I disagree with the person she wants to remarry as he has a history of violence and abuse. Can I have the custody agreement revoked?

Q: My question is that my ex-husband and I had a very ugly divorce in 2018 where both parties were involved in extramarital affairs. I moved back to Canada while he's in Dubai. It's been 2 years that my ex hasn't taken any responsibility for our 3-year-old daughter. He has threatened me if I take him to court he could get ugly by proving them that I had extramarital affair during our marriage by showing them pictures. Could that result in me losing the child custody? Could I still apply for child maintenance? Would he be accountable for paying it? Could it be a problem if he shows the court the pictures after 2 years of the divorce and which could result in me losing my daughters custody? Please let me know. I will be very thankful.

Q: The court judgment issued yesterday rejected the divorce case filed by my wife and ordered me to pay her AED 2000 monthly as marital support as she is living separately. Additionally, I have filed a restitution case against her to return home, which will begin next week. Should I file an appeal in court to cancel this monthly amount or wait until the restitution case ruling is finalized? Please note the following: 1. My wife left our marital home and started living in a non-mehram’s home. She is now living separately with our 8-year-old daughter. 2. She is currently employed and started working after leaving the marital home (she was not employed before leaving home).

An interview-format article covering the topic of custody and guardianship in the UAE. This is from the legal podcast of lawyer Ludmila Yamalova, the founder of Lawgical with LYLAW.

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.