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: Dear, What is the approximate maintenance amount for the children after the divorce? Also if the ex-wife is working, then I have been informed by law it will be 25%. Is this correct? Does the monthly alimony payment include medical cost or coverage?

Q: I have been separated from my husband since July 2019. I live separately with our 10-year-old daughter. He lives in the same building with his so-called second wife and her two boys from her previous marriage. I am Christian and he was a Hindu when we married in India but he claims to have converted to Islam and remarried. I am a housewife and totally dependent on him. I would also like to sue him for maintenance as he doesn't give me much. My immediate concern is that he is forcing me and my daughter to move in to a 2 bedroom and live with them. I am most definitely against this. He said that the contract to my apartment will finish on 25 July. What can I do to avoid getting kicked out by him? I have only 6 days. Can someone advise me of the quickest action?

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?

س: تزوجت من زوجة ثانية وهي وافدة وطلقتها بعد ثلاثة أشهر تقريبًا بسبب عدم التوافق وهي غير حامل. تطالب بمبلغ 250 ألف درهم متعة و50 ألف درهم نفقة وسكن في المدينة التي يعيش بها أهلها على الرغم من أنها خرجت من المسكن الذي كانت تسكن فيه معي ولم تطلب البقاء أو السكن في البداية. أنا متزوج من قبل ولدي خمسة أبناء وراتبي هو 28000 درهم ولدي قروض بقيمة 9000 درهم للبنك و3000 لبرنامج الإسكان وديون خارجية أخرى. كيف يُحسَب المبلغ؟ وهل يمكن للقاضي أن يحكم بهذه المبالغ لها؟

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: Dear Lawyers, In the post-divorce financial order, at the end of the form, there is an "Order Sought" section with some options: - Lump sum (what does that mean?) - Alimony order (does that mean support for the ex-wife only?) - Interim alimony (what does that mean?) Thanks in advance!

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?

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.

الأسرة هي عماد المجتمع، ويدور صلاحه مع صلاحها وجوداً وعدماً، فأن فسدت الاسرة فسد المجتمع؛ ولذلك اعتنت الشريعة الإسلامية بتنظيم العلاقات الاسرية أيما عناية. فالزوج والزوجة هما الأصول التي يتفرع منها الأبناء، فإن لم تستقِم العلاقة بينهما انعكس ذلك على بقية أفراد الاسرة من الأبناء وبالتالي فسد مجتمع الأسرة. وفي دولة الامارات العربية المتحدة يولي المشرع اهتماماً بشؤون الأسرة من خلال قانون الأحوال الشخصية الإماراتي وتقنينه من وقت لآخر بإجراء عدد من التعديلات عليه لكي يتماشى مع أوضاع الأسرة المختلفة.

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.