Scope of work
The UAE regulates personal status through legislation that distinguishes between Muslims and others, and allows non-Muslims a civil family regime in some emirates. The first question in any such file is the applicable law and the competent court, because that determination bears directly on divorce and its grounds, on custody and the tests applied to it, and on the assessment of maintenance and the division of assets.
We take the file from the family guidance stage and the attempts at reconciliation that take place there, through to filing and pursuing the action before the personal status courts at each level. At every stage we keep the relief sought specific and supported: divorce for harm, for discord, or khul' according to what the facts will bear, and maintenance of each kind evidenced by the means of the person liable and the need of the person entitled.
In custody and visitation we treat the child's interest as the governing test rather than a slogan: stability of schooling and housing, a continuing relationship with both parents, and a visitation arrangement that is practical and capable of enforcement rather than a judgment that is hard to give effect to. We prefer an amicable settlement wherever one is possible, because what parents agree between them lasts longer in a child's life than what is imposed by judgment.
What we do in this area
- Divorce and judicial divorce for harm, discord or failure to maintain, and khul' proceedings.
- Establishing and documenting marriage, and actions to annul or dissolve a marriage contract.
- Custody and guardianship of the person, and arrangements for visitation, overnight stays and travel with the child.
- Maintenance in all its forms: for the wife and children, custody and housing allowances, and applications to increase or reduce it.
- Deferred dower, maintenance during the waiting period, compensation, and the financial claims that follow divorce.
- Establishing parentage and disputes over it, together with the related procedures.
- Guardianship and trusteeship over minors and those lacking capacity, and authority to deal with their assets.
- Enforcement of family judgments, and enforcement in the UAE of foreign judgments on personal status.
How we work
We treat a family file with strict confidentiality, because what a lawyer sees in these matters touches the privacy of an entire household. Nobody outside the team working on it knows its details.
We begin with a candid assessment of where the dispute leads: what a court is likely to award, and what a settlement might achieve sooner and at less cost to the children. We then follow whichever course the client chooses, once both are clear.