Reconsideration Of Mother and Child's Maintenance by UAE Courts

Maintenance of Mother and Child as per the Federal Law No. 28 of 2005 On Personal Status

At the beginning of 2021, the Dubai Courts issued Decision No. 3 of 2021, organizing the application of personal status matters. This decision has significant and amazing changes, which we thought might draw the attention of many readers interested in UAE family matters.

One of the most significant changes is the amount for expenses decided by the courts according to the following guidelines:

1. The total expenses decided against the husband shall not exceed over 60% of his net income, keeping in mind that the court has the right to consider some or part of the debt or not to consider it.
2. The custodian mother shall have the right to get housing allowances unless she has her own house where she lives or if there is a house nominated for her use, however, she may still claim housing allowances if her house or the nominated house does not cover the child’s needs or not suitable enough or if keeping the house might affect the best interest of the child. 
3. In the event the child has their own house that they live in, then the housing allowance may not be paid.
4. The custodian shall not have the right to get housing allowance from the guardian if they have a house ready for use even if the house is under a mortgage, as long as they have different sources of income to cover the mortgage.
5. The custodian mother shall not have the right to get allowances if the house is suitable for her and the child.
6. If the custodian mother married after being divorced, even with the custody after the second marriage to a third party, or if the father had not claimed the custody based on such marriage, and she is living with the new husband, this will be taken into consideration for the housing allowance.
7. The Judge shall consider the DEWA and internet and other basic needs along with the custodian housing allowance.
8. The housing allowance shall be suitable in light of the father’s income, the number of kids, and the marital home previously used for the marriage.
9. The custodian mother shall not receive education expenses if she was receiving such allowances from her work as the allowances cover the education and the bus.

The Dubai Courts issued guideline tables for the expenses, which might be decided in favour of the wife based on the husband’s income. It is important to bear in mind that the decision indicates the following amounts as a guideline, but not mandatory to follow.

For example, if the wife is claiming personal maintenance for herself, the amount could be decided by the following:

The above tables shall be reevaluated by the courts every two years and shall not be considered as a reason to file a second case in regards to increasing the expenses by the wife nor be used for filing a second case by the husband asking for a deduction of what has been decided by the court in the previous case. However, it may be used as an argument for the first family case.

It is important to highlight that as per Article No. 2 of Decision No. 3 of 2021, the context of this decision is issued for the sake of guidance and is not mandatory to be applied and shall be considered in each undecided procedure or case, before the date of the decree’s issuance.

Maintenance of Mother and Child as per the Federal Decree-Law No. 41 of 2022 On Civil Personal Status

The recently issued new personal law for non-Muslims in the country, namely Federal Decree-Law No. 41 of 2022, decides maintenance for the mother and child upon divorce in a different manner. Although not yet detailed, it lays down a general framework based on which the maintenance of the mother will be determined.

Under Article 9 of the new law, the following factors will be taken into account while deciding the alimony for a divorced wife:

1. number of years of the marriage; more the years, more the amount
2. age of the wife; the younger she is, the lesser the amount
3. the financial status of each spouse
4. the extent of the husband’s contribution towards divorce
5. compensation by either spouse for moral or material damage
6. financial damage incurred by the other spouse due to divorce by unilateral will
7. wife’s diligence towards taking care of the children

Further, as per Article 9(9), the alimony amount will be forfeited if the woman remarries another man and if the custody of the children ends with the mother for any reason. 

As regards the children, the expenses and costs while the children are in the mother’s custody will be borne by the father for a period of a maximum of 2 years, under Article 9 (7) of the law.

Legal Update:
The above information might not apply if both parties are non-muslim. Starting from the 1st of February 2023, UAE issued specific family law to be applied between non-muslim expatriate residents in case none of them wanted to apply his/her home country's law in the UAE. To know more information about this law, please feel free to click this link.

Related Links

• Child Custody Law in the United Arab Emirates.
• Let us Have a Look at New Amendments in UAE Family Law!
• International Abduction

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