Custodial Rights Of Children In Uae – Professional Lawyer

By Author: Hassan Elhais
Total Articles: 59
Comment this article

Custody is the single most important and argued term in the event of a divorce. The principles of custody in Shariah are different and surprisingly more favorable to the mother as compared to other forms of jurisdictions.

In shariah it is also important to distinguish between the custodian and the guardian. The custodian is in most cases the mother and the guardian, the father. In most cases the mother will become the ‘custodian’ of young children, for boys till the age of 11 years and for a girl till the age of 13 years, and the father the ‘guardian’. The obligations of the custodian, mostly the mother are set out in the law and revolve around being responsible for the child’s needs, both physical and emotional.

Custody can be withdrawn from a parent for various reasons, all of which should in some way or the other be harmful to the child and detrimental to child’s upbringing. The courts in the UAE primarily look at the betterment of the child when making such decisions.

If the mother is the custodian of the child, the father is still, in his capacity as the guardian, still responsible ...
... for the child’s financial needs and needs to pay towards his child’s maintenance. The mount of the maintenance is decide by the courts based on the income of the father and can change when the need arises.

Another important thing to note when it comes to custody is the jurisdiction that the custody shall be applied for. Foreign Orders issued by courts outside the UAE are not always enforceable in the UAE because the UAE considers children in its borders and jurisdiction to be their responsibility and take it upon themselves to insure that the best decisions are made for the children. Hence,

After qualifying as a lawyer within the fields of Criminal and Public Law, Dr. Hassan Mohsen Elhais has been practicing as a Legal Consultant in Dubai since 2006. Working exclusively with Awatif Mohammad Shoqi Advocates & Legal Consultancy, Dr. Hassan has a strong ethical stance with regards to the place of the law firm, from clarity on the legal process through to the fee system.