Divorce and Financial Ruin: How Will I Support Myself and My Children?
After a divorce, the most immediate and terrifying concern is often financial. How will I pay the rent? How will I afford school fees? Will my children's standard of living suffer? These questions cause immense anxiety, particularly for a spouse who was financially dependent during the marriage. You need to be sure that your and your children's financial futures are secure and legally protected.
Maintenance in the UAE: A Legally Enforceable Right
In the UAE, financial support after divorce, known as "maintenance," is a legally enforceable right, not just a verbal promise. The law provides clear obligations for the husband/father to financially support his children and, in many cases, his ex-wife to ensure they can live with dignity and security.
Key Takeaway
In the UAE, the father has a fundamental legal duty to cover all of his children's maintenance needs, including housing, education, and healthcare. Spousal maintenance (alimony) is also awarded based on factors like the husband's income and the standard of living during the marriage. These are legally enforceable court orders.
Child Maintenance: The Father's Fundamental Duty
Under UAE law, the father is legally obligated to financially provide for his children after a divorce. This is a non-negotiable duty. This comprehensive support must cover all of the child's needs to maintain a similar standard of living, including:
- Housing (rent)
- Food and clothing
- Education fees
- Medical expenses
This obligation continues until a daughter marries or a son can earn his own living.
Spousal Maintenance (Alimony)
This is financial support paid by the husband to his ex-wife to ensure she can support herself and avoid financial hardship. There is no fixed calculator; a judge decides a fair amount based on several key factors, the most important being the husband's financial capacity and the standard of living during the marriage.
Warning: The Risks of Informal Financial Agreements
Relying on verbal promises for financial support after a divorce is extremely dangerous and can leave you in a desperate situation.
- Unenforceable Promises: A verbal agreement to pay maintenance is not legally binding. If your ex-husband stops paying, you have no immediate legal recourse and will have to start a new, difficult court case from scratch.
- Underestimating Your Needs: Without a proper legal assessment, you might agree to an amount that doesn't cover all your and your children's actual expenses, especially future costs like school fee increases or medical emergencies.
- Lack of Temporary Support: The divorce process can take time. If you don't take the right legal step, you could be left with no financial support while the case is ongoing. A wife has the right to ask a judge for temporary maintenance from the moment the case is filed.
- Failure to Enforce: If a husband fails to pay a court-ordered maintenance, many women don't know they can take immediate legal action to enforce the order, such as freezing his assets or garnishing his salary.
The Path to Resolution: Securing a Legally Binding Maintenance Order
Securing fair and adequate maintenance requires a strong legal argument supported by clear evidence. A lawyer is essential to protect your financial future. Our role is to:
- Gather and Present Financial Evidence: We help you gather all the necessary documents (bank statements, salary certificates, rental contracts) to prove the husband's income and the family's needs to the court.
- File for Temporary Maintenance: We immediately file an application for temporary maintenance to ensure you are financially supported while the divorce proceedings are underway.
- Argue for a Fair Amount: We argue effectively before the judge for a maintenance amount that is fair, comprehensive, and protects your long-term financial security.
- Ensure Enforcement: We ensure the final judgment includes clear, enforceable terms. If payments are missed, we initiate enforcement proceedings to secure the funds you are entitled to.
Ensure your financial security after divorce. Let us fight for the maintenance you and your children are entitled to. Contact us for a confidential consultation.
