Muslim personal status work in the UAE is court work with a private life attached to it. Talaq, khula, custody, maintenance and succession are not slogans. They are procedures, documents and — often — children who still have to go to school on Monday.
UAEAZ advises Muslim spouses, parents and families on personal status matters before the competent courts in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and the wider Emirates. The file is assessed on the marriage contract, the applicable personal status rules, the children’s circumstances and the assets actually in dispute.
Talaq, khula and judicial divorce
Instructions commonly include:
- talaq and its registration
- khula and the financial terms that may attach to it
- judicial divorce where reconciliation has failed
- deferred dowry and related financial claims
- marriage contracts and their enforcement
A khula application does not, by itself, settle custody, housing or maintenance. Those questions are taken in turn, on the child’s facts and the law that applies to the family.
Children, housing and maintenance
The child’s residence, schooling, passports and travel are practical problems as much as legal ones. We advise on custody, access, visitation and urgent interim applications — including travel bans or permission to travel — as time-sensitive work, not as an afterthought to the divorce.
Housing and maintenance claims are prepared from the documents: income, the matrimonial home, and what the court can actually order.
Succession and family property
A family house, a jointly owned plot, or company shares held in one spouse’s name often sit underneath the personal status file. We advise on onshore inheritance issues and on how property should be treated while a divorce is pending. That is why our real estate practice is linked internally.
Discretion
Personal status files are not discussed outside the room. If you are instructing from abroad because a spouse or child is in the UAE, send the papers you have. We will tell you the procedure, the likely forum, and what not to file in a hurry.
Abu Dhabi, Dubai and worldwide
This practice is available to clients in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah and the northern Emirates, and to clients instructing UAEAZ from overseas by email or video. Court advocacy is conducted by licensed advocates before the relevant UAE court and level. Advice is given in Arabic and English.
To instruct counsel, send a short outline of the facts, any deadline, and the papers you have via our consultation form. An enquiry does not create a client relationship until we confirm the engagement in writing.
