Sat, Feb 08, 2025 | Shaaban 9, 1446 | DXB ktweather icon0°C

UAE: New rules for child support, alimony proposed to prevent 'undue delays'

New procedure seeks to ensure that children and custodial parents receive financial support without administrative and legal challenges

Published: Thu 30 Jan 2025, 1:03 PM

Updated: Sun 2 Feb 2025, 11:43 AM

Top Stories

To address the issue of unpaid alimony and child support, a new regulation that entitles third parties to issue the deserved payments will be raised to the UAE Cabinet for approval.

If the regulation is enacted, the amount can be later reclaimed from the divorced husband, said the Minister of Justice Abdullah Al Nuaimi. The new procedure seeks to ensure that children and custodial parents receive financial support without undue delays caused by administrative and legal challenges.

The minister was addressing concerns by a member of the Federal National Council over the recurring difficulties individuals face in enforcing court-ordered alimony and child custody rulings. “What measures are being taken to ensure the timely execution of these judgements without unnecessary delays?” asked Mariam bin Thaniya.

Stay up to date with the latest news. Follow KT on WhatsApp Channels.

Minister Al Nuaimi said family law cases, particularly those concerning alimony, custody, and visitation rights, “are among the most complex to enforce due to their sensitive nature”.

“Conflicts between spouses often escalate to the point where compliance with court rulings becomes contentious, adding further strain to affected families, especially children.” While non-compliance with family court rulings is not widespread, the minister said certain cases present challenges at both the federal and local levels.

The minister explained that the proposed mechanism is derived from Federal Law No. 41 of 2024 personal affairs, which grants the Cabinet the authority to collaborate with federal and local entities to facilitate the enforcement of alimony rulings.

“Under this system, government agencies or private legal entities will be permitted to disburse alimony payments to beneficiaries and subsequently recover the amounts from the obligated party. This framework aims to expedite the process and reduce the financial strain on custodial parents awaiting payments.”

The FNC member further stressed the pressing need for immediate financial support for children awaiting alimony payments. She suggested establishing a dedicated fund within courts to provide temporary assistance to affected children until their rightful payments are implemented.

“This would prevent financial disruptions that could impact the well-being and basic needs of the child, such as food, shelter, clothing, and education,” she said.

With the proposed new mechanism for alimony enforcement currently under review, authorities are working with relevant stakeholders to raise it to the Cabinet, said minister Al Nuaimi. The Cabinet will decide how the procedure will be implemented and by whom.

New alimony procedure will be a 'huge relief'

Dr Hanadi Al Jaber, who has been in a limbo with her ex-husband over alimony and child support since they divorced in 2007, said the new regulation, when enacted, would be a “huge relief”.

After her divorce, the court ordered a monthly allowance of Dh2,000 for her daughter, who was seven at the time, and two-year-old son. However, her husband "would pay once every four or six months”, said the 46-year-old psychologist and HR expert.

Four years later, she filed a case to raise the value of the child support, as she was solely bearing all expenses, including tuition fees, house rent and everyday necessities.

“The court raised the allowance to Dh5,000, but he never committed to that either; at first he stopped paying anything, then he started seeking discounts, claiming he is financially restrained, sometimes he would pay Dh3,000, sometimes Dh2,000, and for many months absolutely nothing.”

“Eventually, the due amounts reached Dh180,000, even though he has a stable salary, insurance and privileges from his company. Even when I got a court order to automatically deduct the allowance money from his salary, his company said they cannot do as they were a private company. I wish there could be a law to force private companies to do that.”

Up until March 2023, the accumulating amounts reached Dh220,500, showed a judicial report that Khaleej Times saw a copy of. “This was after he stopped paying any allowances for four years. I had filed for an arrest warrant when he continuously failed to pay, but at first the police couldn’t do anything because he resides in a different emirate.” By May that year, he paid Dh110,000.

Throughout the years, Dr Al Jaber got several arrest warrants issued when he failed to pay for lengthy periods of time; “he was detained twice only for a short period.”

“And until this day, he does not pay on a monthly basis like he is supposed to; I had to pull my son out of university this semester due ro financial difficulties.” The current due amounts exceed Dh40,000.

ALSO READ:



Next Story