A child custody case is heard in a UAE Federal Court, the involved parties are to obtain legal representation from Child Custody Lawyers in Dubai who can present each of their sides in relation to the legal case or dispute. The Judge decides the case by considering the best interest of the Child. This decision is derived from other factors, such as the mental and physical health of the custodian, the stability of the parents, financial conditions, and a stable environment for the child to name a few.
Generally, the law grants the custody of a child to the mother. If a child has reached the ‘age of discretion’, the child can then decide and put forward his choice with whether he would want to live with the mother or the father after the separation. However, this can be contradicted if it is against the interests of the child. The UAE law draws various conditions to become the custodian, for the future betterment of the child. Under the Law on Child Rights, the parent that gets custody of the child must be sane, capable of raising and taking care of the child, must be free from any infectious or life-threatening diseases and must not have any criminal record. The courts also generally consider religion as one of the requirements of a custodian. In some instances where the child is a Muslim (same as the religion of the father), and the mother is a non-Muslim, it may be difficult for the mother to win the custody of the child.
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Contrary to popular belief, Joint Custody is not offered to the parents in the UAE. This is untrue; Joint custody is offered to parents in rare cases as it is noted in very few cases there is a mutual agreement between parents to share the custody in the UAE. If the parents are willing and decide to share custody with a certain arrangement, the UAE Courts can grant such custody to the parents. The decision for custody in the UAE is governed by the Sharia law, which remains silent about joint custody. Since, the Sharia Law does not explicitly mention joint custody of child, granting it does not contradict the law. This concept, although it will be applied to only rare cases and cases that demand the Court to grant such an arrangement.
Travel Bans restrict the freedom of movement to another country. Such bans can be applied to the child by the other parent, which restricts the traveling of the custodian with the child out of the Country. If a parent goes against the travel ban, then this could lead to legal issues regarding the custody of the child. In such situations, it is advisable for the custodian to appoint a Family lawyer in Dubai to address the concerns regarding travel ban violation.
You should read: How can a father get full custody of his child in the UAE?
The process of achieving child custody is often considered complex and can be an unpleasant experience. HHS Lawyers and Legal Consultants aims to help make this process smooth and limit the complications that may arise in the case of child custody. The Family lawyers of HHS can offer a range of services regarding Family Law and can provide you with legal assistance in all situations.