The Abu Dhabi Civil Family Court has declared one of the region’s highest-valued divorce settlements, for more than AED 7 million. The court awarded a man’s ex-wife 35% of his property, salary, and overall wealth.
The couple was a resident of UAE and had been married for a long time. According to a legal expert, Hesham Elrafei, it was the first divorce in which a specialist was hired to calculate the wealth and financial assets of the party in accordance with the Civil Marriage Law 14/2021.
Describing the verdict as historic, Hesham stated that both the law and the decision ensure women’s rights and gender equality in a new age of progressive family laws.
The divorce was finalized within a month, but the alimony settlement took around four months to complete. The civil family court was once referred to as a non-Muslim court but its name was changed to become inclusive for the increasing expat population in the UAE. The court caters to all expats, irrespective of their faith.
The Civil Marriage Law 14/2021 in Abu Dhabi regulates family issues of foreigners, including marriage, divorce, custody of children, as well as financial rights.
Recent data of Abu Dhabi Civil Family Court reveals that over 6,000 couples from 127 countries have gotten married since the introduction of the new law. 2,300 of them were Filipinos and 830 Indians, constituting the largest groups.
