Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
My husband and I are married and live in the UAE. We got married in his home country a few years ago and I am currently pregnant with our first child. I discovered that my husband has been cheating on me since I became pregnant. Though I am sure, and he has a history of cheating, I have no proof. I want to divorce him but I understand that without proof I cannot even bring this topic up in front of a judge. How can I be granted a divorce without negative consequences? If I deliver our child after getting divorced will the child be considered born out of wedlock? What are the options for me to be divorced as soon as possible? Will I be entitled to any alimony and financial support from him?
The child does not to be delivered while you are married for it to be considered legitimate, since the child was conceived while you were married. If your husband divorces you while you are pregnant, or if the court grants you the divorce during your pregnancy, you will be granted a ‘revocable divorce’, which become irrevocable upon delivery or three months after the divorce is finalised (whichever comes later). Technically, you will not be considered completely divorced until the child is delivered. In any case, for the child to be considered born within a legal marriage, all that is required by law is a minimum period of 180 days between the marriage and the delivery. The date of the divorce does not matter at all and does not have any relationship with legitimate rights of your child.
As for the cheating allegations, it is very common in cases like yours that court will ask for witnesses. If you do not have witnesses, you may have the legal option to ask the court to appoint two arbitrators to attempt to eliminate the conflicts between the two of you and try reconcile you. Should the arbitrators fail, they may recommend the court to give you the divorce. If the arbitrators recommend divorce, the court is obliged to follow their recommendation.
Even if the extramarital affairs took place outside of the UAE and even though that cannot be used in Criminal courts for the lack of jurisdiction, you may still use it as a valid reason for your divorce. Even though in Family courts the witnesses are the most important part of the proceedings, you are allowed to use other types of evidence in your possession (such as photos or any correspondence).
If you have a question for our legal consultant, email media@professionallawyer.me with the subject line "Family Matters".
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Checking: the obsession or thoughts focus on some harm coming from things not being as they should, which usually centre around the theme of safety. For example, the obsession is “the building will burn down”, therefore the compulsion is checking that the oven is switched off.
Contamination: the obsession is focused on the presence of germs, dirt or harmful bacteria and how this will impact the person and/or their loved ones. For example, the obsession is “the floor is dirty; me and my family will get sick and die”, the compulsion is repetitive cleaning.
Orderliness: the obsession is a fear of sitting with uncomfortable feelings, or to prevent harm coming to oneself or others. Objectively there appears to be no logical link between the obsession and compulsion. For example,” I won’t feel right if the jars aren’t lined up” or “harm will come to my family if I don’t line up all the jars”, so the compulsion is therefore lining up the jars.
Intrusive thoughts: the intrusive thought is usually highly distressing and repetitive. Common examples may include thoughts of perpetrating violence towards others, harming others, or questions over one’s character or deeds, usually in conflict with the person’s true values. An example would be: “I think I might hurt my family”, which in turn leads to the compulsion of avoiding social gatherings.
Hoarding: the intrusive thought is the overvaluing of objects or possessions, while the compulsion is stashing or hoarding these items and refusing to let them go. For example, “this newspaper may come in useful one day”, therefore, the compulsion is hoarding newspapers instead of discarding them the next day.
Source: Dr Robert Chandler, clinical psychologist at Lighthouse Arabia
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
