I am an Asian woman with a son who is younger than 11. His father, my former husband, is in jail and I am remarried. I know that in this case custody rights of my son would go to my mother. However, my mother lives with me in my house. How does this affect her right to claim custody of my son?
In the above circumstances, your mother’s right to claim custody of your son will be seriously affected. Article 152 of UAE Federal Law No 28 of 2005, the Personal Status Law, states that your mother in this case would not have the legal capacity to claim custody of your son, purely because she is living with you. Under these circumstances, the right to claim custody of your son would pass to the mother of your former husband.
I am a non-Muslim resident of the UAE who is here with my wife, and we have no children. I recently found another job in another country that I like but my wife does not want to move with me. I also do not want to divorce her. Do I still need to provide for her financially, even if she does not want to move and live with me?
As per Article 71 of the UAE Federal Law No 28, your wife has no right to claim financial support from you if she refuses to travel and live with you in the same house. Nevertheless, bear in mind that the husband is obligated to provide her with accommodation that is suitable to her standard of living and social status.
If you have a question for our lawyer, Hassan Mohsen Elhais, email media@professionallawyer.me with the subject line Family Matters.
La Mer lowdown
La Mer beach is open from 10am until midnight, daily, and is located in Jumeirah 1, well after Kite Beach. Some restaurants, like Cupagahwa, are open from 8am for breakfast; most others start at noon. At the time of writing, we noticed that signs for Vicolo, an Italian eatery, and Kaftan, a Turkish restaurant, indicated that these two restaurants will be open soon, most likely this month. Parking is available, as well as a Dh100 all-day valet option or a Dh50 valet service if you’re just stopping by for a few hours.
What are NFTs?
Are non-fungible tokens a currency, asset, or a licensing instrument? Arnab Das, global market strategist EMEA at Invesco, says they are mix of all of three.
You can buy, hold and use NFTs just like US dollars and Bitcoins. “They can appreciate in value and even produce cash flows.”
However, while money is fungible, NFTs are not. “One Bitcoin, dollar, euro or dirham is largely indistinguishable from the next. Nothing ties a dollar bill to a particular owner, for example. Nor does it tie you to to any goods, services or assets you bought with that currency. In contrast, NFTs confer specific ownership,” Mr Das says.
This makes NFTs closer to a piece of intellectual property such as a work of art or licence, as you can claim royalties or profit by exchanging it at a higher value later, Mr Das says. “They could provide a sustainable income stream.”
This income will depend on future demand and use, which makes NFTs difficult to value. “However, there is a credible use case for many forms of intellectual property, notably art, songs, videos,” Mr Das says.
