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(I have posted this in the new members section as well, but am putting it here in the hope that someone can help )

Hi, I live in the UK and am posting on behalf of a friend whose ex-husband is currently living and working in Dubai. For the past 2 years her ex-husband has stopped all child maintenance payments regarding their 3 children (in direct violation of a UK court ordered consent order) and currently owes somewhere in the region of £40,000. My friend has been advised that she would have a very strong case against him if she took him to court in Dubai but, as she has no income other than state benefits, she does not have the money needed to fund court proceedings. This is a really long shot, but does anybody know if there are any lawyers in Dubai who would take this sort of case on some sort of no win, no fee basis? Or even half up front and half on completion of the case? I realise that the chances of this are highly unlikely but I have nothing to lose by asking! Many thanks if you've read this and any advice would be truly appreciated.

Ribena

Hi Ribena,

I think there are very few lawyers who work like that here. Plus because the court order is in the UK, it would have to be done in the UK, I'm not sure the courts here would even touch it.

In all honesty you'll find better answers to your questions by heading to www.expatwoman.com as I'm sure there will be more women with an insight into this sort of situation over there.

Hi Rinena,
Your friend had received misleading information.
1. She would NOT have a very strong case against he husband in the Dubai courts. Dubai courts could in fact award custody of the children to him (They will argue that a father with a job and a nanny is a better prospect than a mother on welfare).
2.However, there is no jurisdiction for the Dubai courts to rule against UK cases/residents, and vice versa.
3. No-win, no-fee lawyers do not exist in Dubai, esp for a slice of £40,000.

Because she is on state benefits she is able to obtain the services of a legal aid in the UK for free.
She won't be able to force him to send money to the UK, but he will not be able to step foot in the UK without being arrested unless he pays.

-- Fri Oct 28, 2011 9:44 am --

Chocoholic wrote:In all honesty you'll find better answers to your questions by heading to http://www.expatwoman.com as I'm sure there will be more women with an insight into this sort of situation over there.

I dunno chocs,
apparently there are several deperate houswives on this forum also.

benwj wrote:Hi Rinena,
Your friend had received misleading information.
1. She would NOT have a very strong case against he husband in the Dubai courts. Dubai courts could in fact award custody of the children to him (They will argue that a father with a job and a nanny is a better prospect than a mother on welfare).

Not true actually, as their marriage was obviously conducted in the UK as well as the divorce I assume, therefore the Dubai courts wouldn't even get involved in that. They can only get involved if couples are married here under Sharia law. I had a friend go through a custody case and everything had to be done in the UK.

Point 2 overrides point 1 anyway.
As soon as he or she goes back to the UK, the UAE justice system is a toothless tiger.

It's a tough one. Men who don't take care of their responsibilities are gutless wonders.

The UAE cannot enforce a court order from another jurisdiction (country). Generally documents will always have a clause that the decree is governed under the laws of, in this case, the UK.

There are no lawyers in the UAE that will take on a case pro bono or on a win/lose basis.

She would have to file a case against him in the UK (family?) court.

Hi all and thanks for the replies. My friend was told by 3 different legal companies in Dubai that she had a strong case and also that she had a couple of options which would have different outcomes, one of which was that he would be jailed until his debt was paid. I realise it was pretty unrealistic regarding no win no fee lawyers but there was no harm in asking! Thank you again for your replies! (And the person who called these sort of men gutless wonders was spot on!)

Lawyers will tell you what you want to hear - they will take your money knowing that there is nothing they can do about it. You cannot present a document that is based on the laws of the jurisidiction - the country where it is drawn up - and present it to a court in another jurisdiction (country) and ask them to enforce the terms of the document.

benwj wrote:Because she is on state benefits she is able to obtain the services of a legal aid in the UK for free.
She won't be able to force him to send money to the UK, but he will not be able to step foot in the UK without being arrested unless he pays.

Arrears of child support is a civil matter ben, and dealt with through the County Court. It's not the person who is owed the child support who takes the defaulter to Court, but the Child Support Agency so there is no legal aid. The CSA obtain a County Court order to enforce the collection of the debt.
Prior to obtaining a Court Order, the CSA have the powers to obtain information from the Inland Revenue and to do Attachments of Earnings. They also have the power to 'garnishee' someones bank account, although that terminology has changed recently, I think.

The Magistrates Court have no jusridiction over child support.

In reality the CSA are useless and I think she may well have to kiss her £40,000 goodbye or wait a long time to collect it.

OK, that makes sense.

All I know is that if I ever get divorced it is definately going to be in Dubai where the justice system is a lot fairer!
Que herve

Sorry to hear about your friends predicament. Unfortunately the only real chance she has seeing the money is extra-jurisdictional.

I often thought about having my ex-husband killed.

Only advice I have is: only get advice from lawyers not from a forum. Yes, do speak to more than one lawyer and make sure the 'lawyer' is a real lawyer. The UAE is full of wanna-be's with shady 'credentials'.