10 questions on maintenance, visitation & minors' property. Each answer starts with the bottom line, then gives the condition or detail that changes it, and every question has its own link to copy and send. Where the answer turns on your own papers, you will find a button to ask about your case.
No. Maintenance is assessed on the circumstances of the person maintained and the means of the person paying. Knowing the salary or the number of children is not enough to predict the amount a court will award.
SourcePersonal Status Law, Art. 46 (Ministry of Justice legal portal)
It covers food, clothing, housing and basic needs. Schooling and medical needs, with their supporting documents, are put before the court when maintenance is assessed. Maintenance may be paid in cash or by meeting the need directly, depending on the applicable rules.
SourcePersonal Status Law, Art. 45 (Ministry of Justice legal portal)
No. The court looks at the actual housing situation, the child's interest and the cases the regulation addresses. The custodian cannot claim rent if the parent liable for maintenance has provided suitable housing for the child.
SourcePersonal Status Law Regulation, Art. 20 (Ministry of Justice legal portal)
Not automatically. Not every fee for a chosen school is binding on him. The court weighs the child's need, the father's means, any earlier agreement and any existing judgment. Evidence of the agreement, the fees and his past contributions to them helps.
SourcePersonal Status Law, Art. 46 (Ministry of Justice legal portal)
No. Ongoing maintenance, due from the date the claim is filed, is a preferred debt that ranks ahead of all other debts; past maintenance does not enjoy that priority. The amount still depends on need and means.
SourcePersonal Status Law, Art. 49 (Ministry of Justice legal portal)
That depends on whether you hold an enforceable instrument. If you do not, ask the court to fix the maintenance or have the agreement notarized. If you do, apply to enforce it, setting out what was due, what was paid and the proof of each.
Read moreOpening an enforcement file under the new Enforcement Law: from instrument to attachmentThe new Enforcement Law: what has changed?
Yes, if circumstances change. As a rule, a claim to increase or reduce maintenance will not be heard until a year has passed since the maintenance judgment, unless the court finds exceptional circumstances. Any increase or reduction runs from the date of the judgment that orders it.
SourcePersonal Status Law, Art. 48 (Ministry of Justice legal portal)
You can ask, showing why the change serves the child. Visitation takes place where the enforcement instrument specifies; if it is silent, the competent department decides, unless the parents agree otherwise. If the judgment names the place, apply to the competent court to change it, or document the parents' agreement.
SourceEnforcement Law Implementing Regulation, Art. 43 (Umm Al-Qura gazette)Enforcement Law, Art. 40 (Umm Al-Qura gazette)
No. The Notarization Law makes an exception for a father's dealings in the property of a child who lacks capacity or has limited capacity, so a notary may record them, subject to the statutory limits. A guardian other than the father is in a different position. An electronic application being refused does not, by itself, settle which route applies.
SourceNotarization Law, Art. 12 (Ministry of Justice legal portal)
Read moreNotarising contracts: why a request is refused, and what the document is worth afterwardsNotarization, acknowledgements and powers of attorney: choosing the right instrument
That depends on his age in Hijri years. The age of majority is 18 full Hijri years, with sound capacity. Until he reaches it, an ordinary power of attorney is no automatic substitute for the rules on guardianship over his property.
SourceCivil Transactions Law, Art. 12 (Ministry of Justice legal portal)
Read moreNotarization, acknowledgements and powers of attorney: choosing the right instrument
These answers are brief general information. They are no substitute for a review of the facts and documents of a particular matter.
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