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What happens to your children if your husband dies?

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153

Posts

EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 09 January 2012 - 20:04

If your. Jild is of school age, it is worth making sure that they are aware of any interim guardian also. Yes, very good point!

1692

Posts

EW EXPERT

Latest post on 09 January 2012 - 19:30

If your. Jild is of school age, it is worth making sure that they are aware of any interim guardian also.

153

Posts

EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 09 January 2012 - 19:20

are you based here in dubai too? if so the children will be in your care by default... if you have wills in the UK you need to get them legalised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs here... and once that is done this will override the Sharia law... I didnt think that any wills from outside of the UAE over ruled Sharia Law.. and if something happened to her husband the children will not be in her care by default. they will be taken away and put under teh care of the relative of the father or in temporary care until the fathers relative arrives. with the letter of guardianship they will remain with the mother as she will be names as the guradian. I had one made 2 weeks agao and this is the legal advice I got. edited by mushypeas on 09/01/2012 This 'legal' advice is rubbish. I have been here all my life, seen/heard of enough male deaths within close circles. They don't take children away!! There is another thread on this topic earlier. Yes you do need to sort your financial wills etc but for a 'normal' married couple in below situation the kids would be given to the mother. The UAE is not as bad as some lawyers make it out to be. ETA - If both parents die even they will handover children to any close family member if there's no written authorisation by the parents. Usually first option is parents/sister/brother of the children's mother. They are almost always kind enough to let the children live with close family friends till other family can fly in. The kids won't be taken to an orphanage - unless there is a complex criminal situation at play. edited by summerdream on 09/01/2012 SD is right, most of this is law firms just wanting to make money. Here is what a friend told me (and she works for one of the major Expat will companies in the UAE): A UAE will is only necessary if one/or both are muslims or if one/or both own UAE assets If both parents die children are NOT handed over to local authorities (unless there is no temp guardianship in place or suitable temp friends can't be located). In reality the UAE just doesn't have such childcare facilities in abundance (like most countries). As SD states, authorities would rather the children stay with a selected friend until the permanent guardian/s arrive. It is a good idea to draft and sign a temp guardianship, if it's clear and concise it doesn't need to be done by a law firm. And the most important thing: give a copy of the temp guardianship to your husbands HR department along with a copy of the will, contact details of the temp and permanent guardians PLUS details of an off shore bank account so that end of service benefits can be accessed (this should also be done for the death of a husband so the wife is not waiting for the UAE bank account to be unfrozen). This is because the company is the first to be informed in the event of the death.

2192

Posts

EW EXPERT

Latest post on 09 January 2012 - 16:58

I got one made based on advice I recived from my solicitor ( I used james Berry Law as well based near the trade centre ) I have a UK will and was advised to get the temporary guradianship one done. I got one made for my peice of mind.

1692

Posts

EW EXPERT

Latest post on 09 January 2012 - 16:45

We had an interim guardianship prepared here by James Berry solicitors, the cost was 1000 dirhams in case something happened which resulted in both of us dying. Depending on what, where etc monies and assets are will depend on what advice you will receive as to a Will. The solicitor here looked at our UK will and guardianship and advised that we did not need to make any other arrangment other than the interim guardianship.

420

Posts

EW EXPLORER

Latest post on 09 January 2012 - 16:26

So its good to make a UAE Will if you are an expat? or can you do one in the UK and will that suffice in both countries? I have also been told by a lawyer in the UAE about making a will in the UAE which will include guardianship of any children etc. What is the best way forward here?

407

Posts

EW EXPLORER

Latest post on 09 January 2012 - 16:20

are you based here in dubai too? if so the children will be in your care by default... if you have wills in the UK you need to get them legalised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs here... and once that is done this will override the Sharia law... I didnt think that any wills from outside of the UAE over ruled Sharia Law.. and if something happened to her husband the children will not be in her care by default. they will be taken away and put under teh care of the relative of the father or in temporary care until the fathers relative arrives. with the letter of guardianship they will remain with the mother as she will be names as the guradian. I had one made 2 weeks agao and this is the legal advice I got. edited by mushypeas on 09/01/2012 This 'legal' advice is rubbish. I have been here all my life, seen/heard of enough male deaths within close circles. They don't take children away!! There is another thread on this topic earlier. Yes you do need to sort your financial wills etc but for a 'normal' married couple in below situation the kids would be given to the mother. The UAE is not as bad as some lawyers make it out to be. ETA - If both parents die even they will handover children to any close family member if there's no written authorisation by the parents. Usually first option is parents/sister/brother of the children's mother. They are almost always kind enough to let the children live with close family friends till other family can fly in. The kids won't be taken to an orphanage - unless there is a complex criminal situation at play. <em>edited by summerdream on 09/01/2012</em>

144

Posts

EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 09 January 2012 - 13:06

I wouldn't want to stop anyone from drawing up provision for their children should something happen to the parents, but I would like to reassure you that it is not a foregone conclusion children would be taken into care in this situation. A few years ago a male colleague of my husband passed away in Dubai whilst his wife was in the UK. The police and CID consulted with the employer about what to do with the children and I was asked if I would look after them until their mother could get back to the UAE. Once their mother was back they were returned to her.

357

Posts

EW EXPLORER

Latest post on 09 January 2012 - 12:50

Would you mind sharing the info re: where you got such a letter drawn up? We have been meaning to do it for ages... I assume it was drawn up in English and Arabic and then... notarized? Does it need to be filed with an authority somewhere or just kept on hand? Many thanks

2192

Posts

EW EXPERT

Latest post on 09 January 2012 - 12:42

are you based here in dubai too? if so the children will be in your care by default... if you have wills in the UK you need to get them legalised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs here... and once that is done this will override the Sharia law... I didnt think that any wills from outside of the UAE over ruled Sharia Law.. and if something happened to her husband the children will not be in her care by default. they will be taken away and put under teh care of the relative of the father or in temporary care until the fathers relative arrives. with the letter of guardianship they will remain with the mother as she will be names as the guradian. I had one made 2 weeks agao and this is the legal advice I got. <em>edited by mushypeas on 09/01/2012</em>

2192

Posts

EW EXPERT

Latest post on 09 January 2012 - 12:32

You need to set up a temporary guardianship if you are an expat here. If both of you die the children will be placed in care until a family member can get over. We had a guardianship drawn up with 2 close friends named as the temporary guardians to avoid this happening. It's a legal document and gives full permission for either of these people to look after your children until a family member can get to Dubai to take over the care of the children. My understanding was that they were only taken into care if both parents died. They would be looked after by the surviving parent but this was for us and we are from the uk I'm not sure if the rules are different for other nationalities. edited by Clairehdp on 09/01/2012 edited by Clairehdp on 09/01/2012 Ive just done this as well.. costs about 1500 aed to get one done . Its called a letter of Temporary Guradianship.

162

Posts

EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 09 January 2012 - 12:26

are you based here in dubai too? if so the children will be in your care by default... if you have wills in the UK you need to get them legalised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs here... and once that is done this will override the Sharia law... Yes, we are all here in Dubai.

2958

Posts

EW EXPERT

Latest post on 09 January 2012 - 12:23

You need to set up a temporary guardianship if you are an expat here. If both of you die the children will be placed in care until a family member can get over. We had a guardianship drawn up with 2 close friends named as the temporary guardians to avoid this happening. It's a legal document and gives full permission for either of these people to look after your children until a family member can get to Dubai to take over the care of the children. My understanding was that they were only taken into care if both parents died. They would be looked after by the surviving parent but this was for us and we are from the uk I'm not sure if the rules are different for other nationalities. edited by Clairehdp on 09/01/2012 <em>edited by Clairehdp on 09/01/2012</em>

abby_n_christin...

1109

Posts

EW OLDHAND

Latest post on 09 January 2012 - 12:18

are you based here in dubai too? if so the children will be in your care by default... if you have wills in the UK you need to get them legalised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs here... and once that is done this will override the Sharia law...

162

Posts

EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 09 January 2012 - 12:13

I have heard that if your DH dies whilst you are in Dubai, your children will be put into care until a male relative of your husbands comes to claim them. The only male relative my DH has is his father who is well into his 70s and has never been on a plane. We have wills in the UK but how do they stand here? thanks

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