Father wins custody of 3 kids left by mother

abu dhabi — A father has won a legal battle over custody of his three children, after the court stripped their mother of custody rights.

The mother, who had left the children with him while they were very young, later returned to claim them.

The Federal Supreme Court in Abu Dhabi has upheld an earlier ruling by the Court of Appeals, which cancelled a verdict by the Court of First Verdict that granted custody to their mother.

Official court documents stated that after the Arab couple separated several years ago, the mother left the three children with their father after signing a consent agreement at the family guidance office in a northern emirate.

She then left the country. After five years, she returned and filed a court case demanding the custody of her three children. The mother also asked the court that her exhusband provide her with a house where she could stay with her kids, and also pay for a housemaid and other expenses.

The Family Court of First Instance granted custody of the children to their mother and also ordered that the man pay her alimony of Dh1,000, monthly housing fee of Dh1,500, Dh1,000 for transporting the children, and Dh1,000 monthly for both electricity and water. But the husband challenged the ruling in the appellate court, which cancelled the first verdict and granted him full custody.

The father told the court that his ex-wife left the children with him while they were very young and decided to move out of the country and he was surprised when she returned to claim them.

The mother then appealed to the UAE’s top court, which maintained the appellate court’s ruling. In his ruling, the Supreme Court judge said that according to Article 152/3 of the Federal Personal Status Law, if a mother does not claim custody of her child within six months after divorce, and without genuine reasons, the father has the right to custody of his children.

ismail@khaleejtimes.com