The new Personal Status Law in the United Arab Emirates is Federal Decree-Law No. 41 of 2024, which came into force on 15 April 2025 and replaced Federal Law No. 28 of 2005. It introduces substantial changes that matter to every family: a unified marriage age of 18 calendar years, custody extended until the child reaches 18 for both sexes (after previously ending much earlier), educational guardianship granted to the custodial mother, a mandatory 15-day deadline for the husband to document a divorce (with compensation otherwise), confirmation of the wife’s independent financial liability, and new penalties protecting minors and parents. In this article from AWADH ALMHEIRI LAW FIRM AND LEGAL CONSULTATIONS, we review the most important of these changes in clear language, grounded directly in the text of the Law.

The New Personal Status Law: Key Changes That Matter to Families

The UAE issued the new Personal Status Law as part of an advanced legislative framework aimed at family stability and protecting the rights of the wife, children and parents. The Law adopts the provisions of Islamic Sharia, and where no text applies it allows the judge to choose the most suitable solution according to the public interest, then custom, provided this does not conflict with Sharia, public order or public morals. Below is a quick comparison between the old and new laws, followed by the key changes in detail.

1. Unified Marriage Age at 18 Calendar Years

The new Law sets the legal capacity for marriage at sound mind and reaching 18 calendar years, and prohibits documenting the marriage of anyone below this age – male or female – except by court permission after verifying a genuine interest, and in accordance with controls issued by Cabinet resolution. It also grants a person under 18, whose guardian refuses to give them in marriage, the right to refer the matter to the court to decide according to their interest.

2. The Dowry Is the Exclusive Property of the Wife

The Law confirms that the dowry is money the man pays to the woman under the marriage contract, that it is her property which she cannot be compelled to dispose of, and that no condition to the contrary is recognised. It permits agreeing in the contract to defer all or part of the dowry; if no deferral is stated and no specific time is set for delivery, it must be delivered upon demand. In all cases the dowry falls due upon irrevocable separation or the death of either spouse.

3. Independent Financial Liability and the Right to Share in Wealth Growth

Each spouse has financial liability independent of the other; the wife is free to dispose of her own money, and the husband may not dispose of it without her consent. Importantly, the Law established a significant practical right: if one spouse participated with the other in growing wealth, building a home or the like, they may claim their share from the other party or the heirs – protecting the wife’s financial contributions within the family.

4. Divorce: A Single Revocation and Mandatory Documentation Within 15 Days

To preserve family cohesion, the Law provides that a divorce repeated or coupled with a number – whether by word, writing or gesture – counts as only a single divorce. It also obliges the husband to document the divorce before the competent court within a maximum of 15 days from the date it occurs; if he fails to do so without an excuse accepted by the court, the wife is entitled to compensation equal to maintenance from the date the divorce occurred until the date it is documented.

5. Custody Extends Until Age 18 for Both Sexes

Among the most significant points for families: under the old law, women’s custody ended when a boy reached 11 and a girl 13 (with possible judicial extension). The new Law makes custody end when the child reaches 18 calendar years for boy and girl alike; if the child suffers a disabling illness or the like, custody continues for their benefit.

Custody is the child’s right, borne by both parents while the marriage subsists; if they separate it goes to the mother, then the father, then the maternal grandmother, then the paternal grandmother, and the court may depart from this order based on the child’s best interest – which the Law places above all else.

6. Educational Guardianship for the Custodial Mother

The Law introduced an important provision in the mother’s favour: it grants the custodial mother educational guardianship over the child in a manner that serves the child’s interest, as an exception to the general rule of the guardian’s supervision over education. Where there is a dispute over what serves the child’s interest, the matter is referred to the judge of urgent matters to issue a decision taking account of the guardian’s means, without prejudice to the custodial mother’s right to educational guardianship.

7. Travelling With the Child and Keeping Their Documents

A parent with custody may travel with the child outside the country with the written consent of the other parent; the court may permit travel for a period or periods not exceeding 60 days in total per year against a guarantee it accepts, and may exceed this for treatment, necessity or the child’s interest. The guardian may keep the child’s passport except at the time of travel, when it is handed to the custodian; the custodian may keep the original birth certificate, the ID card and other identity documents of the child.

8. Visitation of the Child in Custody

If the child is in the custody of one parent, the other has the right to visit, host, accompany and have the child stay overnight as they agree; in case of disagreement the court decides what it sees fit for the child’s interest. A visitation ruling is enforced compulsorily if the custodian refuses, and the execution judge may – by agreement of both parties – amend the times and places of visitation to serve the child’s interest.

9. Maintenance: A Broader Concept and Children’s Support

The Law defines maintenance as a right of its beneficiary covering the essential necessities of food, clothing, housing, treatment and education according to custom; in assessing it, the means of the provider, the condition of the beneficiary and the economic situation in time and place are considered. Maintenance of a young child with no money of their own is borne by the father until a girl marries or works and until a boy reaches the age at which his peers earn, unless he is a student progressing normally in his studies.

10. Penalties Protecting Minors and Parents

The Law introduced deterrent penalties for acts affecting the family. The most notable, per the text of the Law, are:

Note that criminal proceedings for the acts in Articles 252, 253 and 254 may only be brought upon a complaint by the concerned party, and the case is extinguished by waiver before a final judgment; if the waiver occurs after the judgment becomes final, its execution is suspended – leaving room for reconciliation within the family (Article 255).

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