How to Send Your Partner a Legal Notice for Divorce in UAE

In order to initiate divorce proceedings in UAE, there is a need to send the other party a legal notice for divorce notarized by a public notary in Dubai. The legal divorce notice conveys the intent of the sender to go into divorce proceedings and making the other party aware regarding any grievance. The other party has the obligation in replying to the sender of the legal divorce notice. 

How can I write and send a divorce notice in UAE?

There’s a well-defined procedure for writing and sending a legal divorce notice in UAE. Follow the steps outlined below. 

Step 1: Hire a lawyer

First and foremost, you would need to hire a divorce attorney in Dubai with a great reputation for handling divorce cases in the country. As the legal proceedings for divorce will be filed in UAE, the document has to be drafted in Arabic language and translated into the language in which both parties to a divorce understand. 

Here’s a tip when hiring an attorney in Dubai: know what exactly you want before you rush the hiring process. Also, it’s best if you choose a legal representative that’s professional, local, responsive, knowledgeable, and communicates well. The attorney has to be someone that you trust with your case.  If applicable, the attorney must recognize the importance of children and should put them first with the legal process for divorce in UAE. This will be evident when the legal professional doesn’t make any unreasonable custody arrangements or child support demands. 

Step 2: Decide whether you want to apply only for divorce

Before you have the lawyer write the legal notice for divorce in UAE, ask the legal professional for advice if you should only ask for divorce or include other things such as parenting time, spousal support, property division, and child support. 

Decision-making responsibility, as well as parenting time are both considered child custody and child access in UAE. You can have the family law issues be dealt with a separate agreement. A separate agreement for child custody is essential if the following applies to your case”

• the other party to a divorce has a history of violence 
• there are serious issues such as mental instability or drug abuse

If you want to secure child custody of children apart from seeking divorce, the legal notice has to include such information.

Step 3: Draft the legal divorce notice 

When writing the legal divorce notice in UAE, make sure that you have your lawyer helping you. The legal notice has to be written carefully; otherwise, local courts might order you in serving your partner again. The notice has to be drafted in legal language or in accordance to standard guidelines that are prescribed by UAE divorce legislation and policies for drafting of legal notices. Your legal notice for divorce should contain the following: 

• Reasons behind the legal notice
• Previously held communications, in any form, regarding the cause for the legal notice 
• Reasonable time period wherein the other party can settle the matter with arbitration or mediation and by performing desired action

Step 4: Notarize the legal notice for divorce

This is if you choose to write your own legal notice for divorce in Dubai. If you have a legal professional representing you with the future legal divorce proceedings, then the lawyer will duly sign the legal divorce notice after drafting it. 

Step 5: Send out the notice

The party that receives the legal divorce notice should reply back within the timeframe that was mentioned in the document. If the other party doesn’t reply, then appropriate legal action may be taken as stated in the legal divorce notice. 

If a reply was given for your legal notice, the aggrieved party will have the choice of either resolving the case through mediation or alternative dispute resolution or filing a divorce petition in arriving conclusion to terminate marriage.

How do I know the legal notice for divorce in UAE was received?

There is a need for evidence of receipt for the legal divorce notice in UAE as it’s one of the requirements of the local courts.

This is required in order to demonstrate the following key elements:

• The other party has knowledge regarding the desire of legal notice sender to initiate divorce proceedings 
• The sender of the legal notice has communicated the intent and has attempted in settling the grievances between the couple 

You need to make sure that you have proof of sending a legal notice to the other party. If you go to court then your spouse states that he or she hasn’t received any legal notice, you’ll need to provide the court with evidence in order to demonstrate you’ve made attempt in sending a notification.

To know more, contact us here in Notary Public Dubai today!