Introduction

In this case, the husband filed for annulment of the marriage contract against his wife, claiming that she deceived him throughout their 27 years of marriage. He alleged that she had told him she was a virgin before their wedding but was not a virgin on their wedding night. The husband requested the court to annul the marriage due to the wife’s alleged deception, citing the laws of their home country, which allow for annulment if one party has been dishonest before the marriage is finalized.

Case Overview

This family law matter involved a disputed marriage annulment, child support, spousal maintenance, education expenses, and the recovery of company profits. Leaders Advocates successfully defended the wife against the annulment claim while securing financial support for her and her children.

The Background

When the client came to us, her husband had not provided financial support for over a year and was refusing to pay their son’s annual education fees of 700,000 dirhams for studying abroad. He was also neglecting to cover the expenses for their other children.
The wife was a partner in several companies with her husband, who managed those companies and was responsible for distributing profits. He was withholding her share of the profits due to the companies’ financial losses, as he said.

Legal Challenges

The case involved multiple legal issues, including a contested marriage annulment, unpaid child support, spousal maintenance, outstanding education expenses, and a dispute over the wife’s share of company profits.

Our Legal Strategy

We filed a lawsuit for child support and spousal maintenance, as well as a claim for accounting and profits from the companies.
In our defense regarding the marriage annulment case, we argued that the grounds for annulment based on the wife’s alleged loss of virginity were invalid, as this knowledge would have been relevant only on the wedding night, which occurred 27 years ago. Therefore, it was unreasonable to claim that the husband was unaware of his wife’s non-virginity after 27 years. The husband had accepted this situation throughout the marriage and could not rightfully demand annulment after remaining silent for 27 years.

The Result

The judge ruled to reject the marriage annulment petition, citing the husband’s silence for 27 years after learning that his wife was not a virgin at the time of their marriage, which was deemed acceptance on his part.
Additionally, the court ordered the father to pay 700,000 dirhams annually for his son’s education and to provide monthly child support and spousal maintenance of 50,000 dirhams for the mother and children.
We also obtained a ruling requiring the companies to pay the wife her share of the profits, which was estimated at 5 million dirhams at that time.

Why This Case Matters

This case demonstrates the importance of experienced family lawyers in Dubai in handling complex marriage annulment, child support, spousal maintenance, and financial disputes while protecting clients’ legal rights under UAE law.