The Abu Dhabi Civil Family Court has granted an expatriate child’s maternal aunt full legal and physical guardianship after ruling that his father was unfit to care for him.
The July 23 judgment gives the aunt authority over major decisions concerning the child’s upbringing, education, healthcare, residence and physical and psychological welfare. It also allows her to apply for and renew the child’s passport and identity documents without obtaining the father’s signature.
Lawyer Byron James, who represented the family, said his team was not aware of another judgment in which the Abu Dhabi Civil Family Court had awarded full physical and legal custody to an aunt while also allowing her to manage the child’s identity documents independently.
“Custody by a non-parent is exceptional,” James said, explaining that courts normally begin with parental custody. He said such an arrangement is considered only when there is no suitable parental alternative.
The case involved a child who had been living with his maternal aunt and her husband in the UAE while his father remained abroad.
Court documents stated that the child’s mother died in 2021 from liver failure linked to alcohol abuse. A certified medical report submitted to the court also recorded that the father had previously served a custodial sentence and had faced allegations involving risks to others, physical and sexual harm and the sexual exploitation of children.
The aunt and her husband told the court they had provided the child with a stable home, education, emotional support and daily care in Abu Dhabi. They submitted supporting evidence, including a tenancy agreement and professional assessments indicating that the child needed continued stability, active risk management and careful educational planning.
Although the father was formally notified about the proceedings, he did not attend the hearings or challenge the application. The court also considered a written statement attributed to him in which he agreed that the aunt and her husband were the most suitable caregivers because they could provide a stable family environment.
The court relied on Article 43 of Abu Dhabi’s Civil Marriage and Divorce Procedures Regulations, which requires the child’s best interests to remain central in custody disputes. The judgment found that the child’s welfare would be better served by remaining in the UAE with his aunt and her husband, away from an environment that had caused him difficulties.
James said the ruling could have wider practical importance for expatriate families in similar circumstances. Relatives sometimes take responsibility for children following the death, absence or incapacity of a parent, but informal arrangements may not be sufficient for schools, hospitals or immigration authorities.
The court order gives the aunt locally recognised authority to handle matters such as school enrolment, medical consent, residence sponsorship and official identity documents.
Although UAE court judgments do not establish binding legal precedent, James said the decision could offer guidance to relatives seeking custody in exceptional cases. He said applicants would need to demonstrate that parents are deceased, absent or unfit and provide evidence that placing the child with them would serve the child’s best interests.
