Maintenance and Dower: What the Family Court Can Order

The Family Courts Ordinance gives a single forum for dower, maintenance, restitution, custody and guardianship. Most contested points are factual rather than legal: what was agreed, what was paid, and what the husband actually earns.

Evidence that carries weight

• The kabinnama, and any receipt or acknowledgment of dower paid.
• Salary certificates, bank statements, trade licences or rent income of the other side.
• School fees, medical bills and rent showing the child's actual cost of living.

Enforcement

A decree without a plan for execution helps nobody. Ask, at the outset, how the decree will be realised — attachment of salary, of a bank account, or of property — and prepare the material for that stage from day one.