Does the mother’s salary affect her right to custody?

Does the mother’s salary affect her right to custody?

No, the mother’s salary or financial income does not affect her right to custody at all.

Disclaimer: This is a legal article that provides general information and does not replace consulting a competent lawyer to help you and provide more accurate information.

In the Saudi system, a clear distinction is made between the right to “custody” (which is care and upbringing) and the duty of “alimony” (which is financial sponsorship), and this is based on the following rules:

Custody conditions do not include financial capacity:

 The Personal Status Law specifies conditions that must be met by the custodian (whether the mother or someone else) to assume custody. Article 125 stipulates that these conditions are:

• Kamal Al-Ahlia.
• The ability to raise, preserve and care for the child in custody.
• Safety from serious infectious diseases.

The مشdid not include any condition related to the financial income or financial left of the incubator. What is meant by ability here is “physical, psychological, and educational ability,” not material ability.

Does the mother’s salary affect her right to custody?

Alimony is obligatory for the father alone: 

Even if the mother is a custodian and has no financial income or does not work, child support and the provision of housing, clothing, food, treatment and education fall on the father. Article Fifty-Eight stipulates this in its decisive text: “The father alone must provide for the child who has no money, if the father is wealthy or able to earn a living.”

What if the father is insolvent? 

Even in exceptional cases where the father is absent or insolvent, Article 59 stipulates that the mother shall provide for the child if she is well-off, and this maintenance shall be a debt owed by the father, which she has the right to repay whenever it becomes easy.

Conclusion: When assessing the “interests of the child in custody,” the court does not consider who has more money to be sentenced to custody. Rather, it considers who provides better care, upbringing, and security, while obligating the father to provide financial cover (alimony and housing) for the children while they are in their mother’s custody.

Does the mother’s salary affect her right to custody?

For law and legal consultations..Contact the office of lawyer Abdul Majeed Al Rashid.

References

• Article Fifty-Eight of the Personal Status Law and its Regulations
• Article Fifty-Nine of the Personal Status Law and its regulations