A child's custody can be turned over to the grandmother of the child, then to the aunts of the child, then to seven females from the mother's side, and finally, the custody can be turned over to the father. However, custody will be taken away from the mother only if the witnesses testified against her behavior during the termination of custody lawsuit, the judge will consider all provided evidence before making his decision, however an experienced father rights lawyer in Kuwait will help you learn more about the termination of custody. Grounds to take the custody away from the mother, under the personal status act of Kuwait:
- If she openly indulges in sins such as adultery.
- If she is not able to safeguard the physical and moral well-being of the child.
- If the children have attained the legal age.
- If she relocates to a long distance where the father cannot visit the child and come back in a day.
- If she remarried.
- If she neglects her children.
In the Jaffari Sect custody can be taken away from the mother on the same ground as the Personal Status Act of Kuwait. However, the practice of the Jaafari sect is to award fathers custody of children above seven years of age. When the male child turned 15 and the female child turned 9 they could choose whether they wanted to live with their father or with their mother. It is worth mentioning that a skilled family law lawyer will provide you with an informed understanding of the custody laws in Kuwait.
If the mother has children in the age of custody, she should get a documented court judgment that grants her custody of her children. By this judgment, the mother could exercise the role of the legal custodian before the governmental bodies. Moreover, being granted the right of guardianship and custody for children will enable the mother to do the following:
- Accessing official documents from Kuwaiti public institutions.
- Renewing official documents.
- Move children from one school to another.
Losing the custody of children is not a perpetuating situation, the Mother could reclaim the custody of her children again. However, she should provide proof of a substantial change in circumstance during the proceedings of reclaiming the custody. In some circumstances, if the mother agreed on letting the children live with their father she could reverse her decision at any time she wanted. However, the custody could not be turned over from one custodian to another without a summary judgment in the custody lawsuit. Don't forget that being assisted by a skilled family law attorney in Kuwait will facilitate the reclaiming of custody procedures and protect all your legal rights.
Divorce is a difficult time for the children. The changing dynamics of the family may leave them distracted and confused. Moreover, children may be involved in feelings of loss, anger, confusion, anxiety, and many other feelings which may come from this transition. Undoubtedly the regulations of visitation rights under Kuwaiti laws make children's interests a priority in all aspects to protect children's rights and guarantee their physical and physiological safety, furthermore, a skilled divorce attorney in Kuwait will guide you through all complications related to the divorce phase.
Claiming to see children is guaranteed under article 196 of the personal status act of Kuwait, which states:" Visitation rights are guaranteed for parents and grandparents, the custodial parent must not prevent the other parent or grandparents from seeing the child, if the custodial parent refuses to let them see the children, the judge will order a schedule to organize the visitation between all parties."
As contained in the above article it becomes clear that visitation right is guaranteed for parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents if they are alive. However, the right of visitation is limited to the parties mentioned above, they also can request a modification of visitation such as increasing the visitation time or decreasing the visitation time.
In conclusion of this article presented on the Integrated Legal Group (ILG) website, we touched upon the conditions and requirements of custody and the grounds of removing custody. We also discussed visitation rights under Kuwaiti law. Eventually, it becomes clear the necessity of hiring an expert Kuwaiti custody lawyer to represent the affected persons before the Personal Status Court, as well as to obtain the best custody judgment.
