Vardags is a top London-based divorce law firm serving high net worth (HNW) and ultra-high net worth (UHNW) individuals based in the UAE but having links to England and Wales. Our Founder and President, Ayesha Vardag, holds a Dubai Golden Visa and as a long-term resident has a deep understanding of the UAE. She has represented numerous prominent UAE nationals and residents of Dubai, Abu Dhabi and other Gulf states. Previous UHNW clients include Meshkah Tawfik, the ex-wife of Sheikh Hamad bin Jasim Al Thani of the Qatari royal family.
The UAE legal system is quite different to that of England and Wales. Therefore, for those who can choose where to get a divorce, one or the other jurisdiction may be more financially favorable based on various factors, such as whether they are the financially weaker or stronger party.
Whether you can claim English jurisdiction is complex and depends on factors such as where you and your spouse currently live, where you have previously lived, and your respective domiciles. Very often, a British person living abroad (or someone married to such a person) can access the English justice system without necessarily having ever resided in England.
Vardags is one of the UK’s leading divorce law firms, specializing in ultra-high net worth, complex international divorce cases. Our Founder and President Ayesha Vardag, billed “Britain’s top divorce lawyer”, is noted for her ground-breaking work in divorce law and impressive track record of achieving major victories for her clients.
Our specialist divorce lawyers have extensive experience advising on jurisdiction disputes, providing clients with outstanding legal strategies that identify the best possible route, and in turn outcome, for their case. For the financially weaker party, our in-house forensic financial and valuation team also has unparalleled expertise dealing with international, offshore and onshore assets and structures, including the tracing of, and enforcement against complex financial structures and trusts. For the financially stronger party, the team has extensive experience in securing favourable valuations of corporate and trust structures and defending them from attack. To learn more about divorce in the UAE, read our guide here.
In addition to our divorce and family law expertise, our offering for clients in the UAE is strengthened by our leading reputation and privacy team, who are regularly called upon to assist high-profile clients, including politicians, royalty, celebrities, and business executives. Our Head of Reputation and Privacy, Alex McCready, is widely respected for her leading expertise, having been described as “the definitive reputation and privacy lawyer” by Spears 500. Alex notably advised a prominent Middle Eastern royal family facing harassment and defamation. As such, we are uniquely well-placed to assist clients with high-profile divorce cases and advise on related reputation and privacy issues.
London, as the ‘divorce capital of the world’, is known for making generous awards to the financially weaker parties, and the court has wide discretionary powers. In these circumstances, it is imperative to act fast and instruct a lawyer as soon as possible. At Vardags, we will help ensure that your case proceeds in the most advantageous jurisdiction and secure the best possible financial outcome for you.
If you are considering or going through a divorce, contact us before your spouse does.
We offer a free consultation to suitable clients, typically those where the family's net assets are in excess of £1m or the combined income is in excess of £150,000
If your ex wants to take your children abroad but you don’t agree, their only alternative will be to seek the court’s permission in the form of an order for permission to relocate permanently with the children. Without this permission, your ex could be committing a serious criminal offence.
During the process of divorce, one of the elements is the exchange of information relating to finances, known as disclosure. This is done in order to determine what a fair division of the assets will be. However, there are instances where one or both of the parties conceal or misrepresent deliberately the value of their assets. Should it be the case that certain assets are not included during disclosure, it cannot be divided, even if it’s the case that it is later discovered it is likely already be disposed of. These kinds of assets are known as hidden assets and should either party be discovered to be hiding assets, the court will take serious action against them.
In many countries, a couple can divorce with little or no financial support being given to the poorer party. Sometimes, you might not even know about the divorce until it has already been finalised. That does not prevent you from seeking the support of the English courts.