Family Law & Personal Status

A legal matter, a human reality

Family law is the only field where a legal victory can be a personal failure. Winning every point of a divorce case while leaving behind children who are lastingly hurt is not a success.

The office approaches these cases with two requirements: firmly defending your financial and parental rights, and avoiding anything that needlessly worsens the conflict. Whenever possible, the negotiated route is preferred — it is faster, less costly and far less destructive.

Forms of divorce under the Moudawana

The 2004 Family Code profoundly reformed divorce law in Morocco by placing every form of separation under judicial control. Several routes coexist:

• Divorce by mutual consent — when both spouses agree on the principle and its effects. It is the fastest, least costly and least conflictual route.
• Divorce for discord (chiqaq) — open to the husband and the wife alike, without having to prove fault. The court must rule within a statutory maximum of six months, and the case can be resolved well before then. It is now the most widely used route.
• Divorce on specific grounds (tatliq) — requested by the wife for breach of a condition of the marriage contract, harm, failure to provide maintenance, prolonged absence, a defect, or an oath of abstinence.
• Divorce against compensation (khol') — the wife obtains the dissolution in return for an agreed compensation.
• Revocable or irrevocable repudiation (talaq) — subject to prior court authorization and to payment of the sums due to the wife.

The choice of route is not neutral: it determines the length of the proceedings, the burden of proof and the financial consequences. It is the first question settled in a consultation.

Child custody (hadana) and visitation rights

Custody is granted first to the mother, then to the father, then to the maternal grandmother, the best interests of the child prevailing in all cases. The non-custodial parent keeps visitation and accommodation rights, as well as a right of oversight over the child's upbringing.

The office handles:

• Determining or modifying custody
• Detailed arrangements for visitation and accommodation
• Refusal to hand over a child and its enforcement
• Taking a child abroad and authorization to leave the country
• Loss of custody in case of serious breach
• Acknowledgment of paternity and actions to establish filiation

Alimony (nafaqa)

The duty of maintenance lies with the father towards his children, and with the husband towards his wife during the marriage and the waiting period. The amount is set by the judge according to the debtor's income, the creditor's needs and the previous standard of living.

• Initial determination and review when circumstances change
• Recovery of unpaid arrears and enforcement measures
• Wage garnishment against a defaulting debtor
• Recourse to the Family Mutual Aid Fund
• Housing allowance and children's school fees

Successions and inheritance

Settling an estate in Morocco follows precise rules and regularly gives rise to disputes between heirs, especially when the estate includes unregistered real estate.

• Drawing up the deed of inheritance and determining shares
• Inventory and valuation of the deceased's assets
• Amicable or judicial partition of the undivided estate
• Challenging a will or a lifetime gift
• Action against an heir who conceals an asset
• International successions and heirs living abroad