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I am planning to marry an Egyptian man quite soon and I wondered about my house in England, whether to keep it or sell it and can my new husband make a claim on either it or the money from it?? Also is there any limit to the amount of foreign money one can take into Egypt and if you take it in, can you get it out again when you want it? Is it ok to keep a bank account in my own name? Any help or advice would be great. Thanks.
Posts: 13 | From: uk | Registered: Mar 2002
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It is my understanding that your husband would not have any legal claim to your assets. When you work in Egypt, he will have no rights to your salary either.
I could be wrong, my assumption is based on information I've read on the internet about Islam.
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I'd advise you not to sell your house, and not to bring any money in - except what you might need for living expenses. It's best to have some kind of 'insurance' should your marriage not go according to plan. You can open a bank account easily in your own name. Bringing money in is easy, they're crying out for foreign currency at the moment. Sending it back is not that difficult either but DEFINITELy keep that house!
Posts: 106 | From: Cairo | Registered: Mar 2002
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Dear Irisheyes. Thankyou for your reply and advice. If you don't mind me asking do you live in Egypt now or have you lived in Egypt? and do or did you like it?? Anne.
Posts: 13 | From: uk | Registered: Mar 2002
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Hi Suzie Thanks for your reply and I will keep the house. This "insurance" you mentioned - can you tell me a bit more about it please and where do I get it? or do you mean just to keep enough for myself as a kind of "insurance" if things don't work out? Nice to hear from you and anything else you can tell me about living in Egypt would be very interesting. This is all very new to me and its nice to be in touch with someone who has some experience of it all. Anne.
Posts: 13 | From: uk | Registered: Mar 2002
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Anne I meant keep the house and anything else you have in the UK as insurance so you won't be destitute if it all falls apart! LIke those poor women in Luxor...that article horrified me
Posts: 106 | From: Cairo | Registered: Mar 2002
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No I do not now nor have I ever lived in Egypt. However, given the opportunity I would not hesitate to move there. I love it there and most of the people couldn't be nicer.
If you are really concerned about your future husband having any legal rights to your assets, I would suggest you call the Egyptian Consulate in London or go online to read more about Islam (I am just assuming he is Muslim). I have called a consulate in the states to ask questions and they have always been most helpful.
Best wishes, Irisheyes
[This message has been edited by irisheyes (edited 22 March 2002).]
quote:Originally posted by Anne: I am planning to marry an Egyptian man quite soon and I wondered about my house in England, whether to keep it or sell it and can my new husband make a claim on either it or the money from it?? Also is there any limit to the amount of foreign money one can take into Egypt and if you take it in, can you get it out again when you want it? Is it ok to keep a bank account in my own name? Any help or advice would be great. Thanks.
Posts: 1 | From: russia | Registered: Mar 2004
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From what I understand, if you are in a legally registered marriage to anyone and you have property in the UK it will be protected under UK law. So if it is in your name it will always be your property and a foreign husband would have no more claim on it than a British husband would do, unless you choose to give him a share in it.
In the event of your death he would also have the same claim on it as any UK husband would have, unless you write a will excluding him from having any rights in it. However, if both you and he are Muslims you might want to write a will to ensure that your property will be divided according to Islamic law (and there are at least two books on the market to my knowledge to advise you how to do that).
The main difficulty would appear to be in the case of divorce, whereas Islamically he wouldn’t have a claim in any property that was in your name, but you know how unclear British law can be in this case, it is not so clear cut. If you are concerned about him and think that he is marrying you to have a claim in property that you don’t want him to have, you should maybe do one of two things, consider whether you are really ready to commit yourself to a lifetime of marriage with this man or ask if you can include a clause in your marriage contract to protect your property from him in the event of divorce.
In any event, the best thing would be to contact the British Embassy in Cairo to get the actual details on all that though.
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