Article 4 of the Saudi Alimony Fund Statute

This is the most important article of the Statute for the beneficiary, as it shows when the Fund pays alimony and how it recovers it. There are four tasks:

1. Alimony under a court judgment that has not been enforced: The Fund pays alimony to whoever has obtained a court judgment entitling him to it that has not been enforced for a reason other than insolvency. If the non-enforcement is because the person obliged to pay alimony is insolvent, this paragraph does not cover the case.

2. Alimony under a court order while the case is pending: It pays it to whoever has obtained a court order for it and whose claim is still pending before the court.

The procedures in these two cases are set by the Regulations.

3. Temporary alimony before judgment: The Fund pays temporary alimony to the beneficiary before a judgment for alimony is issued, under procedures the Board sets. Here:

• The Fund recovers it from the amounts due to the beneficiary under the alimony judgment.
• If alimony is rejected, the beneficiary must return what was paid to him within two months of the date the judgment becomes final.
• If the period passes without return, the Fund may take the legal steps to recover it.

4. Claiming from the person obliged to pay alimony: The Fund claims from anyone on whose behalf alimony due from him was paid the amounts paid, by substituting itself for the beneficiary in claiming enforcement of the court judgment.

So the Fund does not relieve the obligor of his obligation to pay alimony; it pays on his behalf and then recovers from him. Article 3 makes the Fund's goal ensuring that alimony is paid without delay. To assess whether these cases apply to a particular situation, one would do well to consult a lawyer who specializes in personal status.