Many expatriates have come abroad for a better lifestyle and more secure future.
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But living far away from friends and extended family can put extra pressure on relationships.
In the UAE, which has the highest rate of divorce in the GCC, expatriates account for 37 per cent of failed marriages.
But how are assets, such as a small or medium-sized business, viewed by local courts if a couple decide to divorce in the UAE rather than in their home country?
"Under English law, when it comes to the financial settlement, we have a concept, equal sharing of assets and in particular matrimonial property. An equal sharing of that is likely, whereas here it's very different," says Nicola Green, a family practice solicitor in Bahrain for Charles Russell, a law firm based in the UK. Under UAE law, the business would be kept by the spouse who officially owned it, and the other partner would have to prove that he or she had a stake in it.
"In order to get a share of the company under UAE law, the husband or wife would have to be a business partner. Or they would have to show that they had put in some sort of equity," says Alexandra Tribe, a solicitor and partner in the expatriate law division of Al Rowaad Advocates, a law firm in Dubai.
In England, a person can potentially receive income from an ex-spouse for the rest of his or her life. But in the Emirates, women's rights are more restricted, Ms Tribe says.
They may claim only maintenance for their children, and support for themselves for three months after the divorce is final.
Under UAE law, a woman can also claim compensation in two other circumstances: if her husband has not supported her for the last year of their marriage, and for moral damage as a result of being divorced. The payments can be up to 40 per cent of man's income, for one year only, Ms Tribe says.
An expatriate man who is not the main breadwinner in his marriage may also struggle to claim money under UAE law.
"In one case I had, the man was in the weaker financial position, and he had great difficulty here because the local court found it very strange that a man was claiming money, because they didn't expect that to happen. It's not the traditional approach," says Grant Howell, a family practice solicitor at Charles Russell.
Experts say a pre-nuptial agreement is the best way to protect your assets in the event of divorce.
However, terms in pre-nuptial agreements that conflict with laws relating to public order, morals or Sharia would not be binding.
For example, terms in a pre-nuptial agreement that talked about what would happen in the event of adultery would conflict with local laws against adultery, and terms for spousal maintenance could conflict with Sharia and so may not be binding. However, couples will want to enforce an agreement in the UAE courts only if their assets are here, says Ms Tribe.
"It is simpler for couples entering into marriage in the UAE and with assets here to simply enter into an agreement in respect of the future division of assets held here," she says. "Trying to enter into a pre-nuptial agreement restricting rights to claim maintenance in the future would be risky, not only because of the problems with enforcement in the UAE courts, but also because agreements as regards child maintenance can be varied," says Ms Tribe.
