In international divorce cases (where more than one country or jurisdiction is involved, usually due to residence and citizenship of the spouses) there can be disputes over which country handles the actual divorce court case. It can be really helpful in such cases, to avoid needless costs and stress, if the soon to be ex husband and wife can sit down like adults and decide which country they want to get divorced in.
Then they can choose a country where the divorce can be handled fast, efficiently and cheaply – allowing them to get this unpleasant process over as fast as possible, in order to pick up the pieces of their lives. In other words, better karma, and time to move on. There are a couple of Caribbean island nations that can fit the bill perfectly with their cheap, fast and internationally-recognized divorces favored by stars like Michael Jackson, Mariah Carey and Diana Ross. More on that in the International Express Divorce Kit.
Here are just some of the factors you should consider before filing for an international divorce under overseas family law statutes, according to Divorce Website DivorceAid.co.uk
- Whether any court would recognise the marriage and have jurisdiction to deal with the divorce in any event.
- All countries which have possible jurisdiction i.e. the connections with which you or your spouse have with other countries and their requirements (e.g. residence/domicile) to establish jurisdiction. Some countries e.g. USA and Switzerland have a federal basis so each State should be considered separately. Warning: the definition of domicile is very different from country to country. Also admitting domicile or residence can have tax or immigration/nationality consequences – so take that into account too!
- The type and amount of financial Orders which are likely to be made in each jurisdiction and whether there are any especially significant matters e.g. some European countries take conduct materially into account. This will require telling the legal advisers the approximate financial circumstances of each of you.
- The powers of the foreign Court to order and obtain disclosure. It is pointless going to a jurisdiction where you might obtain a better order (i.e. a higher percentage) if your spouse can hide assets from the court. Some jurisdictions have weak disclosure powers and are weak on effective enforcement.
- Whether the order in the foreign Court can be enforced in the jurisdiction in which the assets are held. Otherwise it will be worthless. Can Orders freezing assets be obtained to preserve assets pending trial? Spouses with international connections are often particularly adept at shifting assets around the globe very quickly.
- The likely children orders – submitting to a foreign jurisdiction for financial orders may give that Court power to make orders concerning the children which may be contrary to your wishes and may outweigh the financial benefit of proceedings in that jurisdiction.
- Family law work involves personal decisions. Take account of the practicalities of the situation. Do you speak the language? Can you tolerate the inconvenience of travel and costs? Will there be more publicity abroad? You may get a better financial order abroad but prefer proceedings here.
- The effect of any pre-marriage or similar marriage contract or separation agreementsWill the Decree of Divorce be recognised in any country in which you expect to live and/or remarry?
- Existence and possibility of agreements about where the divorce should take place, and their enforceability.
- Whether the foreign proceedings would be stopped or stayed by a court order and if, notwithstanding a foreign financial Order, your spouse could still apply for a financial order after an overseas divorce
- Whether the court might transfer consideration of financial issues to another more suitable country even though the divorce was pronounced here.
All in all, you can see there are many factors that are not immediately obvious that you should nonetheless take into consideration when contemplating a foreign, overseas or international divorce. Nonetheless, most of these problems can be quickly, simply and cheaply avoided if only the spouses will sit at a table in a business-like manner and agree on an offshore mutual consent divorce. If no-one wants to dispute the divorce later, everybody should be happy.
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