Divorce
Divorce is the process of terminating a marriage. Divorce usually entails canceling or reorganising the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage according the law of the particular country or state.
Divorce laws vary considerably around the world, but in most countries, divorce is a legal process that requires the sanction of a court or other authority, which may involve issues of distribution of property, child custody, alimony, child visitation / access, parenting time, child support, and division of debt. In most countries, monogamy is required by law, so divorce allows each former partner to marry another person.
Divorce is different from annulment, which declares the marriage null and void, with legal separation or de jure separation or with de facto separation. Reasons for divorce vary, from sexual incompatibility or lack of independence for one or both spouses to a personality clash or infidelity.
The only countries that do not allow divorce are the Philippines and the Vatican City. In the Philippines, divorce for non-Muslim Filipinos is not legal unless one spouse is an undocumented immigrant and satisfies certain conditions. The Vatican City is a theocratic state ruled by the head of the Catholic Church, and does not allow for divorce. Countries that have relatively recently legalized divorce are Italy, Portugal, Brazil, Spain, Argentina, Paraguay, Colombia, Andorra, Ireland, Chile and Malta.
Overview
Though divorce laws vary between jurisdictions, there are two basic approaches to divorce: fault based and no-fault based. However, even in some jurisdictions that do not require a party to claim fault of their partner, a court may still take into account the behavior of the parties when dividing property, debts, evaluating custody, shared care arrangements and support. In some jurisdictions, one spouse may be forced to pay the attorney's fees of another spouse.Grounds for divorce vary widely from country to country. Marriage may be seen as a contract, a status, or a combination of these. Where it is seen as a contract, the refusal or inability of one spouse to perform the obligations stipulated in the contract may constitute a ground for divorce for the other spouse. In contrast, in some countries, divorce is purely no fault, meaning that parties may separate of their own free will without having to prove someone is at fault for the divorce. Many jurisdictions offer both the option of a no fault divorce as well as an at fault divorce. This is the case, for example, in many states of the US, France and the Czech Republic.
Laws vary as to the waiting period before a divorce is effective. Also, residency requirements vary. However, issues of division of property are typically determined by the law of the jurisdiction in which the property is located.
In Europe, divorce laws differ from country to country, reflecting differing legal and cultural traditions. In some countries, particularly in some former communist countries, divorce can be obtained only on one single general ground of "irretrievable breakdown of the marriage". Yet, what constitutes such a "breakdown" of the marriage is interpreted very differently from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, ranging from very liberal interpretations to quite restrictive ones. Separation constitutes a ground of divorce in some European countries. Note that "separation" does not necessarily mean separate residences – in some jurisdictions, living in the same household but leading a separate life is sufficient to constitute de facto separation; this is explicitly stated, e.g., in the family laws of Latvia or the Czech Republic.
Divorce laws are not static; they often change reflecting evolving social norms of societies. In the 21st century, many European countries have made changes to their divorce laws, in particular by reducing the length of the necessary periods of separation, e.g., Scotland in 2006 ; France in 2005, Switzerland in 2005, Greece in 2008. Some countries have completely overhauled their divorce laws, such as Spain in 2005, and Portugal in 2008. A new divorce law also came into force in September 2007 in Belgium, creating a new system that is primarily no-fault. Similarly, in the UK, under the new divorce law that came into force in April 2022, the person initiating the divorce process no longer has to blame their spouse for the breakdown of their marriage. Bulgaria also modified its divorce regulations in 2009. Also in Italy, new laws came into force in 2014 and 2015 with significant changes in Italian law in matter of divorce: apart from shortening of the period of obligatory separation, other forms of getting a divorce are allowed – as an alternative to court proceedings, i.e. the negotiations with the participation of an advocate or agreement made before the registrar of Public Registry Office. Austria by contrast is a European country where the divorce law still remains conservative.
The magisterium of the Roman Catholic Church founds the concept of marriage on natural moral law, elaborated by St. Thomas Aquinas, supplemented by the revealed Divine law. The doctrine of the Doctor Angelicus has been partially shared by the Eastern Orthodox Church in the course of history.
Law
Types
In some jurisdictions, the courts will seldom apply principles of fault, but might willingly hold a party liable for a breach of a fiduciary duty to his or her spouse. Grounds for divorce differs from jurisdiction to jurisdiction in the worldwide. Some states have no-fault divorce; some states require a declaration of fault on the part of one partner or both; some states allow either method.In most jurisdictions, a divorce must be certified or ordered by a Judge in a court of law to come into effect. The terms of the divorce are usually determined by the courts, though they may take into account prenuptial agreements or post-nuptial agreements, or ratify terms that the spouses may have agreed to privately, while in other areas, agreements related to the marriage have to be rendered in writing to be enforceable. In the absence of agreement, a contested divorce may be stressful to the spouses.
In some countries, when the spouses agree to divorce and to the terms of the divorce, it can be certified by a non-judiciary administrative entity. The effect of a divorce is that both parties are free to marry again if a filing in an appellate court does not overturn the decision.
Contested divorce
Contested divorces mean that one of several issues are required to be heard by a judge at trial level—this is more expensive, and the parties will have to pay for a lawyer's time and preparation. In such a divorce the spouses are not able to agree on issues for instance child custody and division of marital assets. In such situations, the litigation process takes longer to conclude. The judge controls the outcome of the case. Less adversarial approaches to divorce settlements have recently emerged, such as mediation and collaborative divorce settlement, which negotiate mutually acceptable resolution to conflicts. This principle in the United States is called 'Alternative Dispute Resolution' and has gained popularity.At-fault divorce
Before the late 1960s, nearly all countries that permitted divorce required proof by one party that the other party had committed an act incompatible with the marriage. This was termed "grounds" for divorce and was the only way to terminate a marriage. No-fault divorce is available in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the United States and other Western countries.Fault-based divorces can be contested; evaluation of offences may involve allegations of collusion of the parties working together to get the divorce, or condonation by approving the offence, connivance by tricking someone into committing an offence, or provocation by the other party. Contested fault divorces can be expensive, and not usually practical as eventually most divorces are granted. Comparative rectitude is a doctrine used to determine which spouse is more at fault when both spouses are guilty of breaches.
The grounds for a divorce which a party could raise and need to prove included
- desertion
- abandonment
- cruelty
- habitual drunkenness
- drug addiction
- adultery
Summary divorce
A summary or simple divorce, available in some jurisdictions, is used when spouses meet certain eligibility requirements or can agree on key issues beforehand.Key factors:
- Short duration of marriage
- Absence of children
- Absence or minimal value of real property at issue and any associated encumbrances such as mortgages
- Absence of agreed-as-marital property above a given value threshold
- Absence, with respect to each spouse, of claims to personal property above a given value threshold, typically the same as that for total marital property, with such claims including claims to exclusive previous ownership of property described by the other spouse as marital
No-fault divorce
In jurisdictions adopting the no-fault principle, some courts may still take fault into account when determining some aspects of the terms of the divorce decree, for example, the division of property and debts and provision of spousal support. Some behaviors that may constitute marital fault, such as violence, cruelty, or substance abuse may also be considered when determining child custody, but child custody judgements are made based on a different fundamental standard: the child's or children's best interests.