You’ve probably heard of people going to the Caribbean to get married. But did she know that she can also get a legal divorce in a foreign country, no matter where she is right now?

a marriage bond is a Latin term that literally means “from the chains of marriage.” It has come to mean a complete and final divorce, rather than a legal separation. With up to half of all marriages in the Western world ending in divorce, almost all of us find ourselves at some point dealing with our own divorce or that of a close family member or friend. Divorce is often a tragedy for everyone involved, but it can also be an opportunity for positive change and a fresh start. A quick, amicable, affordable and legally valid divorce decree from a foreign country may well be ‘just what the doctor ordered’.

The idea of ​​foreign divorces is relatively new to most people in the Western world. When it comes to a divorce, it has always been a matter of “Do what you’re told” by a local lawyer, whose main goal is to drag out the process for as long as possible to extract the greatest possible benefit from you. fee!

In many US jurisdictions, you must wait anywhere from 30 to 90 days or even up to two years. This is even if both parties approach the divorce by mutual consent, without any fuss or fanfare, and that is after all the financial stuff, too!

In other places, things are even worse. In Ireland you have to wait at least four years. In the Philippines, you can simply never get a divorce!

The origins of “quick” divorces

Mexico can be credited with inventing the “quickie” foreign divorce business. The jet-setter of the 1950s and 1960s frequently traveled to Acapulco to obtain quick divorces. Tabasco, Mexico’s smallest state, later made a brief foray into the offshore divorce business.

However, all of that is ancient history. Amendments to Mexico’s Nationality and Naturalization Law that went into effect in March 1971 require that a foreigner be a legal resident of Mexico before he can file for a Mexican divorce. Becoming a legal resident is a rather complicated process that is time consuming and takes several months. Due to these restrictions, few foreigners will find it practical to seek a Mexican divorce.

Unbelievably, even though quickie divorces in Mexico stopped in the 1970s, we have found people as of 2006 still offering them for sale on the internet. This is a scam potential divorcees should be warned about.

 

Quick Divorces on the Island of Hispaniola

Today, the fastest divorces in the Western Hemisphere are just a short flight from Miami, Florida, on the island of Hispaniola, right next to Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.

In 1971, just a few months after religious interests caused the Mexican Congress to bash over the head the Mexican “quick divorce” business that had become popular during the 1960s, an enterprising Mexican lawyer persuaded the legislators of the Dominican Republic to approve Law #142. steam allowing instant divorces for non-residents. Not to be outdone, in 1974 the Republic of Haiti (the Dominican Republic’s smaller neighbor on the island of Hispaniola) passed similar laws, which are actually even more ‘user friendly’.

This type of divorce is popularly known as the ‘VIP Divorce’, because over the years numerous celebrities and thousands of other famous people have taken advantage of these liberal divorce laws. To name a few, in no particular order: Elizabeth Taylor, Mia Farrow, George Scott, Mike Tyson, Robin Givens, Richard Burton, Sylvester Stallone, Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley, Diana Ross, Jane Fonda, Mariah Carey, Marc Anthony, and Tommy Mottola (former president of Sony Records).

Yeah, sure these people have money. But divorces in the Caribbean don’t have to cost as much as you might expect! They are becoming increasingly popular with ordinary citizens, and especially with families of global citizens, who may well have roots in more than one jurisdiction.

 Dominican Republic v Haiti

Today, despite its ups and downs, the Dominican Republic is a prosperous economy and a pleasant country to visit, with a highly developed tourism sector. Therefore, it is preferable to get divorced in the Dominican Republic when possible. Haiti, by contrast, is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere and far less stable, though of course that doesn’t make its laws any less valid.

The big difference between the two is that in the Dominican Republic mutual consent is required. The defendant spouse does not have to travel there, but will be required to appear in person to sign documents accepting the divorce at a Dominican consulate in another part of the world.

In Haiti, however, unilateral divorce is allowed. This is useful when spousal consent cannot be obtained for whatever reason, but a divorce is required to remarry, for business purposes, or simply to start over. The process requires public notices in Haiti informing the spouse of the impending action, after which a default judgment is entered granting the divorce if no response is received within twenty-one days.

Recognition by other jurisdictions

As you may have guessed by now, the big question on most people’s minds is whether this type of foreign divorce will be legally recognized in their home countries or anywhere else they need to have it recognized.

Unfortunately, this is also one of the most difficult questions to answer. But in a nutshell, the answer is generally positive! This is why…

First, offshore divorce is perfectly legal. No doubt about that. There is no law that we know of anywhere in the world that prohibits people from going to another country and getting divorced.

Whether it is accepted where you live depends in practice on whether someone questions it. It is a fact that around the world, more than 99.9% of divorces are never contested. The only person likely to contest the divorce would be her spouse. Most people get their spouse’s written consent, and then the spouse can’t dispute it later because of the legal principle of legal estoppel. Estoppel is defined in my law dictionary as a prohibition to allege or deny a fact due to one’s previous contrary actions or words.

In the US, courts in many states (for example, New York) specifically allow international divorces. Courts in most others accept them on a case-by-case basis on the principle of courtesy. The Social Security Administration and the Veterans Administration are other departments that specifically accept and recognize international divorces. The State Department authorizes and requires US consulates abroad to probate foreign divorce decrees by granting “full faith and credit” to foreign court signatures. Such legalizations are routinely issued by US embassies in the case of Caribbean divorces.

It must be said, however, that some states in the US (including California, most significantly) do not specifically recognize foreign divorces. (That even includes Nevada divorces.) Of course, this law was passed in the public interest and has nothing to do with greedy California lawyers who want all the action for themselves.

In England and Wales, the recognition of a divorce abroad is governed by Part II of the Family Law Act 1986. Section 51(c) of that Act allows the English court to refuse to recognize a divorce abroad. the foreigner as valid if such recognition would be ‘manifestly contrary to public order.’ Courts also have discretion to deny recognition if the divorce was obtained without notice to the other party, which could be applicable to Haitian divorces.

A quick review shows that this English law has never been tested in court. So while it seems that English courts have some discretion to deny recognition of foreign divorces, we can also see that in twenty years none of the thousands of British citizens who have obtained Caribbean divorces have had any legal trouble in England because of it. . I’ll take my case!

Conclusion

Hispaniola courts provide, in many cases, an excellent opportunity to break free from the shackles of marriage, avoiding the torturously slow divorce proceedings in other countries that can be both financially and emotionally draining. In fact, a few days can mean a fresh start in life. However, this article was intended only as a brief introduction to a complex topic. It is very important that you get proper professional advice and read up on this subject before taking any action that may have unintended legal consequences.