You’ve probably heard of people who fly to the Caribbean to get married. But did you know that you can also legally get divorced in a foreign country, no matter where you are at the moment?
A link marriage it is a Latin term that literally means “of the chains of the 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 with that. from a close family member or friend. Divorce is often a tragedy for all concerned, but it can also be an opportunity for positive change and a new beginning. A fast, friendly, affordable and legally valid divorce decree from a foreign country may well be ‘just what the doctor ordered’.
The idea of divorces abroad is relatively new to most people in the Western world. When it comes to divorce, it has always been a matter of “Do what you are told” by a local attorney, whose main goal is to lengthen the process as long as possible to extract from you as high a rate as possible!
In many US jurisdictions, you have to wait 30-90 days or even up to two years. This is even if both parties mutually approach divorce, without any fuss or fanfare, and that’s after all the financial dealings 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 “Quickie” divorces
Mexico can be credited with inventing the “fast” foreign divorce business. The jet-setters of the 1950s and 1960s frequently flew to Acapulco to obtain quick divorces. Later, Tabasco, Mexico’s smallest state, made a brief foray into the divorce business abroad.
However, this is all ancient history. The amendments to the Mexican Nationality and Naturalization Law that went into effect in March 1971 require that a foreigner be a legal resident of Mexico before he or she can file for a Mexican divorce. Becoming a legal resident is quite a complicated and time-consuming process, which takes several months. Because of these restrictions, few foreigners will find it practical to attempt a Mexican divorce.
Unbelievably, even though Mexican quick divorces stopped in the 1970s, we’ve found people from 2006 still offering them for sale on the internet. This is a scam that 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 Hispaniola Island, right next to Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.
In 1971, just months after religious interests caused the Mexican Congress to effectively hit the head of the Mexican “quick divorce” business that had become popular during the 1960s, an enterprising Mexican lawyer persuaded lawmakers to the Dominican Republic to pass Law # 142. allowing instant steam divorces for non-residents. Not to be outdone, in 1974 the Republic of Haiti (the Dominican Republic’s smallest neighbor on the island of Hispaniola) passed similar laws, which are in fact even more “user friendly”.
This type of divorce has become 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 (the former president of Sony Records).
Yes, surely these people have money. But Caribbean divorces don’t have to cost as much as you might expect! They are becoming increasingly popular with ordinary citizens and especially with the families of world 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 successful economy and a pleasant country to visit, with a highly developed tourism sector. Therefore, it is preferable to get divorced in the Dominican Republic whenever possible. Haiti, by contrast, is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere and much less stable, although of course that does not make its laws any less valid.
The big difference between the two is that mutual consent is required in the Dominican Republic. The defendant spouse does not have to travel there, but will be asked to appear in person to sign the documents according to the divorce at a Dominican consulate elsewhere in the world.
In Haiti, however, unilateral divorce is allowed. This is useful when the consent of the spouse cannot be obtained for any 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 issued granting divorce if no response is received within twenty-one days.
Recognition by other jurisdictions
As you may have already guessed, the big question on most people’s minds is whether this type of divorce abroad will be legally recognized in their home countries or anywhere else they need it to be recognized.
Unfortunately, this is also one of the most difficult questions to answer. But simply put, the answer is generally positive! This is why …
First of all, divorce “abroad” is perfectly legal. No doubt about that. We do not know of any law 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 worldwide, more than 99.9% of divorces are never contested. The only person likely to dispute the divorce would be your spouse. Most people get the written consent of their spouse, and then the spouse cannot dispute it later because of the legal principle of estoppel. Estoppel is defined in my dictionary of law as a barrier to allege or deny a fact due to one’s own actions or contrary words above.
In the United States, courts in many states (for example, New York) specifically accept international divorces. In most others, the courts accept them on a case-by-case basis on the principle of committee. The Social Security Administration and the Veterans Administration are other departments that specifically accept and recognize international divorces. The Department of State authorizes and requires US consulates abroad to legalize foreign divorce decrees by giving “full faith and credit” to foreign court firms. These legalizations are routinely issued by US embassies in the case of divorces in the Caribbean.
However, it must be said that some US states (including most importantly California) do not specifically recognize foreign divorces. (That includes even 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 law allows the English court to refuse to recognize a divorce abroad. as valid if such recognition were “manifestly contrary to public order.” The courts also have the discretion to deny recognition if the divorce was obtained without notification to the other party, which could apply to Haitian divorces.
A quick review shows that this English law has never been proven in court. So while it would appear that English courts have some discretion to reject the recognition of foreign divorces, we can also see that in twenty years not one of the thousands of British citizens who have obtained Caribbean divorces has had any legal problems in England because of it. . . I rest my case!
conclusion
The courts of Hispaniola provide, in many cases, an excellent opportunity to free yourself from the chains of marriage, avoiding the tortuous and time-consuming divorce procedures in other countries that can be exhausting both financially and emotionally. In fact, a few days can mean a new 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 about this before taking any action that may lead to unintended legal consequences.