Just looking at all my options with regards to divorcing my husband, we have been married for 10 years and have 3 children together. We were married in the UK. He was in the UK illegally when we married. I later found out the 'sister' that looked after his child back home in the DR was infact the childs mother and his girlfriend, unfortnately they were not married. I am looking to come to the DR to get a divorce but want to protect my property in the UK and i am no sure if this will do this.
- Thread starter severino
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Domincan Divorce or UK Divorce
Just looking at all my options with regards to divorcing my husband, we have been married for 10 years and have 3 children together. We were married in the UK. He was in the UK illegally when we married. I later found out the 'sister' that looked after his child back home in the DR was infact the childs mother and his girlfriend, unfortnately they were not married. I am looking to come to the DR to get a divorce but want to protect my property in the UK and i am no sure if this will do this.
If it took you 10years to realise he was cheating on you, Yes you need more than legal help.
We were married in the UK. He was in the UK illegally when we married.
Could I ask how you married him without him having legal paperwork to be in the UK, identity papers required to register a marriage? I understand there are certain loopholes being exploited in more recent years that would make it possible to marry an illegal immigrant, but 10 years ago I am not sure it was so easy. Marriage still does not legitimize residency or citizenship and so I would be interested to hear the route taken by yourself and the legal loopholes you jumped to secure a legal marriage.
Just looking at all my options with regards to divorcing my husband, we have been married for 10 years and have 3 children together. We were married in the UK. He was in the UK illegally when we married. I later found out the 'sister' that looked after his child back home in the DR was infact the childs mother and his girlfriend, unfortnately they were not married. I am looking to come to the DR to get a divorce but want to protect my property in the UK and i am no sure if this will do this.
If you are looking for a quick divorce in the DR which requires mutual consent it does not deal with marital possessions. You are best to get legal advice in the UK first.
Quick Divorce in the Dominican Republic: An Overview
DR1 - Legal
Thank you everyone for your kind words! Jackichan you are correct i do need more than legal help to come through the physical and emotional abuse of the past 10 years and no it didnt take 10 years to realise he was cheating on me.
As for the marriage, he had previously met his first wife in the DR on holiday, she was 18 years older than him and she brought him to the UK, she discovered very quickly what he was like and divorced him after just a year and refused to renew his visa which was initially for one year. I met him 6 months after his divorce. I knew nothing of the Dominican Republic and the life there, why would i! I was in England and met him here. I stupidly fell pregnant within a very short space of meeting him and because of this decided i should marry him. At that time in 2001, you did not need to show that you were in the country legally to get married, although i think that has all changed now. Our first child was born prematurely 8 months after i had met him.
There are many times i should have got out of the relationship, but didnt because i believed in those vows i took even if he didnt! It is very easy now to look back with hind sight.
There is nothing i can do about the past but i can protect my future and that of my children. Which is why i want to make the right decision about divorce. It is difficult to get information about divorcing in the Dominican Republic here as when you explain your story here, everyone thinks is some sort of fabrication!
As for the marriage, he had previously met his first wife in the DR on holiday, she was 18 years older than him and she brought him to the UK, she discovered very quickly what he was like and divorced him after just a year and refused to renew his visa which was initially for one year. I met him 6 months after his divorce. I knew nothing of the Dominican Republic and the life there, why would i! I was in England and met him here. I stupidly fell pregnant within a very short space of meeting him and because of this decided i should marry him. At that time in 2001, you did not need to show that you were in the country legally to get married, although i think that has all changed now. Our first child was born prematurely 8 months after i had met him.
There are many times i should have got out of the relationship, but didnt because i believed in those vows i took even if he didnt! It is very easy now to look back with hind sight.
There is nothing i can do about the past but i can protect my future and that of my children. Which is why i want to make the right decision about divorce. It is difficult to get information about divorcing in the Dominican Republic here as when you explain your story here, everyone thinks is some sort of fabrication!
I am not a great fan of divorce either! I beleive children should be brought up in a loving family with 2 parents, hence my decision to marry my husband after i found out i was pregnant. Little did i know at that point that he was illegal this did not come out until after i was pregnant. I took those vows very seriously hence my sticking it out for 10 years many of which were unhappy. It is not a decision i take lightly to divorce but i have come to realise that this relationship can not be continued with only side putting in any effort and actually my children will be brought up in a loving family even if it just with me, that is a better situation than one where 2 parents are unhappy.
If you are living in the UK, it may be better in the long run to divorce there. Dominican divorces are not unilateraly accepted in all countries (or in all states in the US). Even quicky celebrity (sp?) divorces done in the DR are usually followed up by extensive legal paperwork in the home country. Also, if the property is in the UK and any issues come up, you'll be wanting to get it taken care of there. Ditto with the children, there may be modifications that happen later that will much easier to handle in the UK, through the same court. Also, if you have to enforce or need police assistance that requires verification of custody agreement, they are more likely to do so at face value. If you are asking for child support, again, I would imagine that the chances of getting it and enforcing it are greater in the UK.
Without knowing all of your circumstances, the only good reason I see to divorce in the DR is because you are living there. If someone has suggested it is faster, cheaper, or easier, I wouldn't be swayed that easily.
So sorry to hear your story, it's a difficult process, but one that you can survive and recover from. Wish you and your children the best.
Without knowing all of your circumstances, the only good reason I see to divorce in the DR is because you are living there. If someone has suggested it is faster, cheaper, or easier, I wouldn't be swayed that easily.
So sorry to hear your story, it's a difficult process, but one that you can survive and recover from. Wish you and your children the best.
Where is he now?
Is he "Legal" in the UK?
Remember,it is better to be FROM a "broken home,than to Live in one!
If he is in the DR,and not "legal" in the UK,just forget about him.
He is probably to old to "Sanktify" another unsuspecting "Brit"!
But then again...............................................??
CC
Is he "Legal" in the UK?
Remember,it is better to be FROM a "broken home,than to Live in one!
If he is in the DR,and not "legal" in the UK,just forget about him.
He is probably to old to "Sanktify" another unsuspecting "Brit"!
But then again...............................................??
CC
Ditto with the children, there may be modifications that happen later that will much easier to handle in the UK, through the same court. Also, if you have to enforce or need police assistance that requires verification of custody agreement, they are more likely to do so at face value. If you are asking for child support, again, I would imagine that the chances of getting it and enforcing it are greater in the UK.
I think this is certainly the best route to take, I am a little unsure why you would want to go to the Dominican Republic to divorce based on the understanding you were married and have lived with him in the UK for the last 10 years (excuse me if I have missed something on this), dealing with straight legal eagles is going to be much less stressful for you than anything, even the best that you could find in the Dominican Republic.
Also in the the UK I understand they have a 3 step system for collecting child support. Once the amount to be paid and the date to commence is set, the father has 2 strikes. First month he does not pay the entire amount set, he gets one strike (yellow card), the second month he does not pay, another (red card). If he does not pay on the third month then he loses all rights to control of his salary and the government takes control of his salary, either through his bank or through his employer. From that point the salary he receives is less the child support amount. This arrangement stays in play for at least 12 months. In your case the support will be 25% of his salary based on if the father earns ?200 or more per week (I presume he does), the CSA calculates the amount of maintenance they should pay as a percentage of his income. For one child, this is 15%, for two children this is 20% and for 3 or more children it is 25% of their income.
I think it would be a mistake to not take advantage of the benefits you are entitled to, to the fullest.
This article was in today's DR1 news summary, with additional link to UK newspaper.
Dominican Republic News & Travel Information Service
Package tour company offers unhappy couples chance to divorce in just ten minutes during their Caribbean break | Mail Online
Dominican Republic News & Travel Information Service
Package tour company offers unhappy couples chance to divorce in just ten minutes during their Caribbean break | Mail Online
This is the quote that raises a red flag in my mind:
"She said the divorce decrees would be valid in the UK, because they had been authenticated by the courts and government officials in the Dominican Republic.
Other lawyers said that as there was unlikely to be a dispute in consensual divorces, British authorities were unlikely to question them. But if problems later arose, the UK courts might take a ‘hard look’ at the legality of overseas decrees."
"She said the divorce decrees would be valid in the UK, because they had been authenticated by the courts and government officials in the Dominican Republic.
Other lawyers said that as there was unlikely to be a dispute in consensual divorces, British authorities were unlikely to question them. But if problems later arose, the UK courts might take a ‘hard look’ at the legality of overseas decrees."