National statistics show that over the past 18 years there were 326,004 divorces in the Dominican Republic. Data for 2001 to 2018 reflects an upward trend in cases per year. Over the same period, there were 776,469 official marriages. The figures show that there is an average of one divorce for every 2.4 official marriages in the country.
Mutual consent is the cause most often invoked by couples when making their separation official, according to a news story published in Diario Libre on 1 January 2020. In 2018 (the last year for which data are available), there were 24,772 divorces, of which 13,753 were declared to be on the grounds of mutual consent. Mutual consent makes the divorce process faster and cheaper, and these are less traumatic for the families. Mutual consent requires couples to agree on aspects such as the inventory of the movable and immovable property, custody of the children and child support (if any).
Of the total number of divorced persons, 169,751 couples invoked mutual consent before the judges, among a range of eight different options offered by the Divorce Act 1306-BIS. Incompatibility of characteristics came second with a total of 156,199 cases, according to statistics provided by the National Statistics Office (ONE).
Lawyer Elisabeth Mateo, a specialist in family matters, explains that mutual consent avoids long litigation, as it is a simple procedural hearing, in which the parties agree beforehand. She says it is best to avoid the human drama that litigation brings. She indicates that in cases where the couple does not reach agreement, the points mentioned above have to be discussed before a judge, and the hearings last much longer.
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Diario Libre
2 January 2020