International Divorce

Our services & FAQs

• Our international divorce services

  We can advise you on:

  • Starting divorce or nullity proceedings in England and Wales.
  • Assisting with financial settlements.
  • Assisting with matters relating to child arrangements.
  • Disputes regarding the appropriate country in which to issue proceedings.
  • Enforcing foreign divorce orders.
  • Collaborating with overseas lawyers where there are issues concerning multiple countries or jurisdictions.
  • Child abduction, unlawful removal of children, international child relocation and international surrogacy arrangements.
  • Non-receipt of a financial settlement as part of your overseas divorce.
  • Inadequate financial settlements as part of your overseas divorce.
  • International prenuptial and postnuptial agreements (that may relate to assets in multiple jurisdictions).

• What can an international family lawyer help me with?

  An international family lawyer can help you with a wide variety of family law issues, including:

  • International wealth protection, including pre-nuptial or post-nuptial agreements.
  • Expat divorce.
  • International divorce.
  • Enforcing overseas divorce settlements.
  • Enforcement of divorce settlements obtained in England and Wales regarding overseas assets.
  • Financial settlements involving overseas assets.
  • Financial provision following an overseas divorce.
  • Orders that mirror those already made abroad relating to children or finances.
  • International children disputes, international surrogacy and child abduction.

• What is an international divorce?

  There is no set definition of an international divorce. However, an international divorce is generally considered to involve situations where a couple (or one half of a couple) may live or have assets based overseas.

• How do I get an international divorce?

  If there are international elements to your case, it is important to speak with a specialist family lawyer who has experience of cases involving international divorce. They will be able to advise you on the process and available options relating to your specific circumstances.

• How much does an international divorce cost?

  The cost of a divorce depends on many factors including how cooperative each person is and the complexity of the assets and issues concerned. A specialist international divorce lawyer will be able to provide you with an estimate.

• Can I divorce in the UK if either my spouse or I live abroad?

  You may be able to divorce or dissolve a civil partnership in England or Wales if either you or your spouse live abroad, provided that you satisfy at least one of the rules that enable proceedings to be started here.

  The criteria are:

  1. The separating couple are habitually resident in England and Wales.
  2. The separating couple were last habitually resident in England and Wales and one of them continues to reside there.
  3. The person responding to the divorce or dissolution petition is habitually resident in England and Wales.
  4. The person starting the divorce or dissolution proceedings is habitually resident in England and Wales and has resided there for at least one year immediately before making the application.
  5. One of the spouses or civil partners is domiciled in England and Wales.

  Habitual residence and domicile are complex concepts. If you are unsure as to whether you meet the criteria to divorce in England and Wales, it is always important to take legal advice.

• Where should I divorce?

  There is no simple answer to this question, and it is recommended that you take advice in each country where you may be eligible to divorce.

  There may be various factors that make it more advantageous for you to divorce in a particular jurisdiction.

  The types of factor that you may wish to consider include:

  • Where your assets (including pensions) are based.
  • Practical considerations (such as whether you will be required to attend court).
  • How the court will approach a financial settlement and what types of financial orders it is likely to make.
  • How easy it is to enforce orders made by the court in a particular country.

• What happens if there is a dispute about where we should divorce?

  There can be significant advantages for a couple to divorce in one country rather than another. This is because the legal and tax position differs internationally.

  If a couple can’t agree on which country or jurisdiction is most suitable for their divorce and/or financial settlement to be determined, this may be an issue for the court as a ‘jurisdiction dispute’. This can result in the court ‘staying’ (freezing) proceedings in one country while the dispute is resolved.

  For a divorce to take place in a specific country, the first consideration to make is whether the basic requirements are satisfied. Assuming that the couple met these criteria in more than one country, the court will then need to consider which is the most appropriate jurisdiction for a divorce.

  The court will consider all circumstances of the case including nationalities, residences and asset locations. Using a principle known as forum non conveniens, the court will assess which country is most appropriate and convenient to hear the divorce.

• How long does it take to divorce as an expat?

  Getting divorced as an expat doesn’t always take longer. However, if your spouse is based overseas, this can make the divorce more complicated.

  It is for this reason that we recommend taking advice in each country in which you might be eligible to divorce, enabling you to weigh-up the pros and cons in your individual circumstances.

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