Divorce

A decree of Divorce dissolves a marriage and allows either spouse to remarry

Getting a divorce can be expensive, but it doesn’t have to be.

When we are asked by a potential client “how much will it cost, our answer is always to same.

It depends on how much agreement there is between the parties, how many times we are required to go to Court, how much correspondence will be exchanged between the parties or their lawyers; in short how much time will be involved.

Because time is money and going to Court to fight over various aspects of a breakup is time-consuming and costly.

Disputes can be bitter, particularly regarding issues like child custody, maintenance, property, access, and pensions.

Also, if there are other “new” partners involved it can be harder to keep things cool and civil.

In short, the more agreement there is between you the cheaper and less stressful it will be for all concerned.

Divorce by Consent

If you can agree terms on all aspects of your divorce you can obtain a divorce by consent at a fraction of the cost of a contested divorce.

This is generally a simpler, quicker, and therefore cheaper process.

There are three circumstances where this can commonly occur:

1. Where you have not been married long and there are no children and no jointly owned properties;
2. Where you have been married a long time but the children, if any, are grown up and you have agreed about going your separate ways and you have arrangements agreed about joint assets/property/living arrangements;
3. Where you simply recognise that the marriage is over and the smartest thing to do is not engage in bitter fights and to move on with your lives.

What Conditions apply?

Before applying to the Court for a Divorce, all of the following conditions must be met:

• You must have been living apart for a period amounting to two out of the previous three years. Both parties could be living within the same house but be living apart within separate households.
• There must be no reasonable prospect of reconciliation.
• Proper provision must be made for spouses and any dependant members of the family, such as children and other relatives.
• At least one of you must have lived, or been domiciled, in Ireland in the 12 months before the commencement of Divorce proceedings.

Like Judicial Separation, the court may take several factors into account when granting a divorce decree. Before a divorce hearing proceeds, each party provides the other party and the court with all the information regarding their income.

The factors taken into account are:

• The income and assets and the likely future income of the spouses
• The standard of living of the family before the marriage breakdown
• The age of the spouses and the duration of the marriage
• The physical and mental health of each of the spouses
• The degree to which the marriage affected each spouse’s ability to earn
• The conduct of each spouse
• The value of any benefits given up by a spouse because of the divorce
• The rights of any other person affected by the divorce
• The terms of any separation agreement between the spouses

Divorce proceedings are heard in the Family Circuit Court or the High Court and are held in private.

The Court has the right to review Divorce Orders concerning children, maintenance, etc. if the circumstances of one spouse change considerably or if it becomes clear that full disclosure was not made at the time of the initial hearing.

However, the divorce decree itself cannot be reversed.

If you like what you’ve read, you probably already know that we’re the right law firm for you.