THE last article on this topic set out in a nutshell how to go about getting a divorce. This week, I’m going to expand some more on the ground for divorce.
Quick recap: There is only one ground for divorce in Trinidad and Tobago, that your marriage has broken down irretrievably (with no hope for reconciliation). To demonstrate this, you have to satisfy the court of at least one of five things:
that your spouse has committed adultery and you find it intolerable to live with him/her – I will call this the “the adultery Fact”;
that your spouse behaved in such a way that you cannot be expected to live with him/her – I will call this “the misbehaviour Fact;”
your spouse deserted you for a continuous period of at least two years before your applied for the divorce;
you and your spouse separated for a continuous period of at least two years before you applied for your divorce, and your spouse consents to the divorce;
that you and your spouse lived apart for five years continuously before you applied for a divorce.
To marry, you do not have to prove why you should be married to each other. To divorce, you must prove one of those five factors listed above, which I’m going to call the Five Facts.
It may seem shocking for an enlightened civilised society, but the laws of our country do not allow married folks to divorce by agreement per se.
By this I mean that as mature partners to a broken marriage, you cannot simply file paperwork for divorce saying little more than we both agree our marriage have broken down irretrievably, we are not going to list why because we want our privacy respected etc., please grant us our divorce.
Now, the paperwork for divorce applications filed in our courts do carry a degree of privacy in the sense that there are protocols to prevent public access. For example, if you are not a party to the divorce proceedings, you are generally not granted permission to access the court’s file on your matter.
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However, the assigned judge to your matter, their support staff and other court staff will naturally have access as part of their duty to treat with your case. The lawyers for your spouse will also have filed copies of all documents. Even this small pool seeing your personal life on paper can be embarrassing.
Do however remember, even though you must provide enough information to satisfy one of the Five Facts, after your paperwork for a divorce is filed, your spouse must indicate whether or not they will consent to the divorce in a form called “Form 5 – Acknowledgment of Service”.
Of the Five Facts, only two of them allow you to file for a divorce right away: the adultery Fact and the misbehaviour Fact. Divorce applications based on the former seem far less common than the misbehaviour Fact, usually due to the requirement to make the alleged adulterer a party (called a Co-Defendant).
The other three of the Five Facts involve minimum waiting periods of between two – five years, where the parties either separate from each other, or one has deserted (abandoned) the other. An interesting nugget of information: depending on the circumstances, you can be living under the same roof and still be considered “separated” for the purpose of getting a divorce.
I have had numerous instances of upset clients who are served with divorce applications alleging awful things under the adultery fact or the misbehaviour Fact. They cry foul, saying that many or all of the allegations are twisted truths or complete lies. They want to consent to the divorce, but they also want to set the record straight, because people are seeing the “lies and falsehoods” you spouse has put on record against you.
With a broken marriage, one can probably understand how immature spouses take the opportunity to say horrible things in the divorce papers as a parting shot. The law arguably facilitates it. Any which way you look at it nonetheless, it is wrong to lie on oath.
You do have legal options to respond. You can file a cross – petition yourself (your own application for divorce, in the same court matter, making allegations of your own under one of the Five Facts).
But here is another gem of information you may opt for to avoid all of this extra time and expense, not to mention emotional turmoil: inform the court you are consenting to the divorce, but are reserving the right to dispute the allegations (if it becomes necessary, e.g. during property settlement disputes) of your soon to be ex-spouse under the authority of Richards vs. Richards. You don’t have to get mad or even, reserve your rights and move on!
Disclaimer: The contents of this article is for general informative purposes only. It does not provide legal advice and does not create an attorney – client relationship. For legal advice, please contact an Attorney-at-Law of your choosing directly.
Part Two: Shutting the Door – A Simplified Guide about Divorce
By NEELA RAMSUNDAR
THE last article on this topic set out in a nutshell how to go about getting a divorce. This week, I’m going to expand some more on the ground for divorce.
Quick recap: There is only one ground for divorce in Trinidad and Tobago, that your marriage has broken down irretrievably (with no hope for reconciliation). To demonstrate this, you have to satisfy the court of at least one of five things:
To marry, you do not have to prove why you should be married to each other. To divorce, you must prove one of those five factors listed above, which I’m going to call the Five Facts.
It may seem shocking for an enlightened civilised society, but the laws of our country do not allow married folks to divorce by agreement per se.
By this I mean that as mature partners to a broken marriage, you cannot simply file paperwork for divorce saying little more than we both agree our marriage have broken down irretrievably, we are not going to list why because we want our privacy respected etc., please grant us our divorce.
Now, the paperwork for divorce applications filed in our courts do carry a degree of privacy in the sense that there are protocols to prevent public access. For example, if you are not a party to the divorce proceedings, you are generally not granted permission to access the court’s file on your matter.
————————-
However, the assigned judge to your matter, their support staff and other court staff will naturally have access as part of their duty to treat with your case. The lawyers for your spouse will also have filed copies of all documents. Even this small pool seeing your personal life on paper can be embarrassing.
Do however remember, even though you must provide enough information to satisfy one of the Five Facts, after your paperwork for a divorce is filed, your spouse must indicate whether or not they will consent to the divorce in a form called “Form 5 – Acknowledgment of Service”.
Of the Five Facts, only two of them allow you to file for a divorce right away: the adultery Fact and the misbehaviour Fact. Divorce applications based on the former seem far less common than the misbehaviour Fact, usually due to the requirement to make the alleged adulterer a party (called a Co-Defendant).
The other three of the Five Facts involve minimum waiting periods of between two – five years, where the parties either separate from each other, or one has deserted (abandoned) the other. An interesting nugget of information: depending on the circumstances, you can be living under the same roof and still be considered “separated” for the purpose of getting a divorce.
I have had numerous instances of upset clients who are served with divorce applications alleging awful things under the adultery fact or the misbehaviour Fact. They cry foul, saying that many or all of the allegations are twisted truths or complete lies. They want to consent to the divorce, but they also want to set the record straight, because people are seeing the “lies and falsehoods” you spouse has put on record against you.
With a broken marriage, one can probably understand how immature spouses take the opportunity to say horrible things in the divorce papers as a parting shot. The law arguably facilitates it. Any which way you look at it nonetheless, it is wrong to lie on oath.
You do have legal options to respond. You can file a cross – petition yourself (your own application for divorce, in the same court matter, making allegations of your own under one of the Five Facts).
But here is another gem of information you may opt for to avoid all of this extra time and expense, not to mention emotional turmoil: inform the court you are consenting to the divorce, but are reserving the right to dispute the allegations (if it becomes necessary, e.g. during property settlement disputes) of your soon to be ex-spouse under the authority of Richards vs. Richards. You don’t have to get mad or even, reserve your rights and move on!
© Neela Ramsundar, LL.B (HONS), L.E.C is a Civil Litigation Attorney at Law & Certified Mediator
Disclaimer: The contents of this article is for general informative purposes only. It does not provide legal advice and does not create an attorney – client relationship. For legal advice, please contact an Attorney-at-Law of your choosing directly.