International Divorce Lawyers

The fact that a marriage took place in a particular country does not mean that the divorce also has to take place in the same country. Equally, if you were married in or have lived most of the time in England, it may be advantageous to one of you to issue proceedings in another country with which there is a connection. Accordingly, if either you or your spouse has connections overseas, our international divorce lawyers can advise you on choosing the best country in which to file for the divorce.

If proceedings are continuing in this jurisdiction and it is apparent that your partner is deliberately hiding assets offshore, we can take relevant action. A common example here involves issuing a freezing injunction, where there is a concern that assets may be placed out of the court’s reach. Such actions would prevent the transfer, sale or disposal of offshore assets.

If court action is needed in the country in which the assets are being held in order to preserve them, we will partner with family lawyers overseas in this regard. The Family Court has various powers available to it when confronted with this situation including ordering the imprisonment of the offending party.

It will be possible for you to bring proceedings for divorce or dissolution in this jurisdiction if you satisfy the habitual residence or domicile requirements.

Your ‘habitual residence’ is essentially where you live – the place in which your life is mainly based. You must be settled there and intend to remain settled there.

Your ‘domicile’ is something different altogether. It describes the country that you consider to be your home or the country where you have your permanent home. It is acquired at birth but can be changed consciously. An example here would be moving permanently to another country and renouncing your domicile at birth.

If you were born overseas, but are now living in this jurisdiction, when deciding whether you have indeed acquired a domicile of choice in England and Wales, you need to establish an intention to make your home in England and Wales permanently or indefinitely.

If you wish to divorce your partner overseas, you will be required to have sufficient connection to that other country, entitling you to bring proceedings there.

Specialist advice in this regard may be needed and our international divorce solicitors will be able to make contact with family lawyers in the relevant jurisdiction to consider whether you can do so, and if so, whether it would be beneficial for you divorce overseas.

To further discuss how our international divorce solicitors at Josiah-Lake Gardiner can help, please call today on 020 3709 8975 or complete the online enquiry form for an initial consultation.

Although you may have been in the UK, you may not need to travel to the UK for the purpose of dissolving your marriage or civil partnership.

However, should you wish the court to make orders in respect of financial matters or the arrangements for the children (or to be heard in respect of these issues), you may well be required to attend court in the UK.

When an international divorce takes places, it’s natural to consider any implications upon your assets. The way in which a family’s assets are divided on international divorce is complex and a whole range of factors are taken into account.

In general, the marital  assets will be be dealt with in the country in which the proceedings for divorce were brought although it is possible to apply for financial remedies in this jurisdiction even after a foreign decree of divorce. Where matters are proceeding in this jurisdiction, if you and your spouse are unable to reach a financial settlement out of court, one of you may need to make an application to the Family Court. This will commence financial remedy proceedings here, with the aim of either agreeing or having the court impose a final order financial settlement.

Both of you are required to provide full financial disclosure with supporting documentary evidence to ensure clarity with respect to your financial positions. After an initial fact-finding gathering hearing (the First Directions Appointment), there is an opportunity for you to reach agreement at court with the assistance of the judge, before a final hearing is scheduled and an order made by the judge after hearing evidence and submissions.

The courts are able to make the following orders:

1. Periodical payments (otherwise known as maintenance) for a spouse and any children of the family;
2. A lump sum order (a cash payment);
3. A property adjustment order including the sale or transfer of any property;
4. A pension sharing order (effectively splitting any pension assets between the spouses).

The judge dealing with the matter has the final decision on how the assets are divided. The court strives to decide what the fairest way to divide the assets is but arrangements regarding the children have the highest priority.

If either parent of the child is living overseas, our expert international divorce lawyers can advise you in respect of the appropriate arrangements for your children.

Within the UK, a child arrangements order means an order directing with whom a child is to live (a child arrangements ‘lives with’ order) and with whom a child is to spend time or otherwise have contact (a child arrangements ‘spends time with’ order).

In the vast majority of cases, the arrangements for the children can be agreed without any involvement of solicitors, but, where parents cannot agree with whom the children should live, they may need advice and assistance from specialist international divorce lawyers, such as our team at Josiah-Lake Gardiner.

Unfortunately, there is no straightforward answer to this question. The legal costs for international divorce matters depend on the length of time it takes to conclude the divorce and to reach agreement both in respect of the arrangements for any children and the division of assets.

However, at Josiah-Lake Gardiner we pride ourselves on offering very competitive rates and employ a transparent approach to our fees, ensuring there are no financial surprises along the way.

In respect of the divorce decree or dissolution order itself, the costs could start from as little as £1,000 plus vat plus the court fee of £550, if the proceedings are commenced by agreement in this jurisdiction and they are undefended.

With regard to the costs involved in respect of other issues, a lot will depend on the issue for which you are seeking advice, the length of time it takes to conclude matters, whether an out of court agreement is possible, the involvement of family lawyers in other jurisdictions, the stance taken by your spouse and what you ultimately want to achieve.

Broadly, an out of court divorce settlement could cost between £5,000 and £7,500 plus vat. A more complex matter could cost up to and sometimes more than £15,000 plus vat. At an initial meeting, we would be able to give a more definitive idea of likely costs as we do understand that it is important that you know from the outset what your legal fees are likely to amount to.

For this reason, we provide our clients with a bespoke costs plan and time estimate at the outset of a case (for which there is no charge) with regular updates as needed.

If dealing only with a divorce or dissolution, it takes between 5 and 8 months from the date of the filing of the petition to the date of the decree absolute or dissolution order. However, the length of time will always depend upon your particular circumstances.

Generally, the divorce would not be finalised until the other matters are resolved and it could take 12 months from the date of filing of a court application in relation to financial matters for a final award to be made. As regards to the timings of international divorce proceedings, we would seek guidance in this regard from specialist expert family lawyers in those jurisdictions.

Our international divorce lawyers are able to deal with any case that contains an international aspect, whether Europe or further afield. We can issue proceedings in this country so long as the Family Court has jurisdiction to deal with the matter. David Josiah-Lake is also a member of the New York (US) State Bar.

At Josiah-Lake Gardiner, our expert international divorce solicitors will guide you through the process of your divorce, explaining the procedure and possible outcomes.

Our experienced team of international divorce solicitors will always endeavour to minimise the emotional distress of divorce on all members of the family and will always keep you updated at every stage of the process. To understand how Josiah-Lake Gardiner can help you, please contact our international divorce lawyers today on 020 3709 8975 or complete the online enquiry form.