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American Citizens who wish to
obtain a Divorce in the Dominican Republic should consult with a
local attorney for advice and legal representation (List
of attorneys).
Before seeking a divorce in the
Dominican Republic, U.S. citizens should be aware of possible legal
restrictions by their U.S. state of residence on divorces obtained
abroad. It is advisable to contact an attorney in your state of
residence to determine whether or not the courts of your state will
recognize a Dominican divorce as valid. Some states, even if they
will recognize Dominican divorces, may have special criteria or
procedures particular to that state.
At a minimum, in order to be
recognized in the U.S., the divorce decree must be "authenticated"
by a U.S. Embassy consular officer. This authentication states only
that the signature on the decree matches the signature of a
Dominican official on record with the U.S. Embassy as an official
competent and empowered to sign such a decree.
There are two types of divorces
available to foreigners in the Dominican Republic:
divorce by mutual consent and
divorce for cause. The majority of Dominican divorces
granted to foreigners are mutual consent divorces. In such divorces,
the demanding party does not have to prove a specific cause for
dissolving the bond of matrimony, but rather must show mutual
agreement to dissolve the marriage. Although residency is not
required, at least one of the parties must appear at the hearing. An
attorney authorized by power of attorney duly filed in the Civil
Registry Office may represent the other party.
A foreigner can obtain a divorce
for cause (e.g., incompatibility of character, adultery, etc.) if he
or she resided in the Dominican Republic and the cause of action or
reason for the divorce arose during the period of residence. The
divorce for cause requires the personal appearance of the plaintiff
or his/her legal representative. In a divorce for cause, the judge
has extensive powers, including the right to determine the
disposition of marital properties and support payments, if any, for
the spouse and children.
A divorce in the Dominican
Republic, whether by mutual consent or for cause, has no effect or
validity until such time as certain precise steps have been taken
during the final phase of the divorce process. The judgment or "sentencia"
must be rendered and filed in the Office of the Civil Registry, or "Oficina
de Registro Civil." This filing date begins the 60-day period during
which either party may appeal the judgment. The next step is to
have the judgment "pronounced" by an appropriate, non-judicial
official of the Office of the Civil Registry. The pronouncement ends
the marriage. The parties are then considered single. Within eight
days of the pronouncement, the divorce judgment must be published
once in a newspaper of general circulation. This publication is the
responsibility of the parties involved and/or their lawyer. Without
the pronouncement and publication of the judgment, the divorce is
not valid under Dominican law.
Among the different effects
produced by divorce are:
a) Spouses who remarry each other
may only do so under the same system that governed their prior
marriage; and
b) Divorced women cannot get
married again until 10 months after their divorce is finalized,
unless her new husband is the same man she divorced.
Obtaining a Copy of a Dominican
Divorce Decree
The Dominican public registry
offices operate differently from those in the U.S. and documents
concerning legal procedures are obtained differently here. The only
record of a divorce is a hand-written entry in a book in one of the
many civil registry offices in the city where the divorce was
performed. Since the records are not entered alphabetically but
chronologically, they can only be retrieved on that basis. In
addition, registry employees do not perform searches for the public.
Books for a particular month are made available so that an
individual or her/his representative can locate the desired entry.
An extract of the record can then be prepared by the registry
employee for a fee.
Searching for a particular
record can be very time consuming unless one knows the precise
date of the divorce and
the precise location of the civil registry
office in which the book is physically located. Therefore, if you
cannot be in the Dominican Republic to perform the search, you
should consider hiring a lawyer or other representative to obtain
the extract on your behalf (List
of attorneys). |
