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Every divorce petition for a specific reason other than mutual
consent, including incompatibility, adultery, abandonment of the
home, great harm caused by one spouse to the other, alcoholism or
drug addiction, criminal conviction by one of the spouses and
absence of either spouse dictated by court, falls under the category
of divorce by cause and shall be filed before the First Instance
Court of the Judicial District where the defendant resides. If the
defendant does not have a known residence in the country, it shall
be done before the court where the plaintiff resides.
The plaintiff shall summon the defendant to appear at a hearing,
which shall take place on the date and time indicated in the summons
and where the parties shall present the documents and witnesses that
support their claims. The hearing shall take place even if the
defendant does not appear and once it is over, the court shall order
that the case be sent to the Office of a Government Attorney for an
opinion after which the judge will decide to grant the divorce,
pronouncing the judgment publicly.
Every divorce judgment for a reason other than mutual consent shall
order which one of the spouses shall stay in charge of the children
but the judge may have to assent to the stipulations of the
separation agreement, if there was one. If there is no such
agreement, the judge shall order the following:
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Except in limited circumstances, all children up to four years
of age shall stay under the care of the mother;
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Children older than four years shall stay with the spouse who
obtained the divorce, unless the court, either at the request of
the other spouse, another member of the family, or the Office of
the Attorneys General, for the benefit of the children orders
that custody of all or some of the children be granted to either
the other spouse or a third person.
When the divorce is requested because one of the spouses has been
convicted of a crime, the other spouse need only present the court
with the judgment condemning the defendant spouse to prison, duly
certified where it is stated that said judgment is not able to be
changed by any of the ordinary legal ways.
Every order granting a divorce for reasons other than mutual consent
may be appealed within two months after the date it is notified.
Once the term to appeal has expired and once the judgment has been
registered in the corresponding Office of Civil Registry and
Custodian of Mortgages, the party who obtained the divorce judgment
will notify the other party and appear before any Officer of the
Civil State to hear the divorce pronouncement. Furthermore, a
publication of the judgment must appear in a newspaper of national
circulation within eight days of the pronouncement.
Source: Foreigner's Guide to the Dominican Republic, Law Firm of
Pellerano and Herrera, 1997. |
