Divorce Lawyers in Jamaica | Top Jamaican Divorce Lawyers

Divorce by Consent

monique_admin — Mon, 19 Jul 2021 01:35:46 +0000

The Court Administration Division in Jamaica has revealed earlier this year that between January and April over 1,220 divorce applications have been filed. This is an enormously high figure and could possibly mean a longer wait time for these applicants, irrespective of whether their divorce is contested or uncontested. There is a lot of anxiety that comes with the divorce process and most divorce clients are looking to finalize their divorce in the fastest possible time. In fact, in a lot of cases, both parties are desirous of getting a divorce but currently, there are no provisions in the Matrimonial Causes Act that allow parties to divorce proceedings to have a divorce by way of consent.

In a time where divorce numbers are going through the roof, Jamaica should consider allowing parties, in the same way they are entitled to enter into a contract for marriage, to exit a marriage by way of consent. This would definitely ease the burden on the court system.

Current System

Under our current system, the Matrimonial Causes Act divides divorce process into three major steps, a petition, an application for a decree nisi, and an application for decree absolute. The said act also mandates that the parties must be married for at least 2 years and separated for at least a year. Moreover, only a judge or Master from the Supreme Court has the authority to grant a decree nisi and a decree absolute, and therefore these documents have to wait to be seen by a judge or a master for vetting. This process can take a lot of time and judges and masters whose time could be used in the actual dispensation of justice is vetting divorce documents ¼ of which the parties are in total agreement. What is even worse is that these documents are mainly rejected for errors and not procedures or because it is being contested.

With these considerations, it is full-time Jamaica move towards considering divorce by way of consent. If implemented, however, we must be careful of implanting some safeguards to prevent abuse.

Safegaurds

Some of the safeguards can be

Making divorce by consent applicable only to couples who have been married for a short period of time
Requiring both parties to sign the consent order in the presence of a judge
Ensuring that adequate provisions for minor children are made
Ensuring that the parties agree on everything including custody, property division and maintenance

While I understand that paper divorce and no-fault divorces has definitely improve the speed of divorce in Jamaica, there is still room for improvement and one such method is by implementing divorce by way of consent.

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Five Steps to a Quick Divorce in Jamaica

monique_admin — Mon, 12 Apr 2021 00:11:21 +0000

Divorce marks the legal conclusion of a marriage. A divorce can take many years to conclude depending on several factors, some of which neither you nor your divorce lawyer will have any control over. The factors that you and your divorce lawyer have no control over include the number of matters that the court is dealing with and the divorce being contested by your spouse. Naturally, these are elements that may affect the speed of your divorce application in Jamaica. However, there are certain aspects that are in you and your divorce lawyer’s hand.

Gather All your Documents

One thing we find that can slow down the divorce application is our client not having his or her documents in order. You will need the original marriage certificate and a valid method of identification. In cases where our client does not have the original marriage certificate, the divorce lawyer would have to make an application for one. This process can take up to three weeks even when applied for express. The upside to this is that if the client has a photocopy of the marriage certificate, the photocopy can be used to initiate the divorce application and in the meantime an application can be made for the original. However where the client has no copy whatsoever of the marriage certificate, the divorce attorney would have to apply for on (usually at an additional costs to the client). The issuing of the original marriage certificate from the Registrar General’s department can also take up to three weeks after making the application.

Sign you Petition as Soon as it is Available

Once your divorce lawyer contacts you to say that the petition is ready to sign, make some efforts to sign it as quickly as possible since the application will not start until the signed petition is submitted to the court.

Retrieve an address for your spouse

The court requires the petition to be served on your spouse so knowing the whereabouts of your spouse is almost vital to receiving a divorce. One of the causes of delays in obtaining a divorce in Jamaica is not having a recent address for your spouse. If you cannot find your spouse he cannot be served.

Have an Independent Third Party Ready To Serve Your Spouse

One of the requirements of a divorce in Jamaica is that the Respondent must be served personally by an independent third party. This means that the person seeking the divorce must have another person who is willing and able to effect service on the Respondent.

In the event that you do not have an independent third party to serve your spouse, you can hire the service of a process server. This will attract a separate fee. We usually have a set of process servers in Jamaica whose service we usually use. Their fees however vary depending on the parish in which the Respondent is living.

Hire A Competent Divorce Lawyer In Jamaica

One major factor that will affect the speed of your divorce is your divorce lawyer. When you are selecting a divorce lawyer in Jamaica, try to select someone who is experienced and responsive. The return of documents from the court due to errors can definitely set your divorce back by months. The more errors the longer the process will take. We have seen cases where divorces are dragged out for 3 years because of errors.

Taking these factors into account you can shave months if not years from your divorce.

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The Divorce Laws in Jamaica

monique_admin — Sun, 11 Apr 2021 23:53:28 +0000

Divorce is the legal termination of a marriage usually represented by a Decree Absolute issued from the Supreme Court. We usually advise our clients to go through a checklist with their divorce attorney to ensure they are actually qualified for divorce.

The laws on divorce in Jamaica are governed by the Matrimonial Causes Act. This piece of legislation makes it possible for any party to the marriage to make an application through a divorce lawyer for a divorce. The Act does not require that either party show that the other party is at fault. The Act only requires that the Court be satisfied that the marriage has broken down irretrievably and that the parties are separated for at least 12 months, married for at least 2 years.

In order to get a divorce in Jamaica, it is no longer required for a party to prove that someone is fault. However in an application for divorce in Jamaica, one has to prove to the court that the marriage has broken down irretrievably. The irretrievable breakdown of the marriage means that there is no possibility of reconciliation. The divorce petition and other documents filed in the divorce application should substantiate the fact that the marriage has broken down irretrievably.

No Fault

Separated for One Year or More

The period of separation is crucial in convincing the court that the marriage has broken down irretrievable. In Jamaica, the law requires that the parties be separated for at least a year preceding the filing of the petition. The separation that the law refers to is not limited to a physical separation in terms of residence. The law recognizes that sometimes a marriage has broken down and the parties are living separately but under the same roof. For instance, they do not sleep in the same bed, the wife probably no longer cooks for him and sexual relations between the two has ceased.

The separation may be that the parties no longer engage in the activities they would otherwise engage in as husband and wife.

Irreconcilable Differences –A Ground for Divorce in Jamaica

Since divorce in Jamaica can be granted on a no-fault basis, there is no need to prove to the court that one party is at fault, one only needs to prove that the marriage has broken down irretrievably. It is therefore not uncommon for persons to cite irreconcilable differences as the basis for divorce applications.

Court Orders for Divorce in Jamaica

In some instances an applicant or a respondent may decide to request further orders from the court. In addition to the decree absolute the court can make an order for maintenance and custody of a relevant child as well as well as maintenance for either of the spouses. For clarity, Jamaica does in fact issues orders for maintenance for men as well as woman as the Maintenance Act provides that it is the obligation of a man to maintain his wife and the obligation of a woman to maintain her husband.

Once there are children under the age of 18 years, the court in Jamaica will not grant a divorce unless it is satisfied that the arrangements for the relevant children are the best they can be under the circumstance. This means that the arrangement for the children will have to be stated in the divorce paperwork, i.e, where the children attend school, their date of birth, whether they suffer from any serious issues etc.

It is therefore for possible for either party to the divorce to request that the court makes an order as to the maintenance of the children or an order that one spouse should pay maintenance to the other spouse.

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