Canadian female divorcing Dominican man

[Dolores]

Expedite divorces require mutual consent and both parties signing. See http://www.dr1.com/divorce/

[HOWMAR]

Originally Posted by Dolores

Expedite divorces require mutual consent and both parties signing. See http://www.dr1.com/divorce/

And is subject to division of assets.

[MommC]

So she should see a lawyer in Canada ASAP!

[Mahogany]

The divorce laws in the DR are different than those in Canada so be careful what advice you follow.

A DR lawyer can explain to you the laws and property division rules there, but Dr. Guzman has already put that info on the DR1 board, and you can search for it. Generally, if everything you owned before and after the marriage would be divided except real property (real estate). This includes half the debt. This is a broad summary so get advice from someone qualified (not me).

In Canada, the laws depend on which province you live in. In some provinces, he would be entitled to half of everything you acquired since the marriage. This includes half the debt. If your house was paid for before the marriage, he might not be entitled to any of it if the agreement he signed stipulated that. However, he might be able to make a case for half of the change in value over the life of your marriage. If you cannot enforce the pre-nuptual agreement, then he has dower rights to the matrimonial home and he would be entitled to half. Again, consult a professional.

As to the validity of the marriage.... if he was legally married to another woman when he married you, your marriage is not valid. You can get an anulment on the grounds of fraud, and this should help your property settlement case. If you want to go so far, fraud is grounds for deportation since he entered Canada on fraudulently. That should stop him from taking his Dominican wife and children to Canada and possibly living in the same community as you since that is where he has contacts and is established.

As to the question of the validity of the agreement he signed. For it to be binding in Canada, he had to have independent legal advice. It sounds like he did, but since you don't have the guy's name, it could be hard to prove. For it to be binding in the DR, I think that it had to be registered in the DR at the time of the marriage. Dr. Guzman could advise on that issue. But since you have been living in Canada, you are probably best advised to pursue dissolution of your marriage there.

[Fabio J. Guzman]

A divorce in the Dominican Republic won't solve the problem since the division of matrimonial assets is not part of the divorce proceedings in the DR, unless it's by mutual consent which is not the case here. The division of assets comes AFTER the divorce.

The first thing that needs to be addressed is how the prenuptial was signed, in what language and whether it was recorded at the Civil Registry together with the marriage.

[SEXYLATINA62]

Since you guys married in DR a Spanish translation should have been drafted. You live and learn. Dont be discouraged by what people tell you. Things will work if God allows it.

[Bronxboy]

Originally Posted by SEXYLATINA62

Since you guys married in DR a Spanish translation should have been drafted. You live and learn. Dont be discouraged by what people tell you. Things will work if God allows it.

You are posting on a 2 year old thread!!!!

Nice handle!

[margaret]

While this is an old thread, here's a Web site for Canadians who are organizing and lobbying on the issue of marriage fraud. There's some advice on what you can do.

Stop Marriage Fraud - FAQ's

[Lapurr]

wish we had an update!!

[Samanaman]

I am an attorney in the U.S. with experience in British based "commom law" systems which is the system in Canada.

In my experiece the only thing that this man could potentially claim is a percentage of your wealth and earnings accrued after you were married.

since you ouwned your house before the marriage, he has no claim againnt it and will likely get nothing there. As far as your inheritances - he has no claims to those either.

The only way he could get those things is if you granted those things in the prenup, ( althought it sounds as if you did not).

He has a very good argument for not understanding the prenup and for that reason it could get set aside but nevertheless - as for your really importatnt assets - the house and inheritance - you area likely protected.

You may have to pay some alimony or a lump sum settlement - based on ernings since the marriage and pension earned during that time - depending on the specifics of Canadian law.

Samanaman