How do Americans divorce overseas?

September 3, 2010 8:29 AM

Please help me with some information for a play I'm working on...International divorce issues...

Main characters are US citizens living in UK at the end of a 20 year marriage, 2 kids involved. She is having an emotional relationship with someone else, nothing physical will happen but how would the divorce proceedings play out? The husband does know about the other man. Would they get a UK or US divorce? Would the emotional affair be reason enough for her to lose custody? What methods are there to prove that there was nothing physical? My audience will know that but I see the female character needing to 'prove' it. Thanks for your help, I don't know much about divorce and especially with the overseas element.

posted by pearlybob to Media & Arts (1 answer total)

If both parties are resident in the UK when applying for divorce, then the UK will be where they would have to get a divorce. Though it is not unheard of for a party to a divorce to go "venue-shopping" by taking up residence somewhere that would offer them better terms if the divorce is filed for there (whoever files first choses the venue, in essence, though there needs to be a valid reason for choosing that venue, such as being resident there).

You'll want to read something like this but in essence a cource in the UK (and there are differences between England and Scotland!) will grant a divorce if there has been an "irretrievable breakdown" of the marriage. If both parties wish to end the marriage then claiming that adultery has taken place may actually move things along, as otherwise the court will expect a period of separation to have taken place first (two years if both parties consent to the divorce).

The affair would not be reason for losing custody, unless the other party could somehow twist it to show that it would not be in the interest of the children to grant custody. Though usually some form of joint custody would be the norm. The courts in the UK are explicitly not interested in "fault" when deciding matters of custody but are meant to base their decisions on the best interests of the children.
posted by Morbuto at 11:00 AM on September 3, 2010