Divorce

This article is about dissolution of marriage. For other uses, see Divorce (disambiguation).
"Divorcee" redirects here. For other uses, see Divorcee (disambiguation).

Family law
Family
Marriage and other unions and status
Validity of marriages
Dissolution of marriages
Children's issues
Private international law
Family and criminal code
(or criminal law)

Relationships
(Outline)
Types
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By marriage
Partner(s)
Intimate and sexual
Activities
Endings
Emotions and feelings
Practices
Abuse

Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union.[1] Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganising of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the bonds of matrimony between a married couple under the rule of law of the particular country or state. It can be said to be a legal dissolution of a marriage by a court or other competent body.[2] It is the legal process of ending a marriage.[3]

Divorce laws vary considerably around the world,[1] but in most countries, divorce is a legal process that requires the sanction of a court or other authority, which may involve issues of distribution of property,[4] child custody,[4] alimony (spousal support), child visitation / access, parenting time, child support, and division of debt. In most countries, monogamy is required by law, so divorce allows each former partner to marry another person.

Divorce is different from annulment, which declares the marriage null and void, with legal separation or de jure separation (a legal process by which a married couple may formalize a de facto separation while remaining legally married) or with de facto separation (a process where the spouses informally stop cohabiting). Reasons for divorce vary, from sexual incompatibility or lack of independence for one or both spouses to a personality clash or infidelity.[5]

The only countries that do not allow divorce are the Philippines and the Vatican City. In the Philippines, divorce for non-Muslim Filipinos is not legal unless one spouse is an undocumented immigrant and satisfies certain conditions.[6] The Vatican City is a theocratic state ruled by the head of the Catholic Church, and does not allow for divorce. Countries that have relatively recently legalized divorce are Italy (1970), Portugal (1975, although from 1910 to 1940 it was possible both for the civil and religious marriage), Brazil (1977), Spain (1981), Argentina (1987),[7] Paraguay (1991),[8] Colombia (1991; from 1976 was allowed only for non-Catholics),[8] Andorra (1995),[9] Ireland (1996), Chile (2004)[10] and Malta (2011).

  1. ^ a b "Divorce". Encyclopaedia Britannica. Archived from the original on 22 September 2018. Retrieved 22 September 2018.
  2. ^ "Federal Arbitration Act and Application of the "Separability Doctrine" in Federal Courts". Duke Law Journal. 1968 (3): 588–614. June 1968. doi:10.2307/1371645. ISSN 0012-7086. JSTOR 1371645.
  3. ^ UMOH, UMOH (5 July 2020). "Nollywood Imperialism and Academic Performance in Basic Science Subject Among Secondary School Students in Calabar South Local Government Area of Cross River State, Nigeria". The American Journal of Social Science and Education Innovations. 02 (7): 1–23. doi:10.37547/tajssei/volume02issue07-01. ISSN 2689-100X. S2CID 225539929.
  4. ^ a b "Divorce". Family law. Encyclopaedia Britannica. Archived from the original on 22 September 2018. Retrieved 22 September 2018.
  5. ^ The Covenant Divorce Recovery Leader's Handbook - Page 166, Wade Powers - 2008
  6. ^ Gloria, Charmian K (2007). "Who needs divorce in the Philippines?". Mindanao Law Journal. 1: 18–28. doi:10.3860/mlj.v1i1.315.
  7. ^ "Divorce Is Now Legal in Argentina but, So Far, Few Couples Have Taken the Break". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 21 July 2015. Retrieved 15 September 2014.
  8. ^ a b Sex and the State: Abortion, Divorce, and the Family Under Latin. American Dictatorships and Democracies, by Mala Htun, pp 102
  9. ^ Le divorce en droit comparé: Europe by Bernard Dutoit, Raphaël Arn, Béatrice Sfondylia, Camilla Taminelli, pp.56
  10. ^ "Chile introduces right to divorce". BBC News. 18 November 2004. Archived from the original on 4 November 2013. Retrieved 1 November 2013.