Legal Seperation and Divorce - advice please

magicmushroom

Hi all

I know I will need to seek professional advice over this but just wanting to see if anyopne on here can give some basic advice first.

My husband and I seperated last year, he eventually moved out of our (rented) home in January.

We have no shared assets whatsoever and no children.
The split was amicable so there is nothing to argue over really.

Do we need to seek legal seperation or can we just wait the 5 years and go straight for divorce?
My understanding is that you have to be living apart for 4 years before you can divorce, can this just be proved by utility bills and tenancy agreements etc or is that the purpose of legal seperation?

All advice appreciated, thank you

stargazer 68

Op I dont know of any legal requirements etc but I am currently going through divorce proceedings and have never had a legal separation. I was asked if I had one when I was filling in the paperwork, I said no and that was that.

magicmushroom

Dovies wrote: »

Op I dont know of any legal requirements etc but I am currently going through divorce proceedings and have never had a legal separation. I was asked if I had one when I was filling in the paperwork, I said no and that was that.

Oh that's good to know, thank you so much for replying - are you having to prove that you have been living apart for a certain length of time?

Ken.

Get his name off everything. Such things as joint bank accounts, the esb bill and sky and gas in your rented house(if you have them). His name on the lease. Ask the landlord/lady for a new one with just your name. If you can show in 4(not five) years that from 11/06/2014 you stopped being a couple then that'll satisfy any judge.

magicmushroom

ken wrote: »

Get his name off everything. Such things as joint bank accounts, the esb bill and sky and gas in your rented house(if you have them). His name on the lease. Ask the landlord/lady for a new one with just your name. If you can show in 4(not five) years that from 11/06/2014 you stopped being a couple then that'll satisfy any judge.

Thanks Ken - I have most of it done already, just the rental lease to do now.

Thanks for advice

desbrook

A legal separation agreement would cost you very little at the moment as you have nothing to argue over NOW. As you say yourself it's straightforward. This might not be true in a few years time when you want to seek a divorce. You might have a child with someone else , an inheritance from a relative - a mortgage who knows??? He may be unemployed on disability. Imho it would be money well spent .

To clarify the agreement would disentangle you from future debts/assets of the other and hinder any claims in 4 years time.

Jawgap

You can go straight for the divorce after 4 years.

When I got divorced we didn't have to prove we were separated. I just said as much in my grounding affidavit. You don't have to get utility bills etc reissued in your name, although it would be prudent for other reasons.

Nor do you have to live in physically separate homes - there are plenty of examples of couples who split, but remain living under the same roof for whatever reason.

The date you decided the relationship broke down irretrievably is the effective date for calculating the four years.

Good luck.

desbrook

Jawgap wrote: »

You can go straight for the divorce after 4 years.

When I got divorced we didn't have to prove we were separated. I just said as much in my grounding affidavit. You don't have to get utility bills etc reissued in your name, although it would be prudent for other reasons.

Nor do you have to live in physically separate homes - there are plenty of examples of couples who split, but remain living under the same roof for whatever reason.

The date you decided the relationship broke down irretrievably is the effective date for calculating the four years.

Good luck.

You can't bank on the court not seeking proof of the split date. More importantly you can't bank that your ex won't dispute the date. A separation agreement carries the date you BOTH agree you split on and saves this uncertainty.

A2LUE42

It would be better to get something done now. It can then be the basis for the divorce. It becomes very important if there are and changes in your circumstances as regards finances or children before you get the divorce completed.

Jawgap

desbrook wrote: »

You can't bank on the court not seeking proof of the split date. More importantly you can't bank that your ex will dispute the date. A separation agreement carries the date you BOTH agree you split on and saves this uncertainty.

Yes, I would agree that a separation agreement gives certainty, but the question asked related to the possibility of going straight for a divorce - and that is a possibility.

Btw- in the end my ex did dispute everything, but the judge (Circuit Court) took the view that if I was willing to swear that the date of the breakdown was xx/xx/xx then he was willing to accept it, despite objections from her side. In his view it was a subjective fact.

magicmushroom

desbrook wrote: »

A legal separation agreement would cost you very little at the moment as you have nothing to argue over NOW. As you say yourself it's straightforward. This might not be true in a few years time when you want to seek a divorce. You might have a child with someone else , an inheritance from a relative - a mortgage who knows??? He may be unemployed on disability. Imho it would be money well spent .

To clarify the agreement would disentangle you from future debts/assets of the other and hinder any claims in 4 years time.

Good points.

But what would me having a child with someone else have to do with a divorce from my husband?
This interests me as I would hope to have children in the next few years, pending the right person comes along!
The inheritance from a relative is also an interesting point as this is a very real possibility.
I think I will find a solicitor and get some advice, thanks for pointing these things out, I hadn't really thought about how my circumstances could change between now and 4 years time.

Taltos

magicmushroom wrote: »

But what would me having a child with someone else have to do with a divorce from my husband?

It affects how he would later approach the divorce, who knows what could happen on both sides, at least having a clear agreement now with a view of ensuring there is no mess later (without saying why) could just help expedite things later if there are changes.
Remember even for this it can be as simple or as costly as you both need - eg if one fights the other it gets expensive, but you can do a simple agreement between you both relatively cheaply, but as in other threads here - at least get some initial legal advice.

desbrook

magicmushroom wrote: »

Good points.

But what would me having a child with someone else have to do with a divorce from my husband?
This interests me as I would hope to have children in the next few years, pending the right person comes along!
The inheritance from a relative is als,o an interesting point as this is a very real possibility.
I think I will find a solicitor and get some advice, thanks for pointing these things out, I hadn't really thought about how my circumstances could change between now and 4 years time.

You may find this hard to believe but if you have a child with someone else your ex will automatically be presumed the father on birth cert etc. Only a solicitors letter from him will say otherwise and save a court case. The fact that you became legally separated makes all the mess far less likely. Only a nine month old divorce however stops this automatic presumption of fatherhood.

myluck

I have a friend in Co Louth that did a DIY divorce it cost her €450 she went to court both of them were still friends and not fighting they had no kids or mortage either they did not have to prove when the spilt up,,,, they both agreed the marriage broke down yrs before anyone moved out so the just changed the date to move things along and it was a 10 min job in the court house that was that she got the paperwork abt a week later

desbrook

myluck wrote: »

I have a friend in Co Louth that did a DIY divorce it cost her €450 she went to court both of them were still friends and not fighting they had no kids or mortage either they did not have to prove when the spilt up,,,, they both agreed the marriage broke down yrs before anyone moved out so the just changed the date to move things along and it was a 10 min job in the court hou,se that was that she got the paperwork abt a week later

Absolutely and good luck to them. They may have had a separation beforehand though. It's really about the uncertainty. For lots of us a few quid that gives almost 4 years of peace of mind and a smoother divorce is money well spent.

EDIT - I said in a previous post that it only gets sticky re the date if one side disputes it. In your friends case they both agreed.

myluck

No there was no separation before hand as there solicitors were looking €1500 each to do it up which was mad money... thats not a few quid,,,,, the girl in the org post said "The split was amicable" So I guess both side are happy to go ahead with a clean divorce

desbrook

myluck wrote: »

No there was no separation before hand as there solicitors were looking €1500 each to do it up which was mad money... thats not a few quid,,,,, the girl in the org post said "The split was amicable" So I guess both side are happy to go ahead with a clean divorce

Less than 500 a year for peace of mind. I don't think until you know the strees involved can you appreciate how good a deal that seems in certain situations . Another way to look at it is go over to the weddings and civil ceremonies forum. 3 grand won't get you far!

The OP has a 3 and a half year wait.