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SPEED - HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO GET A CARIBBEAN  DIVORCES

A Guam divorce takes about two weeks from start to finish. The documents that need to signed can be done while one of the parties is on their way to Guam. This includes a martial settlement agreement, dividing the property. Once the seven day stay has been completed, that person may leave Guam and the case can be submitted to the court. The final decree will usually be signed within a few days after that.

A typical Dominican Republic Divorce can take as long as two months to be completely final.  Here is how the U.S. Embassy in the Dominican Republic describes the process:

"The law requires that the parties reach a formal separation agreement relating to the division of their common property, the custody of any children born in the marriage, and any alimony and/or child support payments. This agreement shall be signed before a notary public of the non-Dominican jurisdiction where the spouses normally reside and duly certified by the Dominican Consulate closest to that domicile, so that it is valid under Dominican law. (According to the Dominican Embassy in Washington, you should have this agreement drafted by a U.S. Attorney before you leave).

The spouses shall be able to get a special divorce by mutual consent if at least one of the spouses personally appears at the hearing with the other represented by a special power of attorney. The appearing spouse shall present to the court identification, such as a passport, identity card, social security card, or driver's license. (The Spouse going to the DR should give him or herself at least two days in Santo Domingo to ensure they have enough time to take care of all of the required details.).

The court shall require a copy of the marriage certificate and copies of the birth certificates of any children born in the marriage, duly legalized and translated into Spanish if they were in any other languages. (This should take about a week, but hopefully can be done while your DR lawyers is preparing the other documents).

Once the divorce has been authorized, the judge shall set a hearing within three days for the spouses to appear in court. Once the hearing is over, the court shall order the Office of the Government Attorney to give its opinion within three days and the judge shall proclaim the divorce in the following three days. In general, this part of the process takes from eight to ten days (After your trip to the DR), depending on the volume of work of the court, for the judgment to be ordered and then registered in the corresponding Office of the Civil State and Custody of Mortgages.

Once the judgment has been registered, the divorce shall be proclaimed by any Officer of the Civil State of the Jurisdiction of the court that heard the case. For such purpose it would be necessary to present a certified copy of the judgment, previously registered at the Civil Registrar’s Office, and dispositions of said judgment shall be published in a newspaper of national circulation.

It is important to note that for said judgment to be valid abroad it shall be certified in the Office of the Attorney General of the Dominican Republic as well as the Foreign Relations Ministry and the Embassy or Consulate of the country where the divorce is to be valid." (This process can take anywhere from ten days to three weeks time)

According to the US embassy website, there is still more that needs to be done:

"The judgment or "sentencia" must be rendered and filed in the Office of the Civil Registry, or "Oficina de Registro Civil." This filing date begins the 60-day period during which either party may appeal the judgment. The next step is to have the judgment "pronounced" by an appropriate, non-judicial official of the Office of the Civil Registry. The pronouncement ends the marriage. The parties are then considered single. Within eight days of the pronouncement, the divorce judgment must be published once in a newspaper of general circulation.  This publication is the responsibility of the parties involved and/or their lawyer. Without the pronouncement and publication of the judgment, the divorce is not valid under Dominican law.

Among the different effects produced by divorce are:

a)  Spouses who remarry each other may only do so under the same system that governed their prior marriage; and

b)  Divorced women cannot get married again until 10 months after their divorce is finalized, unless her new husband is the same man she divorced."

(To read this on the US Embassy's official website, click here)

Even then you are still not done:

"At a minimum, in order to be recognized in the U.S., the divorce decree must be "authenticated" by a U.S. Embassy consular officer. This authentication states only that the signature on the decree matches the signature of a Dominican official on record with the U.S. Embassy as an official competent and empowered to sign such a decree." (This can take another on to two weeks)

(To read this on the  US Embassy's official website, click here)

Total time can be as long as 60 days.

For all questions about Guam Divorces, custody or support, ask for attorney Ron Moroni. 1-866-472-1540.

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