DOMINICAN DIVORCE. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS OF 15 YEARS OF PRACTICE

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

DIVORCE PROCESS IN DOMINICAN REPUBLIC:

http://www.wdalaw.com

WDA INTERNATIONAL LAW FIRM IS A DOMINICAN REPUBLIC BASED LAW FIRM WITH MORE THAN 15 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE IN THE PRACTICE OF DIVORCE EXCLUSIVELY FOR CITIZENS OF UNITED STATES, CANADA AND EUROPE.

WHAT ARE THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THIS DIVORCE PROCESS?

Main requirement is that both spouses agree on divorce; divorce should be bi-lateral, uncontested

and the signature of both spouses is needed in the documents to be drafted.

One of spouses should come to a quick hearing in Dominican Republic and the other one should

sign a power of attorney authorizing us to represent her/him in court the day of hearing.

MY LOCAL LAWS SAY I HAVE TO BE A RESIDENT IN THE COUNTRY WHERE I GET MY DIVORCE. HOW CAN I OBTAIN A DIVORCE WITHOUT BEING A RESIDENT OF DOMINICAN REPUBLIC?

International private law treaties provide a person may get married anywhere in the world and also may get divorced anywhere in the world regardless of the place where she/he got married. The divorce parties have to comply with the residence requirements of the place of divorce.

Dominican Republic enacted law 142 in the 1971 that specifically waives the residency requirements to foreigners willing to get a divorce in this country. Special law provides special rules, not applicable to regular dominican residents to obtain a divorce in less than 15 days.

WHAT IF MY SPOUSE IS IN A DIFFERENT CITY OR COUNTRY? CAN WE STILL SIGN THE DOCUMENTS?

Of course! We can assist you during this process. Your spouse just needs to sign the documents drafted by our firm in front of a notary public and send document to the Ministry of Foreign Relations to have it stamped with the Apostille seal. For countries not member to the Hague Convention on Apostille legalization, clients may send documents to Dominican Consulate nearest to domicile, over the mail or go directly to sign papers there. The other spouse would do exactly the same with the same documents but in a different city/country.

I DO NOT SPEAK SPANISH. WILL I RECEIVE TRANSLATOR ASSISTANCE?

Yes. You will be picked up at your hotel by an English speaking interpreter who will accompany

you to court, translate during hearing and take you back to the hotel. Included in our fees.

HOW MUCH IS YOUR FEE?

Total fees are US$1,650.00* (for couples with no children)

WHAT IS THE SCHEDULE OF PAYMENT?

US$550.00 WITH ORDER TO DRAFT NEEDED DOCUMENTS TO BE SIGNED BY CLIENT

US$550.00 WITH ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS TO FILE PETITION* (Add US$65.00 per child)

US$550.00 UPON CLIENT’S ARRIVAL TO ATTEND HEARING.

WHAT IS INCLUDED?

*Professional attorney’s fees

*Drafting of settlement agreement and all needed documents to be filed in court

*Authentication and translation of original documents received from client

*Official fees and taxes to be paid to court;

*Provision of interpretation by Official Translator before the judge

*Translation into English of Divorce Decree

*Registration of divorce decree at Civil Registry

*Translation of divorce certificate

*Publication of divorce as required by law

*Authentication with the Apostille procedure (Convention of Hague) or at client’s Consulate in Santo Domingo when the country of client is not a member of Convention.

*Remittance of all registered, legalized and translated documents to client by UPS courier

WHAT SHOULD I DO TO GET STARTED?

You should make first part of payment, which is US$550.00 and send us by email or fax a

photocopy of: Marriage certificate, children’s Birth certificate; picture identification (passport or

driver’s license) for each spouse; and the “Divorce form” (attached) duly filled out containing information on complete addresses and any decisions taken by spouses on

children custody, division of assets or alimony, among others.

WHAT DOCUMENTS ARE DELIVERED TO ME AFTER PROCESS IS COMPLETE?

You will receive:

1) DISSOLUTION OF MARRIAGE (EXPRESSLY DECLARED IN THE DIVORCE DECREE

GRANTED BY COURT);

2) CERTIFIED COPY OF DIVORCE DECREE ISSUED BY COMPETENT COURT, TRANSLATED

INTO ENGLISH LANGUAGE BY SUPREME COURT TRANSLATOR AND VERIFIED BY APOSTILLE LEGALIZATION OR CLIENT´S CONSULATE IN SANTO DOMINGO.

3) PRONOUNCEMENT OF DIVORCE BY CIVIL REGISTRY TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH

4) CERTIFICATE OF DIVORCE TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH

5) PUBLICATION OF DIVORCE IN A LOCAL NEWSPAPER.

WHEN WILL I BE DIVORCED?

10-15 days from the moment we receive original, legalized documents in our office.

ANOTHER ATTORNEY FROM DOMINICAN REPUBLIC TOLD ME I COULD DIVORCE WITHOUT TRAVELLING AND WITHOUT MY SPOUSE HAVING TO SIGN, IS THAT POSSIBLE?

Absolutely not. You should be aware of so called “attorneys” offering this kind of service. The process made without presence of at least one spouse is void and illegal both in Dominican Republic and your home country as well.

HOW CAN I PAY?

We accept credit and debit cards, wire transfer, checks, e-checks, western union remittance or

Paypal.

HOW LONG DO I HAVE TO STAY?

Just one night! Must of our clients come the day before hearing and then leave on the same day right after hearing. You’ll be done with court by 10:00 am.

WHERE WOULD I STAY?

There are many good Hotels in Santo Domingo area. We´ll provide a list

of recommended OCEAN VIEW Hotels near courthouse.

IS DOMINICAN REPUBLIC DIVORCE VALID IN UNITED STATES?

RECOGNITION BASED ON COMITY:

A divorce decree issued in a foreign country generally is recognized in a state in the United States on the basis of comity (Hilton v. Guyot, 159 U.S. 113, 163-64 (1895), provided both parties to the divorce received adequate notice, i.e., service of process and, generally, provided one of the parties was a domiciliary in the foreign nation at the time of the divorce. Under the principle of comity, a divorce obtained in another country under the circumstances described above receives "full faith and credit" in all other states and countries that recognize divorce. *

WDA ATTORNEYS FOLLOW DUE PROCESS REQUIRED TO FULFILL U.S. REQUIREMENTS FOR A VALID DIVORCE ABROAD INCLUDING:

*COMPLYING WITH THE LAW REQUIREMENT REGARDING THE PHYSICAL PRESENCE OF ONE OF THE SPOUSES IN COURT.

*THE ABSENT SPOUSE IS REPRESENTED IN HEARING BY AN ATTORNEY WHO WILL APPEAR IN COURT ON HIS/HER BEHALF THROUGH AN SPECIAL, WITNESSED POWER OF ATTORNEY SIGNED BY SPOUSE IN FRONT OF A NOTARY PUBLIC AND AUTHENTICATED BY DOMINICAN CONSULAR OFFICERS IN U.S.Â

*DIVORCE DECREE IS TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH LANGUAGE BY A SUPREME COURT-CERTIFIED TRANSLATOR; AUTHENTICATED BY FOREIGN MINISTRY OFFICERS AND FINALLY TAKEN TO U.S. CONSULATE IN ORDER TO MAKE PERTAINING LEGALIZATIONS REQUIRED BY U.S. AUTHORITIES TO RECOGNIZE THE DIVORCE ABROAD.

MIGRATORY DIVORCES:
Bilateral-uncontested divorces, based on the physical presence of both parties in the divorcing nation, or the physical presence of the petitioner and the voluntary "appearance" by the defendant through an attorney* are held as valid divorces for migratory purposes by U.S. authorities.

U.S. SSA, VA and IRS DETERMINATIONS REGARDING FOREIGN DIVORCES:

There have been a number of determinations by the U.S. Social Security Administration , Veterans Administration , and Internal Revenue Service regarding the validity of foreign divorces based on the laws of the state of residence applicable with respect to claims for benefits. For SSA, see http://www.ssa.gov/. See also, 20 C.F.R. 404.314, SSR 66-1; 20 CFR 404.328(a), 404.1101, and 404.1104, SSR 72-61; 20 CFR 404.335(a), SSR 73-10a; 20 CFR 404.336, SSR 75-16; SSR 61-65; 20 CFR 404.340(c), SSR 88-15c, Section 202(g)(1)(A) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 402(g)(1)(A) (Slessinger v. Secretary of Health and Human Services, 1A Unempl. Ins. Rep. (CCH), 17,843 (1st Cir. 1987). (Cunningham v. Harris, 658 F.2d 239, 243 (4th Cir. 1981).; Thompson v. Harris, 504 F. Supp. 653, 654 (D. Mass. 1980); Lugot v. Harris, 499 F. Supp. 1118 (D. Nev. 1980). For Veterans Administration, see 27 FR 6281, July 3, 1962, as amended by 35 FR 16831, October 31, 1970; 40 FR 53581, November 19, 1975; 52 FR 19349, May 22, 1987. For the IRS, see Estate of Felt v. Comm''r, 54 T.C.M. (CCH) 528 (1987). It is our understanding that when obtained in good faith and not a sham for tax-avoidance purpose, the Internal Revenue Service recognizes foreign divorces.

FAST DIVORCE AVAILABLE TO U.S. CITIZENS IN DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

www.wdalaw.com

Divorce made under Dominican Republic laws is absolutely legal WORLDWIDE in accordance with International Law provided it is A BILATERAL, UNCONTESTED DIVORCE. All of our clients have successfully registered divorce with IRS, Immigration, Social Security Administration with no problem whatsoever.

Dominican divorce is feasible for people looking to divorce provided :

1) Both spouses agree on divorce (and every aspect of division of assets and marital life)
2) At least one of spouses attend a hearing in Dominican Republic and the spouse not attending grants power of attorney to lawyer in D.R. to represent her/him in court.

Individuals of any nationality have the right to get divorced anywhere in the world complying with the residency requirements of each jurisdiction. Dominican Republic divorce law specifically waives this residency requirement provided the requirements listed above are met. Please find enclosed complete information on divorce process, timetables and costs; kindly review this information and get back to us with any further questions you may have.

Must of our clients come from California and New York but we have performed divorce processes for citizens of North Carolina, Maryland, Wisconsin, Florida, Illinois, Texas, Massachusetts, and many more. Many of our clients have re-married and successfully registered divorce with IRS, Immigration Service, Social Security Administration, etc.

Available to foreigners or Dominican citizens residing abroad, when both Spouses agree to file this divorce before Dominican Courts. This procedure is very simple and only requires the attendance of one of the spouses during the hearing which takes usually less than half an hour and you can leave Dominican Republic the same day in the afternoon. It takes ten to fifteen days to obtain your divorce decree, which is to be sent to your home or office by courier In cases where parties have properties, bank accounts, children, or special arrangements for support, insurance the parties should sign a separation agreement; This document is drafted by our office and should include spouses complete data, a list of property and division of assets, the statement regarding minor children and support agreement, your desire of divorcing before a Dominican Court and the authorization of one of the spouses to the other to attend to hearing on her/his behalf. We strongly recommend this document to be revised by an attorney in client´s jurisdiction in order to confirm it complies with spouses’ local law; however, this is not mandatory. In cases with no children or assets is not necessary to execute a separation agreement.

Our firm also provides you with a Special Power of Attorney through which the party that is not coming to Dominican Republic grants express permission to the other spouse to start the divorce process on his/her behalf and expressly grants authorization to us as appointed attorneys to represent him/her in hearing and sign the stipulations and conventions agreement needed to be sign once the client has arrived to Santo Domingo and to the courts of the Dominican Republic to rule on the divorce. Both these documents (separation agreement and power of attorney) must be signed by the parties before Notary Public and legalized by the Apostille procedure (Convention of Hague on legalization of documents) For countries not member to the Hague Convention, a legalization by Domincan Republic Consulate will be necessary. A detailed instruction on signature and legalization process is sent to client together with documents to be signed.

Complete fees to be charged are:

US$1,650.00 (for couples without children) including:

*Professional fees

*Drafting of settlement agreement

*Provision of interpretation by Official Translator before the judge

*Official fees and taxes to be paid to court;

*Translation into English of Divorce Decree

*Authentication of documents with Dominican authorities for filing in court,

*Legalization at party’s consulate;

Remittance of divorce decree by courier.

In order to start process and draft necessary documents we need to have the following documents/information either by email or fax:

Procedure: In order to start the procedure it would be necessary for you to send us:

1. Copies of the marriage certificate issued and of birth certificates of minor children (if any). These documents can be sent by fax (809) 540 8002 or by email w.diaz@wdalaw.com / info@wdalaw.com

(A CERTIFIED COPY SHOULD BE SENT BY COURIER TOGETHER WITH SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT AND POWER OF ATTORNEY)

2. Copy of the passports (or driver’s license; I.D. card, any picture I.D.) of the spouses to verify identity and draft the documents.

3. Complete names and addresses

4. Any decisions made by the parties regarding assets and children custody.

5. First Payment (equal to US$ 550.00)

Drafted documents will be sent by email for the parties to print them out and sign in front of a notary public for further legalization with the APOSTILLE legalization (Convention of the Hague on legalization of documents tha eliminates the need of legalizing documents at Consulates for member countries) For clients of countries not members of the Hague Convention, legalization should be made at nearest Dominican Republic Consulate.

Also, parties may want to go directly to Consulate to sign these documents in front of Dominican consul acting as notary public.

Certified copy of marriage and children birth certificates should also be legalized BY APOSTILLE or directly by Consulate when necessary.

Original, legalized documents should be sent to our office in SANTO DOMINGO with second payment US$550.00 plus US$65.00 per child (if any), we proceed to do corresponding translations, authenticate documents with them with Dominican authorities and finally file them together with petition to court. Hearing day can be granted for the immediate following week and thus, client should be in permanent contact with us to let us know the dates when is possible to travel.

The spouse that is to attend hearing in Santo Domingo will only have to spend 1 night in Dominican Republic and usually will leave the same day right after hearing. A third payment of US$550.00 should be settled by client upon arrival and before attending hearing. US$99.00 fee towards legalization, registration and remittance of decree by UPS or FEDEX will be charged when decree is ready to be sent to client

HEARING DAY: Court hearings start at 9:00 AM; divorce hearings are the first ones to be

called; however, we cannot anticipate the exact time of client’s specific hearing and thus is mandatory for the client to be at 9:00 AM sharp at court. Please be sure to bring to hearing your passport and other piece of identification (social security card, identification id, driver’s license) plus a legible copy of spouse passport or picture I.D. The day of hearing, formal attire is required (office kind attire).

Please contact your travel agent in order to determine documents needed to enter Dominican Republic. Citizens of U.S. and Canada and major European countries do not require of a visa but of a valid passport and a tourist card which can be provided either by your travel agent or at your arrival at the Dominican Airport.

Payments:

1) First payment in the amount of US$550.00 is required in order to start paper work.

2) Second payment US$550.00 with original documents in order to complete legalizations and translations; file petition in court. Please add US$65.00 per child to this payment

3) Third payment of US$550.00 Upon client’s arrival to Santo Domingo.

CREDIT AND DEBIT CARDS ACCEPTED. Payments can also be sent by WIRE TRANSFER to our accounts. Please contact us for details.

HOUSING: There are very good ocean view hotels available near courthouse. We´ll provide you with a list of recommended hotels for all budgets.

Should you need any further information, please do not hesitate to contact us either by email

w.diaz@wdalaw.com / divorce@wdalaw.com or by phone 809 540 8001 / 809 540 5687. We are

willing to serve our clients on a 24/7 basis and will give you feedback as soon as possible.

WENDY DIAZ

Managing Partner

WDA INTERNATIONAL LAW FIRM

http://www.wdalaw.com