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.