Making It Legal: When to apply for a divorce
When your marriage comes to an end in divorce, it can be a difficult and emotional time. However, you are still required to go through the legal processes of the divorce until it is finalized. This requires some guidance, which is why you should retain a lawyer as soon as you can once you decide to end your marriage.
The first step to getting a divorce is making a divorce application. However, before you can make a legally valid divorce application, there are certain conditions that you must satisfy:
Your marriage must have broken down completely
You must conclusively show that there is no chance of reconciliation. This qualification is usually ascertained by how long you have been separated, whether cumulatively or continuously.
If you are separated but still living the same house, you must satisfactorily show that your relationship has reduced to merely sharing accommodation and no longer has the dynamics of a marriage.
The court usually takes an applicant swearing to the separation as sufficient proof.
You must have been separated for at least a year
This twelve-month period could be a continuous one, or a cumulative total of the times you have been apart. If it is the latter, then the reconciliations in between the separations should not have exceeded three months, otherwise the separation time would not be valid.
You must have been an Australian resident for at least a year
This applies to a marriage where one partner is not an Australian citizen. If the non-Australian citizen is the one filing for divorce, he/she must show proof of having lived in the country for at least a year before being eligible to file for divorce.
You must have proper arrangements made for the welfare of the children and/or yourself
It is advisable that these arrangements be made during the separation period or as soon as you decide to end the marriage. You should retain an experienced family lawyer to get you through the separation process and advise you on what to expect with regard to the financial welfare of your children.
In case you haven't yet made formal arrangements, if you can show that during the divorce process the children are still cared and provided for, the court may consider your divorce application while you make those formal arrangements.
If you don't have any children, you still need to legally settle the financial arrangements with your spouse. It is important to handle this before the divorce is final to protect your assets and ensure that you get what is rightfully yours.
Having satisfied these conditions, you are set to make your divorce application. It is important to retain a lawyer from a company like Walker Pender Group to help you navigate through the legality of the divorce process.