International Family Law and Divorce Advice

Getting a divorce? What happens if one of you is living abroad? Where will the divorce proceedings take place?

It is increasingly common these days for the husband or wife or even perhaps both of them to live or have property abroad on some kind of basis. One of the most difficult and challenging areas for the Court is where they have to decide in which country ("jurisdiction") the divorce proceedings should take place. Further, given that the English Court is often seen as favouring the wives of rich husbands, there have been many heavily contested cases where the Court has to decide which jurisdiction is the appropriate one when getting a divorce, where competing proceedings have been issued in separate countries.

Divorce advice from the family law specialists

These cases are never easy. It is vital that informed advice is obtained as soon as possible. There is a real risk of a situation developing where one spouse can "cherry pick" the jurisdiction which they consider would provide them with the best outcome when getting a divorce. In many circumstances, whoever issues a divorce Petition first can decide where the proceedings shall be held. Goodwins Family Law offers expert divorce advice and representation in cases where one or both parties lives abroad.

This firm has acted for parties involved in a number of leading and reported cases in this rapidly evolving area of the law.