International Divorce:

What is international divorce?

International divorce is when a party of marriage wishes to get divorced from a spouse who lives in another country. There are several situations which may prompt for international divorce, and while the mere sound of International divorce may seem daunting, a divorce lawyer South Africa can easily guide and assist in an international divorce situation. South African law makes provision for this by way of Edictal Citation.

The first thing to understand about international divorce, or divorce in general, is that it starts with serving a summons on the person whom you wish to divorce, otherwise known as the defendant. Here is an example of a typical international divorce situation.

A couple were married for five years, but the wife started questioning her husband’s priorities and decided to separate. The two lost touch, swore off marriage, and did not feel the immediate need to divorce. Their immediate interests were severed from the idea of ever remarrying. However, two years later, the wife found the love of her life and wanted to get married. She remembers seeing something on Facebook about her husband moving to Australia and confirms with his brother that he did, in fact, move to Australia for work. The wife and her future new husband-to-be have a big wedding coming up and can’t afford a trip to Australia to serve her husband with a divorce summons. Likewise, the husband just started a new job and does not want to look bad in front of his new employer by asking for leave already. The wife then searches the internet looking for a good divorce lawyer South Africa to provide her with information and assistance. The divorce lawyer South Africa explains to the wife that there are two ways in which to serve her husband with a divorce summons.

• By way of Edictal Citation, which is to serve a summons on a spouse living in another country by an official of the court of that country, in person.
• Serving the divorce summons on a South African address, chosen by the defendant, in terms of Power of Attorney.

These two methods service international divorce situations. When a spouse is not readily available in South Africa, a divorce attorney South Africa will advise and assist in the procedures to legally serve a summons to start the divorce action.

International divorce and divorce law has focus around a few different international divorce situations. For instance, a spouse living in another country wishing to divorce from someone who resides in South Africa can do so. The law makes provisions for this scenario. Further, a married couple who are not South African citizens may also divorce in a South African court, granted they have lived in South Africa for at least one year.

A divorce lawyer South Africa is instrumental in the proceedings of serving a summons on a spouse who lives in another country. International divorce is easily obtainable with the help of a divorce lawyer South Africa, and can proceed with normal procedure. If the divorce is uncontested, only the plaintiff will appear in court and the whole divorce matter can easily be put to rest.

The first thing about starting a divorce action is to serve a summons. This is the tricky part about international divorce. Once the summons was served with the help of a divorce attorney South Africa, the divorce will follow with basic divorce procedure. Depending on how the spouse responds, will determine the proceedings of the case. For instance, if the divorce is contested by the spouse, a contested divorce will follow. In which case, a divorce lawyer South Africa will certainly be required.