Divorce is not always the answer, but it is the way out of what can be a stormy experience.
You may be wondering, where did your dreams go? What became of that person you thought you once knew? Those are valid questions anyone asks themselves when it comes to facing the end of a marriage.
But the problem can become even more complex when there are children or assets involved, or when only one of the spouses is the one who supports the home. Often in Peru, it is the woman who once married must abandon her own professional development to take care of the children and the household.
If you find yourself in this situation, the following tips may be of help:
There are two ways to seek a divorce in Peru, depending on the ability of both spouses to reach an agreement on their separation. In either way, the aim is to reach an understanding on the rights each spouse will retain regarding the assets, the children, and any allowances to be paid by either spouse to the other family members. It is important to note that a couple can only get divorced after 2 years the marriage was held.
Divorce with agreement:
This is the simplest and quickest way to settle a divorce in a matter of days. It usually starts with a brief negotiation between the spouses (and their lawyers) which is finalised in a Centro de Conciliación (mediation center). The agreement has legal merit and is enforceable by any Court. Following this Conciliación, spouses must bring the Acta de Conciliación to a notary, where other two documents related to the assets and the liquidation of common law will be signed before entering a final request for divorce.
Divorce without agreements
Divorce without agreements occurs when there is no way to reach an understanding between the spouses or when circumstances prevent both spouses from appearing together to request it. This request can only be made before a Family Judge and for reasons duly established by law. These grounds are: - Adultery
- Physical or psychological violence
- Attempt on the life of the spouse
- Serious injury that makes life together unbearable
- Unjustified abandonment of the marital home
- Disgraceful behavior that makes life together unbearable
- Drug addiction
- Serious sexually transmitted disease
- Homosexuality discovered after marriage
- Judicial conviction for crime
- Impossibility of living together
- De facto separation of the spouses
In these cases, a judicial process is initiated against the other spouse who must also appear before the Judge, who, given the impossibility for the spouses to establish agreements on the issues above indicated on their own, resolves them in court. In case the other spouse is absent or does not answer to the suit, the Judge, prior notification through the established legal channels, will resolve according to their discretion.
Regardless of the channel through which you divorce, it is always advisable to have a Quest lawyer who fully advises you.
