Expert: Equality in Marriage Institute - 4/10/2005

Question
HI IīM BRAZILIAN AND LIVED IN CALIFORNIA FOR 6 YEARS AS A STUDENT, I GOT MARRIED IN NEVADA NOW IīVE BEEN LIVING IN BRAZIL FOR ALMOST 2 YEARS AND I WANT TO GET A DIVORCE, I TRIED DO CONTACT MY HUSBAND BUT DIDNīT GET ANY RESPONSE(SEEMS THAT HE WILL NOT DO THE DIVORCE HE NEVER HAS MONEY, HE CLAIMS), WE LIVED TOGHETER FOR 8 MONTHS AND THEN WE LIVED APART SINCE THEN, I REALLY NEED TO GET A QUICK DIVORCE, IīM LOOKING IN THE INTERNET BUT SOME REQUIRES TRAVEL TO DOMINICAN REPUBLIC OR HAITI, I WOULD LIKE TO FILE MYSELF TROUGHT FAX BUT SEEMS THAT I HAVE TO BE LIVING IN CALIFONIA LAST 6 MONTHS, I HAVE A FRIEND THAT LIVES THERE MAYBE SHE CAN FILE FOR ME AND I CAN SIGN HERE SEND TO HER AND SHE CAN FAX TO THE COURT FOR ME? WHAT SHOULD I DO? I REALLY NEED HELP AND LAWYERS ARE EXPENSIVE I CANīT AFFORD THEM, PLEASE HEPL ME!!!! MORE INFORMATION WE GOT MARRIED IN OCTOBER 2002, LIVED TOGHETER ONLY 8 MONTHS. I CAME BACK TO LIVE IN BRAZIL IN NOV/2003.

Answer
Dear Magda,

As I am not a legal professional I cannot give you a specifc answer, however, I think that following may be helpful.

This is a link from the US Embassy in Brazil http://www.embaixada-americana.org.br/index.php?action=materia&id=1942&submenu=7... they cover how to obtain a divorce in Brazil and in the US.

This info is directly from divorcesouirce.com, on divorcing in California:SIMPLIFIED OR SPECIAL DISSOLUTION OF MARRIAGE PROCEDURES: A marriage of 5 years or less may be dissolved by summary action. A Joint Petition for Summary Dissolution of Marriage may be filed if: (1) either spouse has met the residency requirement for a standard dissolution of marriage; (2) there is an irremediable breakdown of the marriage due to irreconcilable differences; (3) there are no children born of or adopted during the marriage; (4) the wife is not pregnant; (5) neither spouse owns any real estate; (6) there are no unpaid debts exceeding $4,000 incurred during the marriage; (7) the total value of the community property (including any deferred compensation or retirement plans but excluding cars and loans) is less than $25,000; (8) neither spouse has separate property (excluding cars and loans) exceeding $25,000 in value [On January 1 of every odd-numbered year beginning in 1993, the dollar amounts in this section may be revised]; (9) the spouses have signed an agreement regarding the division of their assets and the assumption of their liabilities and have signed any documents or given proof of any transfers necessary to effectuate the agreement; (10) the spouses waive any rights to spousal support [maintenance]; (11) the spouses waive their right to appeal the dissolution of marriage and their right to a new trial upon entry of the final dissolution of Marriage judgement; (12) the spouses have read and understand the summary dissolution of marriage brochure available from the county clerk; and (13) both spouses desire that the marriage be dissolved. Official mandatory and optional forms for filing for a Summary Dissolution of Marriage are available from the County Clerk of any county. [Annotated California Code; Sections 2400 and 2401, and Judicial Council Forms].

Note that it states that EITHER spouse has met residency requirements- so that means you don't have to live there because HE DOES. If you met all of the other requirements it would appear you could obtain a divorce fairly quickly.

You may also want to visit this link http://www.divorcesource.com/CA/info/lpfaq.shtml for more information.

I know that lawyers are expensive, however, it may be worth your while to at least have one meeting with an attorney to see if it's better to file in CA or Brazil.

I'm sorry I couldn't be more helpful.