Divorce in Latin America

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Latin America is a part of South America. It includes various countries like Chile, Brazil, Ecuador, Argentina, etc. It is said to be famous for the lower dissolution rates when compared to U.S and other countries. The laws for divorce in Latin America differ from that of state laws in the U.S. The catholic influence on the people can be the reason for the low dissolution rates.

Every country in Latin America has a separate set of rules and regulations regarding marital dissolution. The laws and requirements in two countries have been explained below:

Divorce in Latin America - Argentina

• The rules about separation and marriage are stated in the civil law of the country.
• The concept of prenuptial agreement does not exist in this nation. The court regards any such agreement as invalid and disregards it.
• Till 1987, remarriages were not allowed in this country. But, a legal amendment in 1987 permitted second marriage after a court procedure gets finished.
• After marriage, both the partners share all assets earned by the partners during the married life. During court proceedings, these assets are distributed in a 50:50 ratio between both spouses. Any property that belonged to a person prior to marriage is allocated completely to that person.
• Argentina law approves at-fault c on few valid grounds. Generally, the financial support is ordered by the court in such cases to the party who has suffered due to marital fault.
• No-fault cases are allowed after one year of mandatory separation of the partners.

Divorce in Latin America - Peru

Divorce laws in Peru have been designed specially to avoid the injustice to women in marriages. The amended law in 2008 allows a rapid procedure to a couple which is mutual separation for two years. The marriage is binding on two parties until it is terminated by a legal process. Here are some aspects of divorce laws in this country:

• If one spouse does not undergo the termination of first marriage and remarries, such a spouse is charged with bigamy and this case is regarded as a crime.
• If one of the spouses have some debts, they can be repaid using the goods of the other spouse.
• When one spouse dies, the other spouse is regarded as the heir to the dead spouse. If the dead spouse has another partner and they have been together for a considerable period, still the other party is not granted any benefit. All the objects that the couple has attained belong to both spouses. Some exceptions have been mentioned by law no. 27495.

Brazilian Divorce Laws regarding U.S. Citizens

Some spouses prefer to have a divorce under family laws of Brazil, even if they are married in U.S. There are some important points to note about such type of cases:

• Let us assume that a decree has been issued in Brazil. If the following two conditions are fulfilled, the United States generally recognizes this decree:
  • One of the spouses was residing in Brazil during the procedure
  • Both the spouses seeking separation were given sufficient notice, i.e., service of process.
• The requirements, procedures and fees in Brazil are subject to modification. So, a person desirous of dissolution should procure the latest information from the Brazilian Civil Registry office.
• If a marriage has been completed in Brazil and this couple have been granted a legal separation in the US, then such a divorce is acknowledged in Brazil, if the following conditions are fulfilled:
  • The decision has been endorsed by the Brazilian Supreme Court.
  • One or both spouses are Brazilian.
• The Brazilian government demands that the marriage in the US must be registered by a Brazilian Consulate in the US. This is a primary requirement to get legal termination in Brazil.

Thus, these are the divorce laws in some of the countries in Latin America. The divorces in Latin America can be analyzed on various parameters. Following is the age-wise statistics for your reference.:

Some Latin American Divorce Statistics

In 2002, about 35,000 individuals in Latin America were surveyed. Out of these, 3.3 percent declared that they were divorced (i.e. formal annulment) while 4.9 percent revealed that they have not applied for legal termination of marriage but are separated.

The following table indicates the percentage of divorced individuals in the above survey.

These are some of the facts and figures of the divorce in Lain America that are explained in the most elaborate manner.

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