PROBLEM WITH DIVORCE

[MARIA2010]

I would like to ask briefly what is the rules on Divrce here in Denmark.

Here the story goes...

I was married with a danish man in 2007, and after 21/2 years we was separated. It was January 2010 I first received the separation bevilling. July of 2010 I applied for divorce, but he was not agree. I was being sent back to my home country. And need to wait after 12 months of being separated.. Then time comes, last February 14 2011 I come to Denmark as tourist and filed a divorce to statsforvaltning, but again it was sent to Retten I Århus.

I have a lawyer who handle my case, but the problem is .. I need to travel back to my country after 3 months of being tourist here in DK. I asked my lawyer if they can pursue my case even I am not in Denmark. He replied that I need to be in Denmark in order to process the case? I sent an email to my lawyer and ask, if for example within 3 years I cannot travel to Denmark because I dont have enough means, work to travel back and forth, what will happen to my divorce.. He replied that I will not get my divorce if I am not here in Denmark.

is it true?, thank you hoping to get a positive answer here.

thank again...

[mh1]

In principle it should be possible to get a ruling without being personally present in court, but especially if the plaintiff is not present in divorce cases, the courts are reluctant to rule .

[MARIA2010]

thank you Sir for your answer.

But as a Plaintiff of this case, I just want to maintain the same vilkår given by the statsforvaltning during our separation process.

I think it will be very unfair for me, if I cannot get my divorce because of my absence.

[Psalm12]

Can't you establish residence in your home country and file from there? Is there no chance of reconciliation with your husband?

[mh1]

The thing is that even if you want to have the same conditions (vilkår) for the divorce as for the separation, your husband has a right to claim that they be changed. Each of the parties have this right. Therefore you cannot be certain that your husband will not use this right to cause further problems for you. (I am assuming that there are no children and therefore no custody issues.)

I am also assuming that you might be from the Philippines and therefore cannot get a divorce there, or from another far-eastern country where the rules are much more complicated than the Danish.

I am fairly certain that if you cannot come to the court hearing and the court therefore dismisses your case even though your lawyer is present, you will be able to sue again when you have been separated for 2-3 years, and will then be given divorce without problems. But of course that is a long wait.

[MARIA2010]

Thank you Sirs for your replies.

@Psalm, it is very expensive to file an anulment in my country, it cost more than 20.000kr and I dont have a such amount.

@mh My x husband is asking me to pay the "hustrubidrag" ... I was sent back to my country, No job, could the court grant that request?

I have a boyfriend and we want to get married, but because of this problem, we cant do it .

Could you please give me an advice how can I stay in DK with my danish boyfriend even I am not yet divorce..what about applying as "cohabiting partner/samlever"?

thanks again.

[mh1]

The first and foremost condition for granting alimony (ægtefællebidrag) is that the claimant does not and has never had any job or independent income. Also the marriage must have been longterm. The shorter the marriage, the lesser the possibility for getting alimony. It is highly unusual that the courts grant alimony where the marriage has lasted less than 3 years.

Next condition is that the other spouse must possess the means to pay alimony. Your income would have to be considerably higher than his, both during your marriage and now. If you do not have any income, there is no risk whatsoever that your husband will get even 1 kr. in alimony. But you would need to be able to prove it somehow, i.e. tax declaration. Depending on how your situation was during your marriage - whether you had a job in Denmark, and how big your income was - it may be sufficient to show your tax declaration from Denmark. If you had an income that was the same or less than your husband's he will not get any alimony.

As of now there is no possibility for you to join your Danish boyfriend in Denmark, except for holiday. If you two want to establish cohabitation in Europe, you may advice him to read the info in this forum under 'Jeg vil ...' - 'Flytte til Sverige/EUland'. If he has the possibility to move to Sweden you may apply under the Swedish rules as 'lovers'. You just need to prove that you have a real relationship.

You can only use the EU rules, if you are married or can prove cohabitation for about 18 months immediately before the move to Sweden (or another EU country).

[MARIA2010]

Sir, thank you very much for your wonderful response. I really appreciate it. I now understand the consequences of being a plaintiff here in DK.

Moving to sweden is also one of our options, and move to back to DK after 3 months. my Queries is. My boyfriend owned a house..

1. If we try to sell it, and no one bought it after 3 months, can we move back to the same house?

2. If somebody bought the house, and we plan to move to Dk after 3 months, can we move or stay to my "svigermors house" and how long?

Thank you again...

[Henrik S]

Hi Maria

I think you did not fully understand mh's answer: You can not use the EU rules as your case stands right now, and that means you can not get by with just 3 months in Sweden.

To use EU rules, you must either be married (that means, your divorce must be completed), or you must have been living together for 18 months.

What mh aimed at, was using the Swedish rules, which are more lenient in letting you and your boyfriend declare yourselves as a couple.

You will then need to stay in Sweden, until you can live up to one of the two above mentioned conditions.

[MARIA2010]

Sir Henrik, thanks for your answer..

Our situation is...

1. We lived together from November 12, 2009-November 8, 2010. - ca 12 months

2. I come to Denmark and live for 3 months-total of 15 months

So we only need 3 more months to comply with the 18 months requirements, without even getting married...


I hope I understood now...

thanks again..

[Henrik S]

Ok, I understand.

The problem is, it is not certain that that is enough.
As I understand it, you normally have to have been living together for 18 consecutive months, to comply with the EU-rules.
I am not sure the danish authorities will allow you to "add up" as you are doing there.

You will have to test it, and that you can do by transferring to Sweden, using the Swedish rules, and then apply for danish EU residence card from there before you move back.

But if I was you, I would prepare myself for a prolonged stay in Sweden.

On the other hand, while living in Sweden you would be able to attend court hearings in Denmark, so maybe your divorce can be settled in the same period.

[skaanebo]

Please note tempoary stays and visits for up to 90 days (as a tourist) won't count as cohabiting. Cohabiting means you share the same address and are legally registered there or can show other proof such as your name being on the contract for the house or the apartment. When that is said Sweden has been known to have a more lenient interpretation than Denmark in this regard but in any case you will need to apply under national Swedish laws to get a residence permit there and then after a while in Sweden you may consider applying for a Danish residence card while you are still living in Sweden. That way will be the safest option.

[MARIA2010]

Sirs,

thank you for the replies.

A long wait is really disgusting. But Im still hoping that my xhusband will let me go in order for me to continue my life here in Denmark with my boyfriend.

[MARIA2010]

Hello everyone....

After a long wait....MY DIVORCE IS GRANTED (VED DOM) but with 8 weeks ankefrist......but according to my lawyer, No reason that my xhusband will complain

But still...long wait is over...

Thank you very much to all who never give up giving advice to the needy.

[mh1]

Congratulations - and no, your x-husband will probably not bother you anymore, it will be money out of the window for him