Divorce in Ireland – here are 10 things you should know

Here are 10 things you should know about getting a divorce in Ireland:-

1. In order to divorce, you must first be legally married.

2. You must be separated for 4 out of the previous 5 years. The separation can be while you are living in the same house. The requirement is that you are living a separate life and not living as a married couple.

3. Your marriage must have irretrievably broken down – there can be no prospect of a reconciliation between you as a couple in terms of your marital relationship.  While you can’t predict the future, at the time of your divorce, you will need to be able to say that the marriage is over. One spouse is entitled to decide this. Sometimes that aspect of divorce can be extremely difficult for the other spouse to accept if they don’t agree that the marriage is over.  Counselling and support from family and friends can be of benefit in that situation.

4. Divorce feels a bit like a death. You lose your partner and may have restricted access to your children. You will probably no longer have contact with your in-laws who may have formed a big part of your life.

5. Divorce can be positive. Of course there are negative aspects to divorce: the ending of important relationships, the financial cost, maybe having to sell the family home, parenting children as a separated couple, etc., at the same time if you are leaving a toxic relationship it can have huge benefits for you physically and mentally.

6. Financial advice is very important. You may need a new mortgage or to start a pension or to invest part of your spouse’s pension awarded to you on divorce.

7. Family and friends may react in unexpected ways and you will need to be ready with your “story”.

8. You may need to change your Will. Divorce does not invalidate a Will (unlike remarriage), however, you may need to change the provisions that you made in a Will while you were married.

9. Before you get divorced, you should do some planning about where you are going to live, how you are going to live, who is going to take care of the children, who is going to maintain the children and in what proportions.  How are your pensions going to be divided?

10. Take legal advice. Getting advice from an experienced family law solicitor who is conscious of the potential long term consequences for you and your family, early in the process while you are still considering your options, may well be useful to you in the long run. Being able to make informed decisions will help you at this difficult time.

As an experienced family law solicitor I advise clients on a daily basis in relation to the legal issues of relationship breakdown.  I am committed to assisting my client reaching an effective resolution of their particular family law issues.

If you have queries or require advice in relation to the divorce or legal separation process, please do not hesitate to contact me, Teresa O’Sullivan, on 021 4897256 or on email at teresa@douglaslawsolicitors.ie