does my mate need a divorce or not?

rogerramjett

i dont think so!? heres the story, he got married in 2004 in the dominican republic to his long term gf until the split in 2006 that involved selling the house, though they never registered the marraige and destroyed the certificate recieved in the dominican, it was never mentioned when selling the house, house was sold 50/50 and everyone moved on, she went to oz, he stayed here.

they remain friendly and they both have serious relationships at present, he met a korean student studying here in early 2007 and they moved in together, going to and from korea for visits together, the lot, she wants to remain here without having to get a student visa and work full time, she is aware of the situation at hand, and they would like to get married, as they seem very happy together, well the question is can he marry here without getting a divorce? (since the government dont know he is married?)

any thoughts greatly appriciated, cheers in advance

rogerramjett

bumpage:o

Rhonda9000

Here are some general principles arising:

Lex loci celebrationis means that Ireland recognizes a marriage conducted abroad once it has complied with the law of the place where it was celebrated. Conlon v. Mohamed [1987] ILRM 172 is a case where this cropped up.

Under the Civil Registration Act 2004, there is an impediment to a marriage if inter alia one or both of the parties to the marriage are already married. Under the same act, persons intending to marry must sign a declaration saying that there is no impediment to the marriage at the Registrars office.

The result of a divorce is that there is no valid subsisting marriage and the spouses are free to remarry. A person is granted a divorce once they meet all three criteria from s.5 of the Divorce Act 1996.
1) spouses must have lived apart for at least 4 of the previous 5 years
2) no reasonable prospect of reconciliation,
3) proper provision has been made.

Under the Offences Against the Person Act 1861, bigamy is committed where a person who has married previously, has not since been legally divorced, and who goes through a legally recognised ceremony of marriage with another person while the original spouse is still living.

Tom Young

This post/thread has been reported twice as it's close or in breach to the rules of the Charter.

I am not closing it right now, but OP be aware no advice.

Tom

Our man in Havana

How do foreign divorces fit in with that? Many states do not have such onerous requirements.

dats_right

rogerramjett wrote: »

well the question is can he marry here without getting a divorce? (since the government dont know he is married?)

If your friend is legally married in another jurisdiction then he cannot lawfully marry in this jurisdiction and any purported marriage would therefore be invalid. Your friend would also run the risk of committing a criminal offence viz bigamy.

Your friend may take the view that the authorities are very unlikely to find out of his previous marriage and that may well be the case but that doesn't detract from the above and even if your friend doesn't particularly mind breaking the law; he should consider the possibility, whilst his existing wife isn't making an issue of the marriage now, what if what if he were to say win the lotto say or make a few quid or if she fell on hard times herself or whatever that may change her mind and she might then decide to make an issue of it and would be well within her right to seek a divorce and financial compensation/maintenance. Also what happens if your friend died? Notwithstanding anything contained in the Will the wife could bring a claim against his estate and may be entitled to significant amounts of money.

Have your friend talk to a solicitor and discuss the matters fully. I've only touched on some of the very, very, very many complications and problems that your friend would be creating for himself if he just ignored his existing marriage and pretended it never happened.

Victor

rogerramjett wrote: »

he got married in 2004 in the dominican republic

Was this legal?

Our man in Havana

Provided he complied with the laws of the Dominican Republic. Ireland seems to have a habit of recognising foreign marriages.

Tom Young

Before I am asked, this post was reported again, per my above note. I did leave this open. Then we have another thread started with a very similar apparently hypothetical vein or issue - Thread closed. See a solicitor or a FLAC centre if you can't afford direct legal advice.

Sorry.

Tom