*Must* a divorce be based on IE law? (German & Chinese, married in DE, living in IE)

petrrr

Hello,

my girlfriend (Chinese) and I (German) plan to marry, and we would prefer to marry in Germany based on German law. We would prefer that in case of a divorce, German law should apply, too. However, we both live and work in Ireland (since around 2 years) and probably will stay here for many years more (maybe forever). Consequently, we certainly want our marriage to be recognised in Ireland.

So, I wonder, even if she and I agree about all this right now, and make a corresponding marriage contract in Germany -- does this go along with Irish law? Or, could it be that in case of a divorce, a) the divorce would not be recognized in Ireland, i.e we would have (additionally) to do the divorce by Irish law or b) could it happen that my wife changes her mind and "forces" a divorce by Irish laws, even though we agreed otherwise before?

More specifically: In Germany, it is possible to make a contract that specifies that in case of a divorce, no financial support must be paid to the (ex-) wife/husband, and everyone keeps the money he/she has earned in the past (i.e. money and other property would not be divided 50:50). In addition, a divorce in Germany is done much easier and faster than in Ireland.

Best,
Petr

MaudL

Regardless of where you get married, you can only file for divorce in the country where you are a habitual resident, so if you wanted German courts to handle it you would have to move back there for the amount of time they consider habitual residency to be (often it's 6 months).

As for a German contract being upheld by an Irish court, you would have to ask an Irish solicitor about that.

petrrr

Thank you, that information helps. Anyone else who has some advice?

Caranica

My friend and his wife (both Australian living in Ireland) went through divorce in Australia because it was faster, cheaper and they could do it sooner. Ffwd to when he and his fiancee went to fill in the paperwork to get married. Registrar said the Australian divorce was not valid as they were both habitually resident in Ireland. Cue much panic and a significantly postponed wedding until he could get an Irish divorce.

MissShihTzu

If you marry in the EU, the marriage is automatically recognised in the the Irish State. If you divorce in the EU (Let's hope not, but still), then that divorce would be recognised here too. I'm British, married to an Irish man, but we married here. But if we divorced, then it would be easier to do it in the UK as that would be recognised here.

Your best bet is to speak to the German embassy and take advice from a family law solicitor here.

Hope this helps.