Where do international couples get divorced?

[TPDH]

Hey

 

I'm Norwegian, my wife is Thai and we got married in the US during a holiday trip. We're now planning on registering our marriage in Thailand (Kror Ror 22) so that I can get my 1 year visa extension as we will now live in Thailand. The only assets I have is cash saved in all three countries and I keep saving even during our marriage. I do also own a US company, but that company was founded before we got married.  I'm not a Thai citizen nor a Thai permanent resident. In case of divorce, in which country should we get divorced? Thailand, Norway or the US?

 

If we for example get divorced in Thailand, could she then get part of my assets in the US and Norway or does she have to go to court in both those countries to get the assets that I have in that country? 

 

Thanks. 

Edited December 1, 2020 by TPDH

[Woofer]

I would say you can only get a divorce in the country you are married in. In this case the US. Any settlements would be according to the US courts.

[khunjeff]

I'll refrain from commenting about the fact that you're already thinking about divorce immediately after getting married... ????

 

Normally you would get divorced in the place where you reside, regardless of where you got married (though some places might make that difficult, saying "we don't know how to deal with foreigners" or "we don't deal with people of your religion", etc). 

 

In terms of property settlements, authorities in some countries are happy to issue orders that cover everything worldwide, while others limit themselves to the property in the country where the divorce takes place. Even in the former case, though, getting a foreign court order enforced in another venue is likely to be time-consuming and complicated, and may or may not be successful.

 

If you are really worried about protecting your property in case of divorce, you should really consult attorneys in both the US and Thailand rather than relying on TVF!

[Preacher]

You get divorced in the country you live in. If both living in Thailand that would be Thailand, but you would be advised to after the divorce register the divorce in other countries you are listed as married. As people checking the marriage register in those countries can presume you would still be married, with all legal (= financial) consequences. 

[EvetsKram]

You get divorced where you were married.  There is no onus upon any country to inform others so USA would have no knowledge of it.  It's why here & most other places want proof that you are free to marry from home country

[Sterling]

You get divorced in the country you both reside in. If the divorce is contentious, I've heard of the husband or wife picking up and moving to try to establish residency of a jurisdiction they will consider "friendlier" with regards to alimony, child support, etc.

 

If you both agree to the divorce and can agree to the terms of who gets what, Guam is a popular divorce destination as it only requires 7 days of "residency" to file for divorce there.

I have a friend who talked with a lawyer in Guam beforehand to schedule everything and he flew there, met with the lawyer the next day (day 1) to sign paperwork, then spent the next 6 days on vacation there. On day 8, the lawyer filed the paperwork and he was able to leave. Divorce granted a short time later.

[AgMech Cowboy]

47 minutes ago, EvetsKram said:

You get divorced where you were married.  There is no onus upon any country to inform others so USA would have no knowledge of it.  It's why here & most other places want proof that you are free to marry from home country

Wrong! The divorce is done in the Country of residence.

 

Despite not being a 'permanent' resident of Thailand, if you are living here (normally a criteria for the amount of time) then you divorce here. You must register the US marriage at the Amphoe (aka Amphur), then you can file for divorce. 

 

Maybe in Nevada you might be able to get a divorce without any residency criteria, but not in most states. Note: if you reside in the US and have no contact with your wife, I think, after a period of time, you can file for divorce. (I think)

 

If you leave your wife, after a period of time, she can go through the process to get a divorce.

[AgMech Cowboy]

13 minutes ago, Sterling said:

Guam is a popular divorce destination as it only requires 7 days of "residency" to file for divorce there.

Thank you for this info. I didn't know about this.

[khunPer]

22 hours ago, TPDH said:

If we for example get divorced in Thailand, could she then get part of my assets in the US and Norway or does she have to go to court in both those countries to get the assets that I have in that country? 

To my knowledge assets would follow local laws for each country where the assets are, just like inheritance. If you for example get divorced in Thailand, following Thai law, that law will not automatically be effective in US, only US law applies there. However you ex-wife can sue you in a US court for her potantial share of assets in US, and even try to claim her rights after foreign law, but it's up to the judge to consider if it's fair or not.

 

I.e. if no prenuptial has been made, any assets acquired prior to a marriage is separate property according to Thai law, but if it's considered common property in for example US, your ex wife might consider a court case in the US for her part of the assets there, using claim that the marriage took place in US.

 

It's always advisable to make a prenuptial – at least to specify any details – especially when there are assets in two or several countries. Also advisable to make a will for assets in each country.

[Letseng]

14 hours ago, EvetsKram said:

You get divorced where you were married.  There is no onus upon any country to inform others so USA would have no knowledge of it.  It's why here & most other places want proof that you are free to marry from home country

I doubt this is correct as it is often not possible to return to the country you got married. I got married in Libya.

[gamini]

On 12/2/2020 at 12:05 PM, EvetsKram said:

You get divorced where you were married.  There is no onus upon any country to inform others so USA would have no knowledge of it.  It's why here & most other places want proof that you are free to marry from home country

 

[gamini]

Some of the posts here are not correct.I got married in Sweden to a Swedish lady and we got divorced in Sri Lanka. My second wife also Swedish I got married in Sri Lanka and got my divorce in Singapore. I married my third wife, Italian, in Sri Lanka and got divorced in Singapore. I'm pretty sure you can get a divorce in the country which you are residing in. I Iuggest you simply go to a Thai lawyer

[Pilotman]

On 12/2/2020 at 12:05 PM, EvetsKram said:

You get divorced where you were married.  There is no onus upon any country to inform others so USA would have no knowledge of it.  It's why here & most other places want proof that you are free to marry from home country

not strictly true,  you can also divorce in the country where you hold citizenship, regardless of where you married.