Grounds for a Divorce
In Trinidad and Tobago, there is only one ground for divorce: the irretrievable breakdown of the marriage. There are five facts that you can use to show irretrievable breakdown:
- Adultery
- Desertion
- Unreasonable behaviour
- Two years’ separation with consent
- Five years’ separation (no consent needed)
As a general rule, the court will not grant a divorce for marriages less than one year old. However, if you can show severe hardship, the court will consider it.
The Documents
To start a divorce, you need to file various documents. The main document is the petition. Your petition contains:
- details of your marriage;
- the children of the family (if any);
- any other court proceedings about the marriage;
- any agreements for child maintenance, alimony or property settlement;
- a statement that the marriage has broken down irretrievably;
- the fact proving the breakdown of the marriage; and
- the particulars you are relying on showing that fact.
In addition to the petition, you must file a statement of arrangement for all children of the family. There, you tell the court all the details about those children for e.g. their living arrangements and financial needs.
The Hearing
At the hearing, the court goes through all the documents you filed. If the court is satisfied that the marriage has broken down irretrievably, it will grant a ‘decree nisi’, provisionally dissolving the marriage. However, you aren’t divorced yet – the decree nisi is only made absolute six (6) weeks after the hearing.
Apart from the decree nisi, the court may make other declarations. If there are children, the court makes a ‘section 47’ declaration. This declaration deems those children as ‘children of the family’. When the court makes this declaration, you must show the court that the the arrangements in place for those children are satisfactory. If the court is not satisfied, it will not make a decree nisi absolute.
Other than the divorce
Sometimes you may have other issues that need to be dealt with such a property settlement or custody. The court normally deals with these ancillary issues in other hearings. If the matters relate to custody or child maintenance, then you will not get your decree absolute until they are resolved.
Disclaimer: None of our articles propose to give legal advice. If you have a legal issue, you should seek advice from a qualified attorney. A particular outcome can never be guaranteed – each case turns on its own facts.