Divorce – Essential Facts

Requirements of a valid marriage

The law in Australia with provides that in order to be validly married you must meet a number of requirements, some of which will be considered.

The marriage must be monogamous union – that is you cannot be married to more than one person at the same time. (If you are then you may have committed the offence of bigamy, which is a prosecutable offence).

The marriage must be a heterosexual union – which means the marriage must be between a male and a female.

The marriage must be a union for life – you must marry with the intention of spending your rest of your life with that person.

The marriage must be a voluntary union – you have not been forced into the marriage and have married of your own will and accord.

Requirements for a divorce

Unfortunately, there are many situations whereby a husband and wife after living together for some time, decide that they no longer wish to be married to that person and seek to have marriage legally nullified i.e. divorced.

Some of the requirements for a husband or wife to obtain a divorce are dealt with in this article. The first is whether or not you been married for more than two (2) years? The law requires that if you have not been married for a period of more than two years than you may need to seek professionally counselling with your spouse, before you can legally apply for a divorce. Although, there may sometimes be exceptions to this requirement.

The Court must be satisfied that you and your partner have been separated for a period of twelve (12) months or more (this may be so, even if you have been living under the same roof). It is important that you seek professional legal advice to ensure that you meet this requirement.

You must be an Australian citizen and/or have a current and valid Australian visa and lived in Australia for a period of 12 months or more.

If you wish to obtain a divorce or are not sure if you are allowed to get married then contact our office for an obligation free consultation.