Should I Divorce in England and Wales or New York?
If you have connections to both England and Wales and New York, where you divorce can make a big difference.
The two jurisdictions approach some of the biggest questions on divorce very differently – from whether you can start proceedings there in the first place, to what happens to your finances, arrangements for your children and any pre or post-nuptial agreement. In the latest episode of our International Family Law Podcast, David Allison is joined by New York attorney Mudita Chawla of Chemtob Moss Forman & Beyda to explore those differences and what they can mean in practice.
Among the questions they discuss are:
- Where can you get divorced? If proceedings potentially take place in either jurisdiction, how is it decided which jurisdiction should deal with them?
- Does the reason for the divorce matter? The two jurisdictions have taken different routes when it comes to fault and no-fault divorce – and David and Mudita also consider the developing debate around conduct, domestic abuse and coercive control.
- What happens to your money? How do the courts approach assets built up during a marriage, property owned beforehand and wealth that has become mixed over time?
- How is spousal maintenance dealt with? David and Mudita compare two quite different approaches to both the amount and duration of financial support following divorce.
- What happens when you have children? There are significant differences between the role of the court in New York and England and Wales, including whether an order concerning children forms part of the divorce process.
- What about pre-nuptial and post-nuptial agreements? How differently might the same agreement be treated on either side of the Atlantic?
The conversation also highlights some less obvious differences between the two systems – including why the place you married can matter in one jurisdiction but not the other, what happens when two people start divorce proceedings in different countries and how differently the courts can approach assets that one person brought into a marriage.
For anyone whose life, family or finances span England and Wales and New York, understanding these differences before taking action can be important.
Listen to the full episode to hear David and Mudita compare divorce in England and Wales and New York and discuss the issues international couples should be thinking about from the outset.
