11:39am Wednesday 10th March 2010
By Harjit Sarang
Divorce and separation legal rights in England apply regardless of your ethnicity and regardless of where your marriage took place. Providing that your marriage ceremony abroad was conducted legally and is recognised as a valid marriage in that country, it is legally recognised in this country. You are therefore, entitled to the same legal rights as though your marriage took place in this country.
Your ethnicity alone does not impact upon how the laws of England apply to you. The Asian aspects of divorce to which I refer, are issues surrounding culture and lifestyle that the court will take into consideration when making any judgement. These are issues that a solicitor will also take into consideration when acting for you in divorce or separation. Issues such as wedding expenses, dowry systems and extended family living arrangements.
Perhaps not so commonplace now but certainly traditionally, the wife’s family would pay a lump sum for a dowry before the wedding in addition to funding the wedding expenses. There is no legal right to the return of a dowry should the marriage break down, no rights to force the payments of an unpaid dowry and no right to a ‘refund’ of the wedding expenses. However, a good divorce solicitor may be able to negotiate an out of court settlement taking these factors into consideration.
A good family law solicitor may also find a way in which to incorporate the dowry and wedding expenses into the equation when the court decides how the pot is to be divided. For example, the dowry given to the husband will form part of the matrimonial pot.
Extended family living is very common in the Asian community. The matrimonial home may be a family home for the married couple in addition to siblings and parents. What rights does the leaving spouse have to this home? In particular, if either husband or wife has contributed financially towards this matrimonial home, do they therefore have a financial interest in it. The solicitor may try to negotiate the value of that interest. There is often land and property abroad that has been or will soon be inherited, this is all part of the equation and should form part of the negotiations.
Often parents will provide a home as a gift for the son but the registered owners remain the parents. Providing that this is the main home of the husband and wife, it is a relevant asset that one may have a claim to. Does the main provider routinely hand over wages to an older member of the family? This is relevant in terms of spousal / child maintenance.
A sad reality is that as a result of cultural and family influence, asian ladies are often forced to leave young children behind with the husband and his family. The reason for this is because they are convinced by the family that they are more eligible for a second marriage without children. A lot of support is required to reassure them that they can manage their lives as single, divorced ladies with children. Support sites such as OnlyMums.org are invaluable.
No two cases are the same. When it comes to legal advice, it really is best to talk and allow a good family law solicitor to support you through the whole divorce and separation process with a bespoke service.
Best regards, Harjit Sarang
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