After the marriage has been dissolved, if the parties have accumulated assets during the course of the marriage, the Court now has to distribute the assets if requested to do so. The Court is asked to decide how the assets would be shared such as the House(s) Car(s) and the Bank account(s)and whom the child(ren) should reside with and whom should have visitation.
It would be best if the parties could work out how the assets, visitation and custody of the children should be dealt with. This is best because the court has little sympathy for either spouse when taking a clinical approach towards separating the assets between the parties fully. This is called the “Clean Break Principle”. With regard to the children the court’s only consideration is what is in the best interest of the child.
The guidelines which the court has to follow when it is called upon to distribute the assets are the income of both parties and if there is potential for either party to get increased income, the financial needs of the parties, the standard of living the parties enjoyed during the marriage, the ages of the parties and length of the marriage, the contributions that each of the parties made to the marriage, the conduct of either party that the court should take into consideration and finally if there was any benefit that one party could have acquired if the marriage had worked out.
Each case is decided on its own facts.
Either party brings property into the marriage
If upon marriage you bring property into the marriage which you owned or inherited, the court does not make it part of the common pool unless the marriage was a lengthy one. The longer the marriage the more the property brought into the marriage becomes the joint property of the parties.
Parties acquire assets but they are put in one spouse’s name
Where the matrimonial home or the vehicle is in one spouse’s name only, upon distribution of the assets the other spouse is entitled to a share in the matrimonial asset notwithstanding.
The House wife
Where the wife is the child rearer and home maker while the husband goes out to work, the law does not distinguish between the two. The law concludes that each in their different spheres contributed to the marriage.
Where both parties work
Some spouses decide how they will contribute to the marriage when both work. One spouse pays the mortgage and utility bills and the other buys the food and provide for the children.
Lengthy marriages
Where one spouse already has all of the assets and the other moves in with nothing but his/her suitcase. If the marriage is a lengthy one then the spouse who moves in acquires a benefit from the same. If the marriage is a short one then the spouse may move out with the suitcase he/she came in with and a lumpsum that is commensurate with the lifestyle acquired during the marriage.
Matrimonial property in joint names.
When the parties own the assets jointly especially the matrimonial home the court concludes that the parties by putting their names jointly on the land paper have already determined how they intended the property should be distributed. Sometimes some spouses share the mortgage payments and depending on their income they make a contribution to the mortgage. For example if the mortgage payment is $3000.00 per month and one spouse pays $2000.00 and the other $1000.00 the court shares the matrimonial home according to how the parties made payments.
Mortgages and ancillary relief
Invariably the matrimonial home is still being paid for at the financial institution. Upon divorce the court may do several things depending on the circumstances of the case. They may order the property sold and after the financial institution is paid off distribute the equity either equally, or distribute the equity in the manner in which the parties were paying for the same i.e. two thirds /one third ($2000/$1000) Where there are children the property may not be sold as the court may determine that in order for there to be stability in the children’s lives, the parties will continue to pay the mortgage until the last child acquires the age of 18 years.
The abovementioned scenarios are not exhaustive. In order to determine how the court would address your factual circumstances, seek assistance from a lawyer who should be able to advise you on how the court would address your given situation.
The law is there it is been sabotaged by lawyers for there clients. the lawyers take your case and then collaborate with the lawyer representing the other party then your case is dismissed without a valid reason. Lawyers work for lawyers speaking from experience.
During the divorce proceedings the court then concerns itself with who broke up the marriage. After the marriage has been dissolved the court has no interest in who did what to whom when they have to distribute the assets accumulated between the parties.
It was time that the law in Dominica got caught up with the rest of the entire world .
It was dam time .
Let all those dirty married men out there, that think they can get away without supporting their wives, when they decided to leave their wives or , abandoned their marriages , think they can getaway free.
No way ! Let them pay for their foolishness madam Judge / mister Judge.
LET THEM PAY < IT WAS TIME TO ENFORCE THE LAW.
Here’s a scenario, a man moves into his intended wife’s home {according to this article, with his suitcase} the woman owed the bank over 100 grans on mortgages being unable to make payments, the man pays the mortgage in full, shortly after they got married, while leaving together, the husband bought and brought things into the house to improve their living standards , low and behold within 7 months of the marriage, the wife kicked her husband out, he returned to his former home with his suitcase. What redress can this man take?
Interesting. Now I know where I stand.
THOSE DAYS WOMEN JUST THROWING MEN OUT OF THERE MATRIMONIAL HOMES,AND THE COURT IS ON THEIR SIDE….BUT ONE DAY A MAN NEEDS TO TAKE HIS STUFF AT THE MAGISTRATES OR JUDGE’S HOME AFTER HE IS THROWN OUT OF HIS HOME.
my only problem is why does this happens over and over and over, a man would work hard a make a way for he and his family and the wife is a taxi and when they husband finally decides to get a divorce the law, the court, the judge, the system gives everything to the woman..
if a man messes up, he should be man enough to get up and walk, but when the woman messes up why she cant go to the men who have been dragging her about.
this really bitters me and the day in divorce and a court have to tell me how to share that would be a day, i am the man of my house and what ever i say should go without contestation.
before a wife pulls two sheets of galvanise she like to bawl she work hard to build house.
i see alot of marriages end in a homicide and a suicide, and trust me i can relate to the pains of the of the initiator of the act.
there need to be relegislation…..
Our family laws need to be updated to keep up with the times. I bet the laws were not revised since they were written.
So my wife and have been married for 15 years and we both make roughly the same income. However we decide that I will pay two thirds of the mortgage, but she pays most of the utility bills and groceries. Is it fair that she get one third f the value of the house because she only paid one third of the mortgage. How is she compensated for the other bills that she paid?
In my particular case, my wife and I maintained a joint chequing from which all our bills are paid, including the mortgage. But there is no way I would accept that she gets less than half of our assets in the event of a dissolution of our marriage. I would not accept less than what I deserved, and I would not want anything less for her. It is only fair considering we had nothing when we got married.
question, What if the couple is not married but have been in a relationship for 13 years with one person the main breadwinner. Can the other be compensated for emotional support throughout theses years?
That’s one reason we have a joint and a personal account each. At the end of the month our paychecks go into the checking account. Bills are paid and the balance is divided into three parts, my personal savings, his personal savings and an our personal savings.
I use mine for whatever is not a need but a want and our personal savings is used when necessary for a need not a want. So it’s up to you how you spend your personal.
If for any reason there is a divorce and you are the one who went out on our union you leave with your personal savings only. Prenuptial people