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Divorce Question
I have been separated from my spouse for 4 years? We were living in Belgium at the time and my spouse started divorce proceedings in A Belgian court but did not pay the lawyer and the case has been left in limbo. I am now in the UK and have attempted to pursue divorce proceedings here, only to be told that as the case is extant in a Belgian court, I cannot therefore continue unless I am prepared to pay a vast sum of money to a barrister who is an expert in EU law (which I simply am unable to do). My question is does anyone know if, as in the UK, a couple who have been separated for a specified number of years are entitled to a divorce on those grounds in Belgium? I would be so grateful for any advice.
The simple answer is that in Belgium, so long as the two partners agree, you can get divorced for whatever reason you like. There are no real conditions attached to divorce, apart from the fact that the two parties agree to the terms and conditions of the divorce. You don't need a lawyer, and you certainly don't need a UK barrister. What you need to do is contact a notaire in Belgium who will be able to tell you exactly what you need to do. They should only charge you when the divorce is actually completed. The above assumes that the two parties agree on the conditions of the divorce, such as financial terms, and the custody of any children. The process is actually incredibly simple. If you can read French, there is an excellent discussion of the whole thing here: www.notaire.be/divorce-separation/
I assume that there's an equivalent in Dutch somewhere as well.
If the two parties don't agree on everything, then it's not going to matter whether 4 years separation is grounds for divorce, as whatever happens, it's going to be a long, expensive and very painful process.
