Divorce

Divorce is a process where a marriage is ended in the eyes of the law; after a couple divorces, they are no longer married. When a divorce happens, the couple must do many things, like decide who gets to care for the child or who owns certain things.

There are many reasons why a couple may divorce one another. One of the married people may have had sex with someone who wasn't their partner, the two married people don't like each other, or there is domestic violence between the married people.

Divorce is different from annulment. In annulment, the couple is said to not have been married in the eyes of the law. In divorce, the couple was married, but isn't anymore.

Methods of divorce

The laws are different in every country, but usually there are two ways reasons for a divorce in law: because of a bad act by one person and divorce with no bad act. In some countries it is important who did the bad act. This may have an effect on decisions about the money and property of the two people. Normally a divorce comes in force some time after the decision of approval.

Divorce with no bad doing

Under this system, divorce is possible with no argument about a bad act by one of the married people. In some countries it is enough to make a statement that the relation is broken and it is not possible for it to be fixed. This is true in the United States for example. It is not necessary to say that one of the married people was responsible. The system lets two married people make a request together or only one.

Divorce with facts in support of a bad deed by one person

In most systems of law it is necessary to give facts about a bad act by one married person to get a divorce. The person may give arguments against the decision. Examples of this sort of reason for a divorce are:

One person did violent or unsafe acts against the other person or their sons or daughters
addiction (where the person is dependent on a substance)
crimes or support for crimes by other people
the other person was untrue
the other person got married a second time
the other person went far from the family with no reason

Different ways of getting a divorce

Quick divorce

In some systems it is possible to get a quick divorce with simple rules. The important questions then are:

Were they married for a short time? (normally less than 5 years)
Do they have sons or daughters? If yes, is there an agreement about who is responsible for them?
Do the people have a house or land?
Does their common property have a low value in money?
Does the separate property of the two persons have a low value?

Divorce with no argument

About 95% of divorces in the United States are without argument because the two people are able to come to an agreement about the property, their sons and daughters, and other questions. The agreement may be made with the help of lawyers (experts on laws).

In some countries, there are special systems which give help to people. For example, they are able to go a hearing with a judge but no lawyers. Lawyers may have discussions with the people to make an agreement. In some systems, an expert with experience of divorces makes decisions in place of a judge. In Russia two people are able to get a divorce in the office where the government keeps records of births marriages and deaths. One person or the two married persons make the request and it will be given if:

they are in agreement about the divorce; and
they do not have sons or daughters less than 18 years old.

Then, the office will give knowledge of the request to the other person. After this time, the other person has one month to make an argument in writing against the request. Then the office will put a stop to the request.

Impacts

A divorce can be very stressful; some people become depressed or sad after a divorce. If there are children, the children may also feel sad when the parents are divorced. However, there are many resources that can help people who are divorcing, such as therapists, counselors, books, and DVDs.

The biggest impact is always felt the children who are often force to grow up with only one parent. This reaches its climax when the one parent taking care of the child is forced to work all day and doesn't have time for the child. Children who have broken homes are twice as likely to drop out of high school dropout If the parents remarry, the children of their new husband or wife are their stepchildren. "Step-" can be put before any relation to show it is from another marriage. If there are children in the new marriage, children from a former marriage are called half-brothers or half-sisters, since they are "half" related.

People who are trapped in abusive relationships might divorce as a way of help.

Divorce in different cultures

The law of divorce is different in every country. Only two countries do not allow divorce, the Philippines and the Vatican. This is because the Philippines is majority Roman Catholic and mainly socially conservative and the Vatican is a Roman Catholic theocracy and the Roman Catholic teaching forbids divorce. In the Philippines, only Muslims, are allowed to divorce, and the Vatican is the only country with no law of divorce. In the Philippines and the Vatican, married people are not able to end their relation, but it is possible for them to say they were never married for example, because of an error. Most religions do not agree with the couples divorcing. Divorce in Australia follows the no-fault principle, which was established by the Family Law Act 1975. This means that the court does not need to know the reason for the divorce, just that the marriage has broken down irretrievably.^[1]

Divorce Media

"JUST DIVORCED!" hand-written on an automobile's rear window.
The impact of divorce on children - Tamara D. Afifi at a TED talk
Sarcophagus of the Dioscures, detail depicting a marriage.*Marble, latter part of 4th century. Musée de l'Arles et de la Provence antiques FAN92.00.2482
Henry VIII of England broke with the Catholic Church in order to obtain an annulment.
Joséphine, first wife of Napoleon, obtained the civil dissolution of her marriage under the Napoleonic Code of 1804.
Marilyn Monroe signing divorce papers with celebrity attorney Jerry Giesler.