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Costs from abroad

17 replies

geebee1978 · 06/11/2019 16:34

Bit of a strange one. I'm from the UK where I currently reside with my two children. My wife is Thai and is living in Cyprus. She has issued me with divorce papers from Cyprus. I won't defend the divorce but disagree with the accusations and "fault" and her claim for costs. I suppose the question is, what jurisdiction does a Cypriot family court have over me and what would be the consequence of simply ignoring the papers? Bear in mind I'm taking care of our two children without a penny of maintenance from her.

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Thingsdogetbetter · 06/11/2019 19:50

Personally I don't think anyone outside the divorcers give a flying fuck what reasons are cited on divorce papers. My exh cited awful things when he petitioned and i didn't contest so it was over quickly. No one ever asked me what was cited!

And if I had the money to pay costs, I'd do so just to get it over with asap. I won't let misplaced pride stop me from a fast and relatively painless divorce. Let her think she's 'won', as long as you get what you want (presuming you do want a divorce asap?).

Certainly you really need to get specialist legal advise before ignoring the papers! That could completely backfire if you do not know the legal standing of Cypriot divorce jurisdiction in the UK! Would the costs rise, would you then be automatically responsible for them?

Taking care of the dc and paying everything for them will not have an affect on the divorce petition. She is morally in the wrong obviously, but you need to focus on the legal. Divorce courts don't care she's a shit mum and a shit person; they only care about the law.

If you ignore the papers or contest the reason and costs, might she retaliate by making a claim on your finances? Or drag the divorce out which could cost you a lot more over time? Is she the kind of person who will make things more difficult as 'revenge'? Demand access to the dc pr even residence, for example?

If divorce is your goal, don't let pride and moral right stand in your way. Don't stick your head in the sand - get proper legal advise. Do what is best for you and your dc, as you have obviously been doing so far.

geebee1978 · 07/11/2019 07:22

posterThingsdogetbetter

Thanks for the response.

To be fair, the reason isn't a problem but she's using this as justification for claiming the costs.

The reason why I want to avoid them is she and her wealthy sugar-daddy have a few bob and I'm a single dad on benefits raising the two kids. Truth is, a couple of months before Christmas and I literally don't have it.

Her behaviour is strange though as it's her that needs a quick divorce. She needs to sort her precarious visa situation out where for me, it really makes no difference.

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MyOtherProfile · 07/11/2019 07:26

Don't play along then. But I would get legal advice here.

TheStuffedPenguin · 07/11/2019 07:34

Did you live in Cyprus for 3 months prior to this application?

TheStuffedPenguin · 07/11/2019 07:35

"What conditions must be fulfilled in order to file for a divorce?

The parties must live in Cyprus for at least three months prior to the filing of the divorce application. Otherwise, the Family Courts in Cyprus do not have jurisdiction to handle the dissolution or annulment of a marriage"

geebee1978 · 07/11/2019 08:19

Yes, I read that too but wasn't sure if it was one spouse or both. She's been there almost a year. I've never been there in my life.

We were living together in Malta. After breaking up, she moved to Cyprus and I returned home to the UK.

I'm guessing for her lawyer to take it on and for the family court to send me the papers, they must feel they have a case....unless it's simply procedure in order to get things moving.

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geebee1978 · 07/11/2019 08:22

Legal advice would be the obvious route....however, with the hourly rate they charge, it might even be cheaper to pay the costs. :/

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lucozadeaids32 · 07/11/2019 08:47

I am not a lawyer, but “ the parties” means both parties.

lucozadeaids32 · 07/11/2019 08:54

I would not ignore the papers. I would write back to her lawyers quoting paragraph 16 of the attachment above and state you will be taking no further action since as you are not resident in Cyprus the court has no jurusdiction.

Middersweekly · 07/11/2019 09:06

The only cost you pay should be attributed to your half of the divorce proceedings. Generally that is the rule unless there is significant financial hardship or some such on one side. It might be worth posting in the law section on here because there are some legal advisers who frequent that forum. I am afraid I don’t know anything about Cypriot law. It might be that if she wants to formally petition you with divorce proceedings she has to appoint a solicitor from either the UK or Malta.

geebee1978 · 07/11/2019 10:38

lucozadeaids32

I agree that "parties" suggests both of us but other sites have said only one party needs to be resident and I'm not sure her solicitor or the family court would've taken it on if they didn't think they could see it through.

I might have to bite the bullet and speak to a solicitor but as I say, this could be dearer than the costs themselves.

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TheStuffedPenguin · 07/11/2019 11:12

Look for a free 30 mins to get you started.

lucozadeaids32 · 07/11/2019 13:42

you could get this thread moved to legal matters. some knowledgable posters there

geebee1978 · 07/11/2019 14:05

Thanks for taking the time to respond guys. I've just reposted on a legal thread and will speak to Citizen's Advice tomorrow. Failing that, it looks like biting the bullet and getting legal advice.

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MissEliza · 07/11/2019 15:19

Surely she has to divorce you in the UK if you were never resident in Cyprus?

geebee1978 · 07/11/2019 15:46

MissEliza...

I guess not because similarly, she has never resided in the UK. We moved from Thailand to Malta, broke up in Malta after which I returned to the UK and she moved to Cyprus.

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