In an ever shrinking world, disputes involving international family law are becoming more and more common.
This can involve:
- Concerns about child abduction.
- International relocation of children.
- Forum shopping for divorce.
- Foreign property on divorce.
- Divorce where one party resides outside the Bailiwick of Guernsey.
- Obtaining a mirror order for a child.
- Injunction proceedings to freeze assets held in the Bailiwick of Guernsey or abroad.
- International divorce law is complex. Where a case involves an international element, it is vitally important that you receive specialist legal advice.
A critical factor in such cases is speed. This is because sometimes one or more country may be capable of dealing with your case. One example of this is forum shopping, where parties seeking a divorce decide which country is likely to provide them with the most favourable outcome. One country may favour one spouse and another may be more advantageous to the other spouse. If proceedings are commenced simultaneously by both parties in two countries, the Courts have to decide which is the most appropriate venue to host the proceedings. The general rule is that the country which first receives the application is likely to retain jurisdiction, hence the reason why it is so important to act quickly.
