We explain what divorce is as a legal figure, its history, main causes and effects. Also, the types of divorce.
What is divorce?
A divorce is a legal procedure that dissolves the marriage and puts an end to the conjugal union (and to all its civil, social and patrimonial effects). Let the two of you persons involved can continue their single life, or even remarry.
It is a legal figure present today in almost all legal orders of the world. It is given in accordance with the provisions of the law, so that their regulations, procedures and types vary considerably from one country to another.
Divorce appeared as a modern legal figure in the French Civil Code of 1804, although it is a very old concept, coming from the Roman Law of the Antiquity. The Romans called divortium to the civil dissolution of certain marriages (religious ones were, on the other hand, indissoluble), attending to various causes that both men and women could allege.
Unlike what happened in the societies Later in Europe, divorced women in ancient Rome carried no stigma, and could easily remarry. Whereas, in societies of a more religious or traditional court, divorce was prohibited or left a blemish on the divorced woman, which would make it difficult for her to remarry.
The divorce was defended by the Protestant Reformation of the sixteenth century, although only under very serious conditions, while to this day the Catholic Church considers it illegitimate. However, between the 19th and 20th centuries it became a normal part of most Western legal systems, with Chile being the last Latin American country to legalize it in 2004 and Malta the last European country to do so in 2011.
Divorce should not be confused with the annulment of marriage (in which it is declared that the marriage was invalid and therefore never existed), nor with de facto separation, in which two people dissolve a home without legally filing a divorce. However, in many legal systems the latter is a first step towards legalizing divorce.
Main causes of divorce
A divorce can occur for very different reasons, some of a social, psychological, emotional or legal nature, which are always established in the law on the subject. In some cases they submit to the will of a judge, especially when the desire to divorce is not shared, but one of the two spouses demands that the Condition dissolve the marriage. Among the main causes we can list:
- Separation of bodies or abandonment of the home, that is, that the two spouses no longer live together, nor have they led a married life, for a period of time. weather minimum established by law (or that one of them has left permanently). In this way, in reality they have already separated, and they only need legalization.
- Mutual agreement, when the two people simply no longer wish to be married, due to irreconcilable differences of personality or culture, for loss of love or other shared emotional reasons.
- Adultery or coexistence with third parties, that is, if despite being married the spouses (or one of them) establishes relationships with other people or builds other family nuclei with them.
- Aggression towards the partner, either due to psychological or psychosocial problems (addictions, for example), violence Domestic law is usually grounds for divorce in most legal systems, since it puts the life of the violated spouse at risk.
- Bigamy, that is, that a spouse has several simultaneous marriages (which in most Western legal orders constitutes a crime).
Types of divorce
The possible types of divorce depend largely on what is contemplated in national laws, so that there is no universal categorization in this regard. However, in most legal systems in which divorce is present, a distinction is made between:
- Voluntary divorce, when it is a situation of mutual consent, in which both spouses decide to end the marriage.
- Necessary divorce, when there are conditions that allow the State to end the marriage, despite the fact that one of the spouses does not agree.
- Uncaused divorce, popularly known as "express divorce", is one that does not require specific causes, or the mutual consent of the spouses, to dissolve the marriage bond.
Effects of divorce
The main effect of divorce is, obviously, that two married people cease to be married, that is, the dissolution of the marital bond and all its legal effects. This means that the heritage conjugal, that is, the community of property shared between the spouses, ends, and must therefore proceed to an agreed distribution of property.
Sometimes divorce also brings with it some obligations for the spouses, especially in the case where they have children conceived within the marriage.
It is common for the spouse to whom parental authority over the children is granted, the other allocates financial assistance until the children reach the age of majority, or in situations of socioeconomic vulnerability caused in a spouse by divorce, similar measures of the type restitutive or protection can be taken by the State. The idea is that both spouses can continue with their civil life.
Finally, the marital status of the spouses must be changed, to go from "married" to "divorced".