When lawyers file petitions for divorce or judicial separation in the registry of the court, it comes with a lot of backlash. So long you represent the petitioner, questions will fly around like...
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Thread.
“Ahn Ahn lawyer, why did you not settle these people’s marital problems. Why are you filing their case in court?”
At such moment, we just allow the officials to do the talking, they have a right to their opinion. When they finish, we would invite them to see the facts of the petition and then they calm down. They realise it goes beyond filing for divorce or judicial separation.
A petitioner simply wants to retain his/her sanity by leaving his/her marriage. While I am not an advocate for divorce, I believe people should be allowed to decide for themselves what they want with their lives.
The Marriage Act and other statute books were not enacted for the shelves. Hyde vs Hyde was decided on earth, not in heaven.
The same way it is convenient for people to discharge themselves from contract of employment or any contract whatsoever, marriage is a contract backed by law, and only a court of law or death of either party can call it a day with marriage.
There are many reasons why a party may decide to call it a day with his/her marriage. These have been put together as grounds for dissolution of marriage under section 15 (2) (a-h) of the Matrimonial Causes Act.
One of these grounds is that the respondent has willfully and persistently refused to consummate the marriage. This simply means a party to the marriage has refused to have sexual relations with the other since the marriage was celebrated. Think about it.
Some marriages are void ab initio. Some persons end up in marriage with someone who gave them the wrong information and history of themselves. This in most cases can be difficult to reconcile.
Parties in marriage do not only come to court for divorce, sometimes, they only want to be separated for a while. This is known as judicial separation.
Another reason people come to court and submit themselves to matrimonial proceedings is to dispel a false claim that marriage has taken place between them and the respondent. This is known as jactitation of marriage, covered by Section 52 of the Matrimonial Causes Act.
It simply means you want the court to make an order that you are not married to someone who has falsely boasted and persistently asserted that a marriage has taken place between the two of you (wannabes).
Do not take this conversation to heart, it is not for the faint-hearted. What I need you to do for me is to guide and guard your marriage. Make sure you are treating your spouse right and he/she will have no reason to think about divorce.
Do not hesitate to seek spiritual or professional advice and ultimately legal advice if you observe a crack in your marriage contract.
Life does not end after matrimonial proceedings. Infact, parties who have been divorced can validly come back, put their house in order and marry again under the law. It is as valid as it sounds.
Thank you for reading.
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Thank you for reading.
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