Frequent questions

MARRIAGE AND DIVORCE

THE DIVORCE

In Colombia, a divorce for marriage is carried out before a Notary Public or before a Family Judge, that is, for civil marriage. And the Cessation of civil effects of religious marriage, for marriages celebrated by religious rites are Catholic or of other churches that are duly authorized to celebrate marriage.

WHAT ARE THE GROUNDS TO REQUEST A DIVORCE?

Either spouse may invoke one of the following grounds to petition a Family Judge for the Decree of Divorce in the case of Civil Marriage and the Cessation of Civil Effects of Ecclesiastical Marriage in the case of religious marriage.

The extramarital sexual relationship of one of the spouses, unless the applicant has consented, facilitated or forgiven them. Extramarital sexual relations are presumed due to the celebration of a new marriage, by one of the spouses, whatever its form and effectiveness.
The serious and unjustified breach by one of the spouses of their duties as husband or father and wife or mother.
The outrages, cruel treatment and mistreatment of work, if this endangers the health, bodily integrity or life of one of the spouses, or their descendants, or makes peace and domestic tranquility impossible.
The habitual drunkenness of one of the spouses.
The habitual and compulsive use of hallucinogenic or narcotic substances, except when prescribed by a doctor.
Any serious and incurable physical or mental illness or abnormality of one of the spouses, which endangers the moral or physical health of the other spouse and makes the matrimonial community impossible.
Any conduct of one of the spouses tending to corrupt or pervert the other, or a descendant, or people who are in their care and live under the same roof.
The separation of bodies, judicial or de facto, that has lasted for more than two years.
The consent of both spouses manifesting before the competent judge, before a Notary or before the Consular Authority and recognized by it through a judgment or Public Deed.

WHAT ARE THE DIVORCE PROCEDURES?

The legal procedure to carry out the divorce process can be of two kinds

Of mutual agreement: when both spouses agree to request the divorce or the Cessation of Civil Effects of the religious marriage.
Contentious: when one of the spouses does not agree to the divorce and whoever is in need of divorce, to find just cause for it, empowers a lawyer to sue before the Family Judge pretending the divorce or the cessation of the civil effects of the marriage is decreed.

BEFORE WHAT AUTHORITY IS THE DIVORCE PROCESSED?

If the divorce or the Cessation of Civil Effects of the religious marriage is caused by mutual agreement, it can be processed before the Notary of the Circle of the place where the spouses reside or it can also be carried out before the consular authorities of Colombia in the country where they reside spouses.

In the event of a contentious divorce, the lawsuit must necessarily be instituted before a Family Judge of the place where the spouses reside or where their last marital domicile was.

Whatever divorce they require, it must be processed by empowering a lawyer to the completion of the procedure, either before a Notary Public, before a Consular authority, before a Family Judge or a Promiscuous Family Judge, if applicable.

WHERE SHOULD I APPLY FOR A DIVORCE OF A MARRIAGE CELEBRATED ABROAD?

Divorce from a civil marriage celebrated abroad will be governed by the law of the conjugal domicile. For these purposes, the conjugal domicile is understood to be the place where the spouses live together and, failing that, the defendant spouse is deemed as such.

CIVIL MARRIAGE IN COLOMBIA, CAN I DIVORCE ABROAD?

The divorce decreed abroad, with respect to the civil marriage celebrated in Colombia, will be governed by the law of the conjugal domicile and will not produce the effects of dissolution, except on the condition that the respective cause is admitted by Colombian law and that the defendant has been personally notified or summoned according to the law of his domicile. However, complying with the notification and summons requirements, it may have the effects of the separation of bodies.

WHAT DOCUMENTS DO I NEED TO MAKE A DIVORCE?

At a minimum, you should have on hand to start a divorce proceeding:

Civil Registry of Marriage - Civil or Religious duly registered before the Notary Public.
Civil Registry of Birth of each of the Spouses.
Civil Registry of Birth of each child, if any.
The documents that your lawyer requests as evidence in the event of a Contentious Divorce.
The documents that certify ownership of movable or immovable property that are part of the conjugal partnership.
The duly authenticated power of attorney granted to the professional of the Law that will represent him / her in the process.

HOW LONG DOES THE DIVORCE PROCESS TAKE?

These procedures do not have an established time of duration, it can vary from a week to several months or years depending on the type of divorce and whether or not there are minor children or in conditions of being creditors food.

WHAT HAPPENS TO DIVORCE WHEN THERE ARE CHILDREN IN THE MARRIAGE?

When a divorce process is carried out and in this marriage there is offspring, it is the obligation of both spouses already either by mutual agreement or through a competent judge, establish a system of rights and obligations under which these children will be protected. This as long as they are protected by the minority, that is, they are under 18 years of age. Likewise, the law grants special protection to children with disabilities, duly decreed by a family judge through a judicial interdiction ruling.

REGARDING THE SONS

WHAT OBLIGATIONS ARE DUE ESTABLISH REGARDING MINOR CHILDREN?

When divorce is going to be established, and there are still minor children, the law establishes that it must be regulated As minimum:

A food quota for the benefit of the children which includes: Housing which includes: Room, payment of Public Services and Administration. Food: Breakfasts, Onces, Dinners, Snacks, - Education: Tuition, Pensions and Extra-Curricular - Health. - Clothing.- Recreation, Temporary Expenses such as uniforms, school supplies and Extraordinary Expenses.

Establishment of custody and personal care of children. This will be shared and in an exceptional way it will be fixed in the head of only one of the parents. For this, the place where you will reside permanently must be clearly established.

If the custody of a single parent is established, a visitation or coexistence regime will be established with that parent who will not be custodian.

Likewise, the periods of coexistence, vacations, special dates will be established.

ALIMENTARY OBLIGATIONS

According to the law, Food is of two kinds, the congruos or necessary, that is, those that are required to sustain life or to subsist and the luxury ones that are those of which a child enjoys due to the economic and social condition that given to him by his parents.

To whom is food owed?

REGARDING THE CHILDREN:

Alimony is owed to children under 18 years of age, to children who, even though they are of legal age and under 25 years of age, still do not have the financial means for their maintenance, that is, they are studying and to those children that the law decrees as injunctions for mental or physical causes.

REGARDING THE SPOUSE:

Alimony is owed to the Spouse when these have been agreed in the Conciliation Act, or when a Judge has determined the responsibility of giving alimony to the spouse who does not have the necessary to sustain life. These foods are known as Sanction Foods because they are decreed by a Judge in a Divorce Sentence.

REGARDING THE PARENTS:

According to our Colombian Civil Code, children owe their parents food when they are totally unable to support life, as long as the children are of legal age and have the capacity to provide as feeders. Like children, the obligation to parents is established by law. For this reason food non-attendance has been classified as a crime either against children or parents as the case may be.

REGARDING OTHER MEMBERS OF THE FAMILY

There is an obligation to provide food to other members of the family other than children or parents, in the case of grandchildren or nephews. These foods are called ALIMENTARY OBLIGATION FOR SOLIDARITY that occurs when parents are totally unable to provide food to their children, in the case of deceased, disappeared or physically and mentally incapacitated parents. In these cases, family members are called in ascending, descending order or to contribute food.

HOW ARE FOOD PRICES?

Once a detailed list of the value of congruous, necessary and luxury foods has been drawn up, there are two criteria under which a food quota can be established:

The main rule on which a food quota is fixed will always be the need of the fed, that is, all the items that make up a food quota and that support the life of a child or adolescent according to their condition must be taken into account. socioeconomic
Once food needs are assessed, it should be taken into account counts the capacity of the obligors, the percentage that corresponds to the father and mother to contribute in money or in kind the value of the food quota that supports the need of the fed (s) can be assessed.