DIVORCE IN NIGERIA AND THE COST
We explained What Is Divorce, Cost Of Getting a Divorce in Nigeria, Grounds For Divorce in Nigeria, Divorce Settlement in Nigeria and Child Custody after Divorce
WHAT IS DIVORCE? Divorce means the discontinuity of married partners or Divorce is the dissolving the bonds of matrimony between a married couple under the rule of law of the particular country or state. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, divorce requires the sanction of a court or other authority in a legal process, which may involve issues of distribution of properties.
COST OF GETTING A DIVORCE IN NIGERIA Before you undergo a marriage divorce, you have to be aware the type of marriage you had. In Nigeria before one seeks for a marriage divorce, the person ought to understand the reason why he/she wants a divorce. Your lawyer should write a petition for divorce to the High Court, once the petition is filed to the Court, then the Court will issue a number before it will be delivered to your spouse. Note: if the judge is satisfied with the content in the divorce paper, he will grant your divorce. Getting a divorce in Nigeria, one cannot say the actual amount it will takes because it varies, as it has been reported. A lot of people contemplating the dissolution of a marriage often wish to know the price of obtaining a divorce in Nigeria. The fact is that there’s no fixed or specific cost for a divorce. In Nigeria, money involve in the divorce processing depends on the circumstances surrounding it (case).
The reasons being that divorce proceeding involves proper litigation, which could be won or perhaps lost. With this regard, it’s advised that anyone contemplating divorce should speak and bargain with a lawyer.
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However, a lawyer may probably charge lower for a divorce matter which is unlikely going to be contentious or perhaps for customary marriage’s divorce case, compared to an extremely contentious statutory marriage, which involves ancillary issues like settlement of properties and custody. The place where the court is situated, where divorce petition is being filed can also figure out overall cost and the duration of such a process, as the procedure might be faster to conclude in some courts compared to others. By and large, a lawyer could charge an average of N400,000 for a divorce process where the custody of children and settlement of properties are not in contention.
GROUNDS FOR DIVORCE IN NIGERIA 1. Resistance from the other spouse to have his conjugal right, when the spouse has refused to consummate the marriage. 2. Caught in the act of adultery and is unbearable to other spouse to bear. Since the marriage respondent has behaved in such a way that the petitioner cannot be expected to live with the respondent. 3. If a spouse has gone away for a long period of time like 6-7 years, under the Evident Act of missing is assumed dead. 4. Brutality is another ground for a divorce, in a situation where the other spouse brutalizes the other repeatedly. 5. Agreement of both parties is really necessary to be used especially when both are staying apart for a long period of one-two years. 6. that the other party to the marriage has, for a period of not less than one year failed to comply with a decree or restitution of conjugal rights made under this Act. 7. The partner has deserted the petitioner for a continuous period of at least one year immediately preceding the presentation of the petition.
DIVORCE SETTLEMENT IN NIGERIA husband and wife enters an agreement or settlement with the divorce provided for the sharing of properties, court gives its order before the sharing of the properties among the parties. Settlement or property settlement it involves the property that the couple got during marriage or after marriage. There are two types of property that must be distributed in the settlement, they are community or marital property and separate property. Community or marital property consists of property that is purchased by either or both of the spouses during the time they are married. Property bought during the time the couple is married is presumed to be marital property regardless of how it was actualized. The assumption can be overridden only by "clear and convincing" evidence of the intent for the property to be the property of just one spouse. While separate property is property that is bought by either of the spouses before the marriage. Separate property can also be property received in exchange for other separate property, the interest on separate property, or anything that does not fall into the category of marital property.
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Many problems will arise during the time they want to share the properties especially from the marital and separate properties. Transmutation involves separate property that the spouses have treated as marital property, making it impossible to tell what type of property the spouses had intended it to be, transmutation occurs when the parties took title to property jointly but in reality only one of the spouses paid for the property. The best way to prevent commingling or transmutation from becoming an issue or hurdle in getting the settlement approved is to keep clear and accurate records.
CHILD CUSTODY AFTER DIVORCE IN NIGERIA. As two married couple tries to breakup, divorce rate continues to rise, little attention is paid to the children or child, who are perhaps the most affected, as they are usually caught in-between parting parents. When the children are still at an impressionable age, the process could really be traumatic to them. When the parents of a child are separated or divorced, the interest of the child is greatly considered by the court, who will the child lives with, because the parent a child lives with will influence the child’s behavior or character in the future.
For the fact that a child is of a tender age does not necessarily mean that his/her custody will always be granted to the mother but the court will readily do so if it is in the interest of the child. The court will follow the general belief that it is best the custody of very young children are left for their mother will depend on the circumstances of the case such child’s view may emerge from welfare reports and will be taken into consideration. The court usually treats the wishes of the child with caution as this may be colored either by his age or a parental influence. A parent who wants the custody of a child or children is required to set out the proposed arrangement for accommodation, welfare, education, upbringing and other arrangements of the child. Unless the party sets out these facts, the court may be reluctant to consider and favor the other parent.