Frank Arndt, the Head of our International Family Law Unit at Stowe Family Law, recently attended an international family law conference in Malaga, Spain. While he was there, Frank was interviewed by the editor of Sur in English – one of that region’s most popular English language publications – about expat divorce and “forum shopping”. The feature appears in today’s print edition.

SPOUSES WHO GO FORUM SHOPPING FOR DIVORCE

By Liz Parry

If you think your marriage may be on the rocks, think twice about moving to another country, says Frank Arndt

It is well known that two of the most stressful things in life are getting divorced, and moving house.

When the move is to a different country to start a new life in the sun with your partner, though, it seems reasonable to think that at least it is only the stress of moving you are going to face, and divorce is unlikely to be on the cards in the near future. But is this so? According to Frank Arndt, who was in Malaga last week for a meeting of Spanish and British lawyers, all may not be as it seems.

Frank, who works for the Stowe Family Law firm in the UK, specialises in transnational family litigation. Because laws and procedures vary so much from one country to another, some of the more wily would-be litigants, including those who are intent on getting divorced, are going “forum shopping” – filing the case in the jurisdiction most likely to find in their favour and getting a head start on the unsuspecting party. By way of illustration he describes the case of a wealthy man who lured his wife and children to live in South Africa and then divorced her and returned to the UK leaving her stranded thousands of miles away, with children who could not be moved. Continue reading »

On Friday I enjoyed the company of family lawyers from around Europe. We had gathered in Paris for the opening of the law firm Cabinet CBBC (formerly the Cabinet Veronique Chauveau). With so many of us gathered in one place, the talk turned to family law – and how we are separated by our respective countries’ laws, customs and conventions.

Within the European Union, transnational family law does not operate as smoothly as one might reasonably expect, despite the determination to create a genuine area of freedom, security and justice whereby decisions taken in one member state are recognised and enforced throughout the EU.  Member states operate different divorce laws for its citizens, which may vary dramatically in other member countries. When litigants in member states look – understandably – for the smoothest way out of their domestic tangles, they can come a cropper.

It was a stylish and memorable evening (pictured above: with CBBC partner Alexandre Boiche and others). When I arrived at CBBC there were more than 100 people drinking champagne and attacking the buffet. The firm is located in the heart of Paris on Boulevard de Sébastapol, across three floors in a beautiful building just across from the courts on the Île de la Cité, next to Notre Dame Cathedral. I plunged straight in with my terrible French, which fortunately didn’t last too long, because most people took pity on me and spoke English!

I chatted to German lawyers from Stuttgart and Saarbrucken. I had a conversation with a French professor of law about French divorce law; there were diplomats present with an interest in child abduction cases.

Talking, it became clear that we continue to be divided and exercised by the laws that appear, vanish or change whenever a border is crossed. For example, Paris isn’t London. We don’t have a Civil Code; we have statute law and conventions of judge-made law.  La Manche divides us geographically (even if there is a tunnel underneath) but there is an economic, cultural and social divide that is reflected in our different law, practice and procedure. Continue reading »

If worst comes to worst, make sure you have back-up.

If your intended spouse is a foreign national and you are going to move overseas to be with them, are you aware that if your marriage breaks down, you may be unable to return home to your family with your children?

You could, for example, be held to a pre-nuptial agreement in a foreign language that you did not understand when you trustingly signed it. What if it makes no proper financial provision for you or your children?

You may be submitted to the mercy of a foreign court – a religious court, even. What if it enforces a decision weighted against you, a decision that a court in your home country would not contemplate? At best, your departure would be authorised and you would then have to uproot your children and change their entire way of life. 

At worst, that court’s decision could leave you in a terrible situation: legally unable to leave that country with your children.  Continue reading »

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‘A last desperate hope’ from far flung shores  

A few weeks ago I attended my niece’s wedding at Ronit Farm near Tel Aviv, Israel. Although the bride, groom and all their respective families were born and brought up in Leeds, Yorkshire, they chose to celebrate their marriage under a canopy (called a ‘Chuppah‘ pictured) in the traditional Jewish way rather than in a local Synagogue or hotel back home.

The turn out was tremendous. Guests comprised the young and not so young and the golden couple were supported by over 100 of their glamorous ‘twenty-something’ friends. It was undoubtedly one of the most beautiful ceremonies I have ever seen. The setting was stunning and truly romantic, with the bride and groom tying the knot at sunset in the open air against the glorious backdrop of a lake lit by torches. The fragrant and spectacular flowers including rose petals were strewn along the aisle and the music was magical.

The cosmopolitan nature of the guests enhanced the enjoyment with independent and confident like-minded world travellers jetting in to the Middle East to party hard and celebrate the wedding. Dancing almost to dawn, the ladies jettisoned their stilettos for flip flops that my sister as a perfect Mother of the Bride, had thoughtfully provided for everyone! 

Career-wise, the bride and groom and many of their friends hail from the medical profession. It also appeared that most of the famous London and US firms were unknowingly well-represented at the wedding and there was an eclectic mix of cultural backgrounds. I noticed one impossibly handsome French accountant (who could have missed him?!) who is currently training with KPMG in Paris. His English girlfriend lives and works in London and they commute to see each other – they make a stunning couple. Many of the Greek, English and Israeli guests are temporarily based in London. Most spoke excitedly about their jobs, which they regard as firmly transnational – because their careers are giving them golden opportunities to travel, work abroad, and, if necessary, to live abroad. All the guests, including a British Airways pilot who had jetted in with his wife, an optometrist, acknowledged that they are privileged to be maximising such wonderful opportunities.  

However a stark contrast to the idyll I had been lucky to attend came in an email last week via my contact page, from an English woman who has started a new life and family in her husband’s country in the Far East. Continue reading »

Happy New Year – I hope your holiday was relatively stress-free. For some it was not, people wrote to me from abroad for advice about issuing divorce proceedings in England given their respective links with England, such as British nationality, education, owning a property in England etc. It is a growing problem and highlights the increase in the trend of ‘forum shopping’ where globe trotting couples seek a divorce in the most financially advantageous country.

I think it is a problem that should be legally resolved between the parties before the marriage is permitted to take place. Leaving the decision until a divorce is about to happen with the parties living anywhere in the world can create enormous legal headaches for both of them – and enormous legal costs alongside.

In most cases wives have very good reason to file in England because financial settlements may be better for wives than elsewhere. Maintenance payments for example, may not be available elsewhere. It is also possible to search more extensively into the spouse’s finances in England compared to other countries.

Continue reading »