You can get married in a foreign country. Do you know that you can also divorce in a foreign country? An expedient, amicable, affordable, valid decree of divorce from the Dominican Rebublic may well be the best solution for many situations.

GROUNDS: Incompatibility of the parties is one of the grounds for divorce under the laws of the Dominican Republic. No culpability or fault need be alleged.

JURISDICTION: Jurisdiction is established by the fact that both the plaintiff and defendant submit themselves into the jurisdiction of the Dominican court for the sole purpose of obtaining a divorce. Only one party need be present. The absent defendant submits himself/herself into the jurisdiction of the Dominican court by the execution of the Defendant's Special Power of Attorney.

INFORMATION SHEET: We prepare the complaint from the information given on this form.

DEFENDANT'S SPECIAL POWER OF ATTORNEY: This document must be signed by the Defendant before a Notary Public. In the event that the defendant resides outside the U.S., this document may be signed before a notary public or equivalent authority of the country in which he/she resides, or before the Dominican Consul of that country. By signing this document, he/she is submitting himself into the jurisdiction of the Dominican court, consenting to the divorce and giving a Dominican attorney the right to represent him/her in court.

NEW REQUIREMENT: The Dominican Court now requires that documents presented to the court be stamped “legalized” by the Dominican Consulate in the country of origin.

The documents that must be “legalized” are: marriage certificate, birth certificates of children under the age of 18, and the notarized Special Power of Attorney.

The documents may be hand delivered or mailed to the Consulate nearest to your home address. The Consulate will charge for the legalization of each document. The charge will not be the same at all consulates. If you are going to mail documents to the Consulate, call first to find out the charge and include a money order in the appropriate amount. Always include a prepaid self-addressed express mail, Fed Ex, UPS, or DHL envelope so that the documents will be returned to you in a timely manner. If it is more convenient, you may have the documents sent from the consulate direct to our office by addressing the return envelope to our office address in Santo Domingo as follows:

International Law Office Dominicana, S.A.
Centro Comercial Kury
Avenida Sarasota Number 37
Suite 108
Bella Vista
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

List of Dominican Consulates

DOCUMENTS REQUIRED: THE PLAINTIFF SHOULD HAND DELIVER TO SANTO DOMINGO, the Information Sheet and the Defendant's Special Power of Attorney, properly completed, the original or a certified copy of the certificate of marriage, and  original or a certified copies of the birth certificates of children of the marriage if minors,  Separation agreements or property settlements, although not required, may be incorporated, by reference, into the final decree.  A copy of the agreement or information as to date and place of execution should be provided.

TIME INVOLVED: The plaintiff is required to be in Santo Domingo approximately two days.  Upon arrival he/she must sign the complaint before a Dominican Notary Public.  The complaint is submitted to the court and the final hearing is set for the following morning.  The plaintiff may depart anytime after 2:00 PM on the day of his appearance.  This is a new regulation, if you  have specific questions regarding the timing please call our toll free number (800) 527-7021. Court is Tuesday & Wednesday mornings, except for the following

LEGAL HOLIDAYS: