Getting divorced in Portugal Posted by Gabriel on 11:11 pm

Time for another free lesson* in Portuguese law! This round is on the hallowed institution of divorce, regulated by Articles 1773 to 1793 of the Portuguese Civil Code. Divorce is quite popular in Portugal. In 2009 alone there were 72 divorces a day, with 26,464 divorces against 40,391 marriages.

Can't say it's not original..

*Obligatory Disclaimer: This information contained in this post is provided "as is" and does not constitute legal advice. I make no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained in this post, and in no event shall I be liable for lost profits, or any special, incidental, or consequential damages arising out of or in connection with any information stated in this post.

Please note that in this post I will only cover amicable divorce, or divorce by mutual consent. Litigious divorce, or divorce without mutual consent, is much more complex, and much messier. Therefore, this is for the case where the spouses have decided that married life is not for them, and they both can agree on everything.

Not all divorces have to be like this.

A few conditions for the below to be applicable: no minors and the spouses can agree on all terms of the divorce.

First, an application is made in the name of both spouses to the civil registry of their area, or a civil registry expressly designated by them, clearly stating all relevant personal details. In a divorce by mutual consent, the spouses do not have to give the reason for their application, just that both are legally capable of applying for a divorce and that all relevant documentation is attached. The application is signed either by the spouses or by their representative.

The application is lodged with a certificate containing a full copy of the marriage record (including any prenuptial agreement, if one exists), a detailed list of the communal property, including their respective values, and an agreement on the disposal of the marital home. The divorce application has an associated fee of €250.00

In Portugal a standardized application does not exist for divorces.

After the application and attached documents are lodged, the registrar will schedule a meeting with the spouses in order to bring about reconciliation.

If the spouses still intend to divorce, and having checked that the prerequisites are met, the divorce is decreed and registered. The spouses do not have to show up for this as long as they issue power of attorney to their representative. However, the power of attorney has to be signed before a notary public.

Fifteen days after this date the divorce is considered final, and all personal documents can be updated to reflect the new civil status.

Contrary to popular belief, this is a legal impossibility in Portugal.

The whole process normally takes two months from start to finish, depending on the schedule of the registrar. From a bureaucratic point of view, the divorce process is one of the quicker processes in Portugal.

For the lighter side of divorce, feel free to visit this site for some divorce cakes, and this site on how to pick the right divorce cake for you.

Crunch-time, or, how has the global crisis affected you in Little Ol' Portugal? Posted by Gabriel on 10:14 pm

The excellent blog posts on Canadian music have made start re-listening to a few bands, particularly Rush (though unlike João, I've always been a true fan).

Their music reminds me of small towns in rural Canada slowly dying off and disappearing, with the “old” way of life fading away due to closing factories, children growing up and leaving with no one to replace them, attracted by the opportunities that the big cities provide.

 

Abandoned shopping mall in Wallaceburg

I grew up in a small industrial town, and I remember the so-called “golden days”, when work was plentiful, and the economy booming. But that didn’t last long. Factories moved first to the USA, and then to Mexico. In Wallaceburg, the loss of the Glass Factory was the biggest blow, and the town went downhill from there. I left in 1999, which was really the beginning of the end.

 

Picturesque Wallaceburg

I’ve visited my hometown a few times, the last being in 2006. It was a ghost town. No children on the streets, all the old stores boarded up, and the factories abandoned. Even remembering it now saddens me somewhat.

Unfortunately in Portugal the economy is also facing serious problems. Not the same decline as Canada faced, since Portugal was never very economically strong to begin with. However, the VAT is rising yet again. Income tax as well. Deductable expenses are going to be severely capped. The budget is under heavy discussion, and risks not being passed in parliament. The plentiful subsidies formerly given by the European Union have long dried up. Austerity measures are in full swing. Recession looms overhead.

The Euro won't stretch as far as it used to. Not only will goods and services be more expensive, but we'll be effectively earning less each month. For many it's going to be difficult to make ends meet.

How are you dealing with the current crisis? Cutting down on the ivory back-scratchers? Or is it life as usual?

Gabe

In a ....... Posted by Gabriel on 12:33 am

In short, I was born and raised in a small town in south-western Ontario, Canada. My parents are Portuguese immigrants that moved in to Canada in order to provide a better living for their children, and they were, on the whole, successful.

I had a completely typical childhood (and by typical I mean carefree and with few responsibilities, with all my time spent playing with friends... good times...). I did denote some mildly racist behaviour, though rare, toward myself and my parents, due to being the son of immigrants and immigrants, respectively, but I believe it was mainly ignorance. At the time many people didn't really know where Portugal was (some said it was somewhere in the Middle East, other in South America), and were therefore somewhat mistrusting of us. Fortunately this was quite rare, most embraced the diferences.

I was always a huge nerd. I love all things electronic; computers, gadgets, smart phones, etc. I have had a computer and been on-line since a very young age. I spent, and spend, hours reading about the Napoleonic war, or World War II, or Cold War cover-ups. History fascinates me much more than fiction for some reason. For me nothing was better than curling up over the heat register with a blanket (creating a pocket of heated air, usually baking me alive) and reading "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich" while it was snowing outside. It was actually quite immersive, reading about the Russian winter of 1941 while the wind and snow was howling outside.

My teens were also quite normal. Like most students of my age, I had a part-time job during the school year and a full-time job during summer vacation. After finishing high school I left my hometown in order to study in one of Ontario's top universities.

I finished my university degree in 2003, and, for some reason that is still to me entirely unknown (maybe I will find out while I write this), I decided to move to Portugal to study law.

Ever since moving here life has been a series of ups and downs, but always interesting. Actually that is not really true; there have been some horribly tedious parts.

Errr... Posted by Gabriel on 6:22 pm

Computers are hard to work with...