Divorce on H1b Visa

[sadboy]

I am on H1b Visa and have been married for a total period of 27 months out of which my spouse was present with me for only 16 months and left for India.She is presently staying there since the past 11 months.Is it possible to obtain divorce without going to India? Please advise. If its possible and i need to send her the paperwork is it possible that she can contest it? If yes what needs to be done? kindly advise?

Concerns:
Is it possible that My wife can contest the divorce?If yes whats the procedure.
If no then after how long will the entire process take?

Is it better to get divorced out in India or here?
Will there be any alimony to be paid since the marriage is less than 2 years? (27 months total -16 months together and seperated 11 months back?
Is it ok to buy property in CA or does she have a hold on that too?

[socrateaser]

My answers assume that you are a resident of CA for more than six months.

>Is it possible that My wife can contest the divorce?If yes
>whats the procedure.

Yes, but she would need to return to CA or retain a CA attorney represent her.

>If no then after how long will the entire process take?

Irrelevant.

>
>Is it better to get divorced out in India or here?

I don't know India law, so I can't advise.

>Will there be any alimony to be paid since the marriage is
>less than 2 years? (27 months total -16 months together and
>seperated 11 months back?

In CA, spousal support is ordered to maintain the standard of living attained during the marriage. This would be as of the date of physical separation (i.e., 11 months ago). Generally, support is ordered for one half of the length of any marriage that is less than 10 years in length.

>Is it ok to buy property in CA or does she have a hold on that
>too?

There is no restriction on purchasing real property until the petition for divorce is filed. After that date, and until final judgment of divorce, the parties are restrained from transferring, disposing, hypothicating, or otherwise using their assets except for the necessities of life or in the ordinary course of business. Purchasing a home is not considered a necessity of life. The problem is if the court determines that you used community assets to purchase the property, the you might be forced to sell the property in order to satisfy a property award to your spouse.

As a practical matter, most of this is moot, because, as I am quite familiar with Indian society when it comes to divorce, I'd be surprised if your spouse could afford a CA attorney or a plane ticket back here from India, assuming that her family would permit her to return. Therefore, she will not be able to defend herself, and she will lose by default.

[sadboy]

Dear SocraTeaser,
Thanks for the prompt reponse.

Had some clarifications though:
I was married in India.Does the divorce verdict hold good in case i want to get get a divorce here.I have been a resident of CA for more than 6 months.What my concern is can one get married outside the USA and get divorced out here?

In case my spouse refuses to sign papers once I submit it to her what will be the process? Is divorce automatically given after 3 months?

Thanks,

[socrateaser]

>I was married in India.Does the divorce verdict hold good in
>case i want to get get a divorce here.I have been a resident
>of CA for more than 6 months.What my concern is can one get
>married outside the USA and get divorced out here?

If you have evidence of a valid marriage in India, such a a marriage license issued by the Indian governmental authorities, then you can get a CA divorce. Even if you don't have a license, you could still get a divorce, just by alleging in your petition that you were lawfully married in India.


>In case my spouse refuses to sign papers once I submit it to
>her what will be the process? Is divorce automatically given
>after 3 months?

1. File petition for dissolution in your county of residence.

2. Serve the Summons, Petition and other required legal paperwork on your ex. In your case, this means that you need someone in India to sign a proof of service, that they personally handed the documents to your spouse, unless your spouse is willing to sign an acknowledgment and waiver of personal service.

3. If your spouse signs a stipulated (agreed) judgment, then the court will order it and you will be divorced. If not, then you must go through the process of waiting for your spouse to fail to appear, and then file for a judgment of default. If your spouse actually appears and requests specific relief, then you must go through the entire process, which could take from several months, to several years, depending on the issues involved.

If you are attempting to do your own divorce, I suggest that you rethink this. Your circumstances create some problems of jurisdiction that an attorney would be much better able to handle.