Sunday, June 04, 2006

Strategic International Divorce ™

International family lawyer, Jeremy D. Morley, announces the launch of the Strategic International Divorce Planning™ service. Morley contends that people with assets and international connections who are contemplating a divorce, as well as the spouses of such people, should first seek strategic planning support.

The financial consequences of being divorced in one jurisdiction rather than another might be highly significant. For example, the difference between getting divorced in London instead of in New York can be staggering. England has recently acquired an extremely well-deserved reputation as the divorce capital of the world for anyone whose spouse is well-endowed with assets. Once the English divorce courts have finished their work, and the English solicitors and barristers have collected their fees, a once-married spouse with assets will now most likely become an ex-spouse with far less assets. Such people often wonder too late why they did not seek international divorce planning advice before it was too late.

Likewise, the disparity between the practices of divorce courts in Tokyo as compared to those in Sydney, and of the divorce courts in Hong Kong as compared to those in Frankfurt, are equally vast – or possibly even more so.

Yet very few people do their homework on these critical issues at a time when it could really make a big difference. They simply assume that wherever they live is necessarily the jurisdiction in which they must sue or be sued. They walk in blind to what may be the most significant financial transaction of their life.

The differences between one divorce jurisdiction and another are far more than the difference between a soccer team playing at home or playing away. It is instead a difference between playing one game at home and a totally different game with totally different rules away.

The analogy to a game is not inappropriate. Any serious competitor plays a competitive game strategically. Is the process of divorce any less serious than that?

Morley has taught in law schools in England, Illinois and Canada. He has lived in Japan and has done business in more than 20 countries in Europe, Asia and South America. He is admitted to practice law only in the State of New York. Any information that he provides concerning the law of another jurisdiction is subject to a client obtaining legal advice from counsel in that jurisdiction. When appropriate he will retain the services of local counsel to assist us in providing advice to a client.