Barbados Divorce Law

The Barbados Family Law Council is reportedly in favor of amending the Barbados Family Law Act, which governs divorce and related issues in Barbados but which is now 25 years old.

The amendments under consideration include:

• A procedure for streamlined case management, focused on keeping one case before the same judge for all proceedings;
• The provision of counseling for those in the process of a divorce;
• A provision that would expedite the allocation of matrimonial property which, under the current law can be deferred until the divorce has been finalized;
• An amendment that would allow divorce proceedings and the determination of related property and other financial issues to continue and be completed notwithstanding the death of one of the parties; and
• The establishment of a table of maintenance as guidelines for judges, in order to the guesswork out of the provision of support payments.