Everything you need to know about mutual consent divorce and it’s legal filing procedure.
If marriage is a recipe then its most important ingredients are - Trust, Care, Respect, Mutual understanding, Compatibility and Love. Those who have a happy and successful married life that’s great but what about those who do not have? When people think about going through divorce, it only means that they don’t want to live together anymore for various personal reasons. Afterall all, it’s a matter of one’s entire life.
Mutual Divorce in simple terms is when both Husband and Wife have mutually decided to legally dissolve & already agreed upon the settle terms as well. Getting Divorce by Mutual Divorce is the most preferred way as it saves a lot of time and money as compared to the Contested Divorce Divorce in India.
Mutual Consent Petition is the first legal step to start the divorce process. This petition tells the family court that both parties want the divorce and there is no dispute as to property division, alimony or responsibilities to children. The consent petition must be signed by both parties and notarized before being filed with the appropriate family court where the parties live.
As we know there are different acts for marriage registration, the same way there are various acts in India at the time of Divorce:
Mutual Divorce among Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs and Jains is governed by The Hindu Marriage Act, 1955
Mutual Divorce among Parsis is governed by The Parsi Marriage and Divorce Act, 1936
Mutual divorce for Inter-religion marriages is governed by The Special Marriage Act, 1956.
Mutual Divorce among Christians is governed by The Indian Divorce Act, 1869
Alimony or Maintenance - As per law, there is no minimum or maximum limit of support. It could be any figure or no figure at all.
Child Custody - Child custody in a mutual consent divorce can also be shared or joint or exclusive depending upon the understanding of the spouses.
Division of Assets - The husband and wife must decide who gets what part of the jointly held property or matrimonial home. This includes both movable and immovable property.
The court hearings take place once the case is filed. These proceedings may vary in different cities. Below is the process as followed in major cities of India:
While filing for divorce through Mutual Consent may sound easy but in reality, it requires lot of paper, preparing a divorce petition which clearly defines your terms & conditions, appear in front of the family court judge for first and the second motion, keeping a track of your appointment date or rescheduling the appointment and much more.
The best decision you can make in yourself and your future is to hire a professional divorce lawyer. Getting legal counsel from an experienced divorce lawyer will save you a lot of time, stress, and money down the road. Your divorce lawyer will ensure that your interests are being represented, and educate you so that you don’t make decisions based on short term convenience, but that will result in long term problems.