of divorce and protect the interests of those with substantial assets.
Notes:
>1 assets [Tesat] - anything owned by a person/company that has money value
>2 assuage O'swei^] the turmoil ['ta:mail] - make less trouble
“INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE”
TUI Death Do Us Part?
| Number of divorces per 1,000 population |
|---|
| US | 4.7 | Austria | 2.1 |
| Latvia | 4.2 | Switzerland | 2.0 |
| Cuba | 4.1 | Kirgizstan | 1.9 |
| Russia | 3.9 | France | 1.9 |
| Estonia | 3.7 | Netherlands | 1.9 |
| Ukraine | 3.7 | Azerbaijan | 1.6 |
| Belorussia | 3.4 | Singapore | 1.6 |
| Lithuania | 3.3 | Kuwait | 1.5 |
| Canada | 3.1 | Tajikistan | 1.5 |
| Denmark | 3.0 | Uzbekistan | 1.5 |
| Finland | 2.9 | Georgia | 1.4 |
| U.K. | 2.9 | Romania | 1.4 |
| Kazakstan | 2.8 | Turkmenistan | 1.4 |
| Australia | 2.5 | Armenia | 1.3 |
| Hungary | 2.4 | Bulgaria | 1.3 |
| Norway | 2.4 | Israel | 1.3 |
| Germany | 2.2 | Japan | 1.3 |
| Sweden | 2.2 | Poland | 0.9 |
The Cost of Divorce
(abridged)
by Barbara Wall
When divorce is inevitable, two questions are often foremost on the minds of those involved: how fast and how much? The answers depend on geography.
On the speed issue, the adage>1 “Marry in haste, repent at leisure” could be updated to “Marry in haste, divorce in the Dominican Republic”, where marriage bonds can be severed>2 within a matter of hours, saving spouses months, in some cases, years of delay.
In California>3, that means a minimum stay of six months, whereas in Nevada>4, it means six weeks. In some European countries the waiting period is much longer. In England, for example, couples can file for a divorce only after two-year separation. In Ireland, the waiting period is eternal - Irish authorities do not recognize divorce.
An overnight stop is usually all that is required to get a divorce in the Dominican>5 Republic, and only one spouse needs to be present at the hearing. The drawback is that a Dominican divorce does not come cheap - about $5,000, according to one New-York-based divorce attorney.
Options for lower budgets include divorce-by-mail, often advertised for a flat fee of around $300. Peter Kenton, an American lawyer based in Paris, said companies that specialize in postal divorces are predominantly based in Puerto Rico>e and Mexico>7. The problem with such discount-house approaches, however, is their international validity.
Notes:
>1 adage [Tedic^] - old and wise saying
>2 sever ['seva] - cut; break
>3 California [,k®li'fo:nja]
>4 Nevada [ne'vmda]
>5 Dominican [da'minikan]
>6 Puerto Rico ['pwa:tou 'ri:kou]
>7 Mexico ['meksikou]
Topics for discussion and essays
1. Explain what a prenuptial agreement is and say whether such a pact is necessary in Russia. Why?
