Legal Effects of Divorce on Living Situation in India
Getting a divorce is the final breakdown of a marriage and the last way out opted by couples in India to split their marital ties. Once the divorce verdict is obtained, whether it is through a divorce by mutual consent or a contested divorce, it has some legal effects on the divorcing couples. In this article we have discusses the various legal effects of divorce in India as per a legal divorce lawyer.
Legal Effects of Divorce on Living Situation
Once the divorce is finalized, the living situation of the spouses is changed. The divorcing couple is no longer obliged to live together and have to live separately from each other. The spouses are no longer required to accommodate one another; however, the husband is liable to pay for the maintenance of the wife if she is unable to afford her housing situation on her own.
Jointly Owned Property
Upon the termination of marriage, the rights & liabilities of the husband and wife in their jointly owned property are divided among them equally. Also, any property purchased by the husband in the name of his wife is transferred to the wife after divorce. Any movable & immovable property that was held by the wife in her name before is also the wife’s solitary property after the divorce.
Effects of Divorce on Child Custody
Before a divorce order is obtained, the child custody is jointly shared by the husband & wife; however, after the divorce or during the divorce proceedings, the spouses may also file for a child custody petition with the help of a matrimony advocate in Delhi to get sole or shared custody of the children born out of their marriage. The court looks into the facts & circumstances before deciding which parent would get the child custody.
Maintenance of Wife
The husband is legally responsible to maintain his wife even before the divorce as per Section 125 of the CrPC. Though, one of the legal effects of divorce in India is that the husband becomes liable to pay for the maintenance of the wife during and after the divorce process if she is not disqualified under any circumstances stated by the law. The husband is responsible to maintain the wife in the same way she was before the divorce. The calculation of maintenance or alimony is done by the court after taking into consideration several factors such as the income of the husband, his dependents, wife’s income, etc.
Change of Name
After the process of divorce is completed, the wife is entitled to revert back to her maiden name or retain her husband’s name or choose whichever name she prefers. The wife can change her name after divorce by following the name change procedure under Indian law.
Conclusion
Divorce is a permanent means to end a marriage and it does not end with simply obtaining the verdict of divorce from the court. The matters relating to maintenance, child custody, and division of property is predetermined in case of a mutual consent divorce, on the other hand, in the case of a contested divorce, the spouses need to file separate petitions to deal with these matters. It becomes critical to appoint the best divorce lawyer in Delhi right at the beginning of the divorce matter so that the lawyer can take care of all these matters. This also eliminates the need to consult different divorce lawyers at different stages and explaining the entire matter to the lawyers again & again.