If i divorce my wife can she claim my property?

Question

We got married in Bangladesh by muslim sharia law. My ex wife came to uk after 1 year of our marrage and were living together in my house.

After 2 months we got divorce in Muslim service association in uk by islamic sharia law. Our marrage and divorce is not register in u.k. Now can she claim my property?

Answer 1

it depend how much you each own i think  

Answer 2

if you have children she would be favourite to stay in the house she probably will be entiled to a fair share,

Answer 3

I assume that your wife got spouse visa when she came to UK after marriage. This will also mean that Home Office probably confirmed that you were legally married in Bangladesh.

The law in UK is that any overseas marriages are not registered here. A marriage is valid if it was done according to the laws of the country where the marriage ceremony took place, provided both man and woman were mentally capable of entering in to this relationship and of certain age. So she is legally your wife, as long as she can produce a copy of marriage certificate in a court in UK (with it's English translation).

Islamic divorce obtained through Islamic Sharia council is not recognized officially in UK. This council is an independent body with no official status. If you want to formally divorce your wife and then wish to marry again, then you have to apply for a civil divorce also. When you do this, the courts will decide what is fair for both of you. General principle is that if you have been married for a long time (say 15 or more years), then all the assets are divided on equal terms. If the marriage is a short one (you can not divorce in UK unless you have been married of a minimum of one year!) then the judge will decide the way he thinks fit !

In this case it is very unlikely that she will get a share in your property. But the court will still try to protect her interests by giving her reasonable compensation. You may have to pay her some lump sum or a monthly maintenance.

All this in terms of law is called "Ancilliary Relief". You or your wife can file a divorce petition in a local family court. Ancilliary relief means applying to the court to divide the financial assets.

Most couple don't ask the courts to make a decision. They usually discuss this with their solicitors and the solicitors draft a paper called "Consent order". This is a formal agreement between you and your wife that who will get what. Solicitors can guide you through these things. This consent order is then sent to the court, and the judge still has the power to decide whether it is a fair split or not.

As you can see, it is a very complex procedure. But the law tries to act in a fair way.

Answer 4

If your marriage was legally recognised in the UK, or if you have simply lived together has husband and wife even without being legally married, your property can be considered marital assets and she could be entitled to some claim.

In England this is typically (unless you are Heather McCartney) both parties keep what they had individually before the marriage and a fair share of everything else. If you owned a home she could claim a share EVEN if she was not on the mortgage or deeds. The judge generally tries to apportion property fairly based on each partner's financial contribution, and will consider the woman to have contributed if she has worked but has stayed at home with children.

Answer 5

If you live together for 6 month or more it is classed as common law wife/husband even if you are not legally married and everything will be split 50/50 even your pension if you have one.

Answer 6

you have to find out if marriages in bangladesh are legally recognised in the uk... or whether bangladeshi law will cover all your assets even international when splitting stuff up