Every Jewish couple wishing to divorce, whether married through the rabbinate or married in a civil marriage, must go through the divorce via the rabbinate court – if you have questions such as:
1. Do civil divorces in Cyprus exempt you from the laws of the State of Israel regarding the issue of alimony?
2. Are you recognized by state authorities as single or divorced?
3. Do you need to take further action upon your return to Israel in order to complete the process of divorce in Cyprus?
You got married in a civil marriage and now need a civil divorce?
The issue of civil marriage in Cyprus is a very familiar topic, which is often discussed around the issue of religion and state in Israel, and the attitude of religious institutions and rabbinates to those who refuse to marry and citizens whose Judaism is questionable, especially between same-sex couples. The point is that in Israel there is a law that requires any Jewish couple wishing to divorce, whether married through the Chief Rabbinate or married in a civil marriage, to go through the divorce process through the Chief Rabbinate, as a result of the Supreme Court ruling issued by retired Judge Aharon Barak in 2006. This is a sufficient reason for many people to choose a channel of civil divorce in Cyprus in the case of mixed couples.
No divorce, no proof of cause and no Ketubah
But a civil divorce in Cyprus and not in Israel has another set of advantages such as the ability to dissolve the marriage in a simple judgment without a regular divorce, without proving a reason for divorce, and without a Ketubah that obliges the husband even when there is no real reason for it. In fact, even in the civil divorce process it is necessary to clarify and explain that the relationship has ended and cannot be reversed, since even the civil divorce institutions in Cyprus tend to sanctify the institution of marriage and not take the divorce process lightly, though after all, it is still a faster and more simple procedure that the divorce process in the rabbinical court in Israel. In the case of a Jewish couple or a couple in which one of the parties is Jewish, the rabbinical court must nevertheless apply for a divorce “Get Lehumrah”.
Process management by a family attorney
Having said that, if you are married in a civil setting, and you now want a divorce, and if you understand and choose the benefits of performing a divorce in Cyprus, you definitely want the guidance of an attorney who specializes in this area and knows how to assist you in both the legal and procedural aspects of divorce in Cyprus. This is an uncomplicated procedure, but one that requires knowledge and familiarity with the process and the institutions involved, and an attorney dealing with the issue can help you get through the process easily, especially at a time when you may be more sensitive to each other and in general.
Same-sex as common-law spouse
In Israel, the recognition of same-sex as common-law spouses is growing. By virtue of being common-law spouses of same-sex couples, they are granted rights and obligations of failure as of common-law spouses. The right to equality is a supreme right and it applies to all Israeli citizens regardless of their sexual preference, and this right is recognized in Israeli legislation and case law, beginning with the enactment of the Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty, on human dignity, regardless of person and sexual orientation. The Supreme Court interprets the Basic Law as granting, among other things, equality before the authorities.
Recently there was a case in Israel where a same-sex couple asked for a divorce after getting married in Canada and living in Israel. Due to the fact that this is a same-sex couple, the rabbinical court could not approve the divorce and the couple applied to the Family Court for permission to marry, which gave them legal validity in Canada. The Family Court has allowed the marriage of a same-sex married couple under Canadian law.
As part of the process, you will need to look at the places where the marriage can take place, make sure you arrive at a suitable time and not on a holiday, go through the marriage process, sign the local government office, and other similar actions.
An attorney in the field of civil marriage can help you not only in carrying out the process itself, but in understanding all the details you need to know about the process you are about to go through, and the implications of the move on your life in Israel, once you return, and there are some.
Legal information package and civil marriage package in Cyprus
An attorney in the field of civil marriage in Cyprus will be able to equip you with a package of legal information that will help you better understand the process in general, as well as help organize a travel package to Cyprus and handle all the necessary steps in particular, without bureaucracy and without having to run between the various bodies involved in the process.
Same-sex marriage in Israel is a ticking divorce bomb
That is, having children in a triple or quadruple same-sex family (that is, if a biologct mother who shares a relationship with another woman, is pregnant with a biological father who also shares a relationship with another man) can cause serious complications that the court will often rule in favor of the child, and certainly not according to justice but according to the law.
Israeli law has not changed following the same-sex marriage trend, and when same-sex relationships are destroyed, Israeli law imposes custody of biological parents, even if the child’s relationship with biological parents is not as good as the child’s relationship with the non-biological parents. In order to avoid serious complications and tragedies, Attorney Lev suggests to same-sex couples who have decided to dissolve the marriage framework, not to go to court but to first resort to mediation. We call the same-sex arrangements taken in other settings, as non-suitable arrangements, because they do not require couples to update the agreements when they have a child, thus opening the door to all the said complications and problems.
Although this seems necessary, no decision can currently be attributed in the marriage or cohabitation agreement towards an unborn baby, since he is kind of a virtual baby. Therefore many agreements, said verbally, or even written in signed agreements are insignificant when they come to court. According to her, the law in Israel rarely rules on raising children younger than the age of 6, not by their biological mother, and this is only after it has been proven that the biological mother is not fit from any perspective to raise her children.
Due to the law, the status of non-biological parents who currently entirely function as parents, can be severely damaged by the resolution of the dispute within the court.
It is known that the relationships and marital commitment among same-sex couples are not stronger than among heterosexual couples, and some also argue that the disintegration of the family unit among these couples is higher relative to the general population. Therefore, Adv Lev requires all same-sex couples who sign a cohabitation agreement to update the agreement as soon as a child joins the family unit.
There is a recommendation to start the separation proceedings by mediation accompanied by a lawyer who specializes in family law. A couple of agreements reached as part of mediation and which are subject to judicial review – will have the force of a judgment for all intents and purposes.
