A German woman seeking a divorce from her husband has been told that she can’t divorce in England and will instead have to divorce in her native Germany.
Pierburg Divorce Case
Clarissa Pierburg is divorcing her extremely wealthy husband, Jurgen Pierburg, with whom she has been married to for over 30 years. She wanted the divorce to take place in England due to the fact that the UK divorce Courts are more likely to be generous to her in the financial settlement.
Mrs Pierburg’s argument for the divorce taking place in England was that she had been resident and domiciled in London since 2017, living in Knightsbridge. She also claimed that she had a ‘love affair’ with England, which started in the 1960’s when she worked in York as an au pair. Furthermore, London had become an “integral part of her life” before she began living there in 2017, going to various ballet and opera performances.
Conversely, Mr Pierburg wanted the divorce proceedings to be handled in Germany and lodged a petition in relation to the legal process taking place in the UK. He claimed that Mrs Pierburg was “German to the core” and during their marriage she never expressed any desire to live in London.
The High Court Judge in this divorce tourism battle, Mr Justice Moor, ruled in favour of Mr Pierburg. Despite accepting that Mrs Pierburg has been residing in London since 2017, he dismissed any other link to the UK prior to this point in time:
“I accept she visited it regularly, but she did not reside here as she basically confirmed in her oral evidence when she said she ‘visited’ regularly.
“She came here for the opera, for the ballet, to visit Dumfries House and to see friends such as Lady Chichester, but she did not live here.
“Her decision in St Moritz in February 2017 that she would reside here in the future was not sufficient until she did move here.”
Before 2017, Mr and Mrs Pierburg lived in Dusseldorf until the turn of the century but then moved to Switzerland and resided in a glamorous and luxurious chateau in Lausanne.
The Judge also commented that Mrs Pierburg had “emotional and physical” links to her homeland which were “considerably greater than she made out” and that she hadn’t been domiciled in England when she filed for divorce.
The Judge’s ruling means that the couple must now dispute the financial aspects of their divorce in the German Courts.
International Divorce Laws
International divorce is a complex and intricate area of family law, and what country a divorce takes place in usually boils down to domicile and habitual residence.
Domicile is a legal element which considers not only where a person is born but also where they are living now and what their intentions are for the future. Conversely, habitual residence relates to where someone lives and are based for the majority of the time.
Even if a couple have already been granted a divorce in another country, if one or both of them have strong ties with England it could be possible for the Courts in England to rule on the financial aspects related to the divorce. In the main, the English divorce Courts are generally quicker and cheaper than other countries.
When it comes to international divorce laws, it is essential to obtain expert legal advice prior to filing divorce proceedings, as it might more be financially advantageous to a person to divorce in England.
How Nelsons Can Help
If you need advice on divorce or any other family law-related matters, please contact a member of our Family Law team in Derby, Leicester, and Nottingham on 0800 024 1976 or via our online form. The team will be happy to discuss your circumstances in more detail and provide you with more information about the services that we can provide along with details of our hourly rates and fixed fee services.
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