"Decoding Divorce Costs: A Guide to Affordable Separation Without a Lawyer in Rwanda - Your Path to Financially Conscious Fresh Beginnings!"

WHO CAN FILE FOR DIVORCE IN RWANDA

Only married spouses i.e. husband or wife can file for divorce before competent court in Rwanda. Primary court in Rwanda are the only courts to handle most of the divorce cases and party must pay court fees of 10,000 frw approximately 10 $ and provide evidence to court before his/ her case can be admitted.

Before filing divorce case in court, the aggrieved couple must first serve / notify divorce pleadings or submission to the opposite party / defendant in order to file his or her defense before court.

Once the matter for divorce is filed in court couples are invited to attend 2 compulsory conciliation sessions in order to reconcile and get back together. ?The two Conciliation sessions take 6 months before case is sent to court for pretrial hearing and later hearing in merit.

Usually in divorce cases court is requested to determine the following:

• ?Whether grounds of divorce raised by the claimant/ plaintiff or petitioner are justifiable
• Matter of division of property if any
• Matter of child custody & child support if any.

Filing a divorce case without a lawyer may seem less costly but confusing because may court users dont know how to file cases, choosing competent court, paying court fees and keeping court's time. It is clear that in Rwanda parties may incur at least 200,000frw (200 $) as court administrative /official fees if they decide not to hire lawyer / divorce attorney to act and represent them in court.?

HOW MUCH DOES DIVORCE COSTWITH LAWYER IN RWANDA?

The cost of hiring divorce lawyer/ divorce attorney in Rwanda and elsewhere differs because lawyers are different and they will charge you basing on their experience, exposure and complexity of the divorce case.

Divorce lawyers in Rwanda are not very expensive considered to other lawyers in Europe because they usually charge above 1,000,000 frw for their legal services which include but not limited to preparing and reviewing court submissions/ documents, filing divorce case in right court, providing legal advice & legal opinion to the client, attending court sessions and carrying out legal research for their client.

What are the grounds for divorce in Rwanda?

According to Article 218 of Law no32/2016 of 28/08/2016 governing persons and family provide for grounds of divorce in Rwanda.

It states that any of the spouses may apply for divorce on one of the following grounds:

·??????Adultery;

·??????Desertion for a period of at least twelve (12) consecutive months;

·??????Conviction for an offense severely tainting the honour;

·??????Refusal to provide for the household needs;

·??????Excess, abuse or serious insults by one towards another;

·??????Gender based violence;

·??????De facto separation for a period of at least two (2) years;

·??????Non-cohabitation for more than twelve consecutive (12) months from the day of celebration of marriage on unjustifiable grounds.

Surprisingly in other neighboring countries of Kenya and Uganda, their laws provide for Adultery, desertion for more than 2 years & cruelty.

How to get divorce certificate in Rwanda?

The Divorce certificate is legal document to Rwandan citizens who have undergone the process of canceling their marriage. It is a confirmation of one’s civil status as "Divorced". It is either automatically processed by the Civil Registration System or manually processed by local government authorities at the sector level, upon issuance of a copy of the court judgment which confirms that the person is divorced.

• The applicant for divorce certificate / record pays only 1500 frw to get it.
• It takes only one (1) to get divorce certificate or document issued to the applicant
• Requirements for one to apply for divorce certificate in Rwanda include: your identification details (you & your wife) legal marriage and divorce details, court order or other proof of divorce with a valid phone number, email address, or both.
• ?It is generated online & valid for lifetime until you change your civil status.
• The procedure for application of the divorce certificate like any other family law document in Rwanda is done via irembo.

Please if you have any question about divorce process in Rwanda please contact us we will respond promptly via +250 787 314 139

Website: muradvocates.com