Raymond T.L. Tse & Co., Solicitors

Hong Kong  has a moderate degree of separation and divorce cases reflecting sadly somewhat fragile inter-personal relationship.

​

The Family Court in Hong Kong may grant decrees of divorce to couples seeking divorce  if they could satisfy the Court that the marriage has irretrievably broken down due to  1 or more of the following 5 grounds of petition for divorce :-

• ​Fault based divorce​

  • T​he other party/respondent has committed adultery.

  • The other party/respondent has behaved in such manner that the petitioning spouse could not be reasonably be expected to live with the respondent 

  • The other party/respondent has deserted the the petitioner for at least 2 years.

• Non-fault based divorce

  • The parties​ have lived apart continuously for over 1 year and the other party/respondent consents to the divorce being granted.

 

Separation between the parties is the most commonly used ground for divorce. In order to avoid on discrepancy as to the actual starting date of separation, it is often advisable to sign a separation deed to confirm the date of separation and if possible to provide for the interim arrangements as to child custody and maintenance pending formal court order.

​

As regards custody of minor child(ren) under the age of 16 years, the Family Court tends to favour joint custody arrangement in that  both parents should be consulted and pro-actively be involved to discuss and give their opinions regarding long term decision of the child(ren), such as religion, education/schooling, studying abroad, medical operation/treatments etc.

​

For long marriage, say over 10 years, the Family Court may consider equal distribution of all the family assets  regardless of who holds which property(ies) and regardless of whet one spouse remained at home to take care of the household chores. 

​

For younger marriage, say shorter than 3 years, the Family Court may consider clean-break principle or maintaining the status quo position of the financially weaker spouse.   Ancillary reliefs question such as maintenance, custody and distribution of assets are often complicated and vary from family to family. Thus no hard and fast rule could be summarized. It is best for you having marital problem to seek assistance and advice from social worker(s) for family mediation and from legal professional(s) to guide you on the complicated legal battle.

​