Family law : divorce and division of property. (Russia)
Dear Karina:
I have been looking at your website and can see that you give very helpful advice and information to people in difficult and confusing situations.
I am American and my husband is Russian. We were married in Moscow, where we were living at the time, but after a couple of years we moved to the United States, where we settled and raised a family.
We are now planning to divorce – there are no minor children involved and we have agreed privately how to divide our assets.
We thought it would be logical to file the papers in Russia since we were married there and we also have an apartment there, which is to go to my husband.
The Russian Embassy has advised that they can witness a statement from myself to enable my husband to lodge the papers in Moscow in my absence (he has agreed that they should be filed in my name on the grounds of his unreasonable behaviour).
However, we have also been advised to file in parallel in the United States, since we have our home here and a holiday apartment in Spain. Is this correct? Wouldn't one of the proceedings override the other?
I will be seeking advice here in the United States, but I would be very grateful for your opinion from the Russian legal point of view. I simply find it hard to believe that we can be divorced twice at the same time in different countries.
Thank you in anticipation.