A Brief Introduction of problems for lawyers facing foreign divorce cases

• Time：2019-03-04
• counter：1818

1. If the parties are abroad, notarization and certification procedures must be completed in regards to parties’ identities and power of attorney. China’s law requires full authenticity. However, many foreign countries have differing procedures; some require notarization and other only certificates. In this situation, it is necessary to consult with those courts in order to obtain a judicial interpretation.
2. If the client of a foreign party entrusts a friend or relative inside China to deal with the divorce, the attorney will include them in signing the attorney agreement and payment of expenses. For this situation, the letter of entrustment for third party must also be notarized and certified.
3. It is necessary to verify the jurisdiction of courts involved in cases of foreign divorces. In some situations, the court may not accept cases if there is insufficient experience in handling foreign affairs. In order to avoid case filing failure, it is important for attorneys to investigate and confirm whether the court will accept the case or not.
4. Domestic divorce cases don’t require special authorization but if one party is abroad and cannot attend trial in court, it needs to be specially authorized.
5. Because time to submit evidence and case materials has a short window, it is suggested that all notarizations and certifications be prepared in advance.
6. In foreign related divorces where one party is leaving the country, lawyers can apply to limit their exiting of the country since leaving could hinder subsequent hearings.
7. In general, domestic cases will rarely order a one-time payment but for foreign cases, many courts will support the application for one-off payments from the foreign party to the domestic party and their children.