What can I do if my spouse refuses to consent to my religious divorce?

If the parties were married religiously and there are religious barriers to divorce, there may be instances where one of the spouses will refuse to consent to the divorce. If one of the spouses refuse to consent to a religious divorce (thereby preventing the other spouse from leaving the marriage and obtaining a divorce), the other spouse may file an affidavit with a civil court conveying the controlling actions of the first spouse and that the first spouse is using this barrier to religious marriage to prevent the other spouse from remarrying.

Cases such as Bruker v. Markowitz have confirmed that the victimized spouse may bring an action in the civil courts for damages caused by the first spouse’s actions.

The victimized spouse may bring a motion to strike out any other pleading or affidavit filed by the controlling spouse or to dismiss the controlling spouse’s application altogether.

As was evidenced in Bruker v. Markowitz, a prime example of barriers to religious marriages occurs in the Jewish Religion. When a Jewish couple makes the decision to obtain a “Get” (divorce order) in order to remarry, they must go to a beth din. The beth din will only grant the “Get” if both parties consent to it.

In 2007, the SCC ruled in Bruker v. Markowitz that the victimized wife was permitted to have her case for damages heard in the civil courts, and thereby the Court awarded her damages on account of the husband’s reluctance to consent to the “Get” and allow her to move on with her life.

However, recent case law has suggested that once the controlling spouse rectifies his/her behavior and removes such barriers to the religious marriage, he/she may move to have his/her original claims heard and adjudicated.

To learn more about religious divorce as well as the services provided by Krol & Krol, call 905.707.3370 today.