Divorce in Panama

Divorce by mutual consent is the quickest and least conflictive method to dissolve a marriage in Panama. Both parties must agree not only on the divorce, but also on the distribution of marital property, child custody and alimony.

At Kraemer & Kraemer, we help you draft agreements fairly, guaranteeing that all parties involved, especially the children, are protected.

In order to dissolve the marriage bond through a divorce by mutual consent,, the following must be additionally met:

1. That the spouses are of legal age;
2. That the marriage has been celebrated for at least one year; and
3. The parties must ratify their request for divorce two months after the filing of the petition for divorce and within six months of the filing of the petition for divorce.

Requirements for a Divorce in Panama by Mutual Agreement:

• The marriage certificate is required. Additionally, depending on the situation, you must include the children’s birth certificates or a document certifying that there are no children.
• In order to guarantee the welfare of the minor children and a fair distribution of the marital assets, it is essential to establish an agreement that regulates the aspects related to custody, visitation and alimony.
• The terms related to the division of real estate and personal property should be agreed upon.
• Although it is one of the fastest methods of obtaining a divorce, the process requires a hearing in the Panama court.

When the divorce does not reach an agreement between the parties, it proceeds with a contentious divorce. In these cases, one of the spouses files a lawsuit alleging one of the grounds for divorce in Panama provided for in the Family Code.

Our legal team will guide you in the documentation and presentation of your case before the courts, guaranteeing that your rights are defended throughout the process.

The grounds for requesting a divorce in Panamá are listed in article 212 of our Family Code, being the first nine grounds of a contentious nature, which must be demonstrated and debated in a Court of Justice.

Causes for Contentious Divorce:

1. The attempt of one of the spouses against the life of the other, or of their sons, daughters, stepchildren or stepdaughters;
2. The physical or psychological cruel treatment if it makes impossible the peace and domestic tranquility;
3. The extramarital sexual relationship;
4. The proposal of one of the spouses to prostitute the other;
5. The attempt of the husband or wife to corrupt or prostitute their sons, daughters, stepchildren or stepdaughters, or the connivance in their corruption or prostitution;
6. The absolute abandonment by the husband of his duties as husband or father, and by the wife, of her duties as wife or mother, if at least six (6) months have elapsed since the day on which the cause originated, except in the case of abandonment of a pregnant woman, in which case the term shall be three (3) months.
7. The habitual and unjustified use of drugs or psychotropic substances;
8. Habitual drunkenness;
9. The de facto separation for more than one year, even when living under the same roof.

The exequatur is a legal procedure that allows the recognition and execution of a divorce judgment issued by a foreign court in Panama. In this process, a Panamanian judge verifies that the foreign statement follows the legal requirements of the country and, once homologated, the petition will have full legal effects in Panama.

Requirements for a Divorce by Exequatur:

• Foreign divorce judgment duly authenticated or apostilled.
• Official Spanish translation of the judgment, prepared by a certified public translator in Panama.
• Certificate of marriage in Panama issued by the Civil Registry of the Electoral Tribunal.
• Once the exequatur is granted, an authenticated copy of the judgment must be submitted to the Civil Registry for it to be officially recognized in Panama.

This procedure is especially necessary for those who have been divorced abroad but wish to have their judgment valid in Panama, for example, to remarry or to carry out legal procedures that require the recognition of their new civil status.

The liquidation of the matrimonial economic regime in Panama is the legal process through which the assets and debts accumulated during the marriage are distributed. This process guarantees that, at the end of the marital relationship, each spouse receives his/her share as established by Panamanian law.

This process represents the culmination of the property relationship between the spouses. The liquidation of the matrimonial property regime generally occurs as a consequence of the death of one of them or of the marital breakdown, either by divorce, separation or annulment.

Requirements for the Liquidation of the Economic Matrimonial Regime:

• Inventory of assets and debts: It is necessary to submit a detailed inventory of the assets acquired and settle the debts incurred during the marriage to establish the common assets.
• Documentation of ownership: It is necessary to provide documents that prove the ownership of the assets, such as certificates of ownership, titles and proof of acquired assets.
• Agreement between the parties or judicial decision: The liquidation can be carried out by mutual agreement, or decided by a judge in case of conflict between the parties.

This procedure is fundamental for those who wish to formalize their separation and divide their patrimony in a legal and equitable manner. This liquidation can be materialized by means of a prenuptial agreement through two main ways: a consensual one, based on the express agreement of the spouses, and a contentious one, which is activated in the absence of consensus and requires judicial intervention.