I am a US citizen who was married in South Carolina to my French ex-wife. We then moved to Taiwan with her as my dependent, and a couple months later we split up. We formally got a divorce in Taiwan several month later, after which she returned to France. I’ve had the English divorce certificate issued at the local Household Registration Office, notarized at a court, and legalized by the Bureau of Consular Affairs. My question is what do I do next to have it registered in the US/SC? I’ve contacted a couple attorneys, but their prices are outrageous. There are no children involved, no financial problems or assets involved, etc. So I don’t see why I can’t file this or have it registered myself without an attorney. But how and where?? I can’t find any information on this. I did find this one thread from nine years ago, but I didn’t find an answer on there:
Perhaps there is someone who has gone through something similar before; any help would be greatly appreciated!
Specific questions regarding the validity of foreign divorces in particular states in the United States should be referred to the office of the Attorney General of the state in question. It may be necessary to retain the services of a private attorney if the office of the state Attorney General does not provide such assistance to private citizens.
The first sentence of that page you liked to says “The Attorney General does not have jurisdiction over many areas of the law, including family court matters”
You file suit in the South Carolina court asking for something like a “declaratory judgment” that your Taiwan divorce is also valid in SC. Hopefully a judge in SC agrees with you.
In the U.S., only the state courts have the power to grant a divorce or to recognize a divorce from another state. You can’t just go to an office somewhere to register a divorce.
So to have your divorce recognized in the U.S. requires a legal action (a “lawsuit”) that has to follow all the formal rules. That’s why lawyers want to charge you fees. You can try to do it yourself but you may get tripped up somewhere.
South Carolina generally won’t recognize a divorce from a country where you were just visiting, if you did not intend to live there long term. In your case, you moved to Taiwan and split up “a couple months later.” South Carolina may not recognize that Taiwan had adequate jurisdiction over your marriage sufficient to grant a divorce.
Even if you cross that hurdle, the Taiwan household registration office is an administrative office, not a court that hears evidence and makes legal decisions. So you could argue that “This divorce is legal in Taiwan!” But SC may not care, if you have not met the legal requirements of any of the 50 U.S. states. One factor in your favor: you had your divorce papers notarized in the Taiwan court, so a judge in SC might say “if that court approved it, then I will approve it, too.”
But wait, you only had your divorce certificate notarized by the court, but your case was not adjudicated? Maybe the SC court denies your request, and then you have to get another divorce in SC.
There’s a reason lawyers want to charge you money. Because your case is very fact intensive, and requires research into issues and law that are not simple.
The simple answer is that you file a claim in the SC court, present evidence of your claim, and argue why the judge should grant an order in your favor. (Not as simple as it sounds, and that’s why people hire attorneys.)
Not a bad idea. File divorce in SC, serve notice on the ex in France, state that “we have no kids, no assets, no debts, and we’re already divorced once in Taiwan.” When the ex ignores the case (or if she signs an agreement/stipulation) you win a divorce judgment in SC.
Thanks a ton for the answers! I looked a bit more into filing the divorce in SC instead of going about getting the Taiwan divorce recognized. As you said, it seems vastly simpler and there’s a much higher certainty that the divorce will go through without any complications. According to the link below, I can simply file the divorce based on one year of continuous separation without the help of an attorney. Even better, it can be done online and free of cost. https://www.lawhelp.org/sc/resource/self-help-forms/6577E366-921B-4B4C-AA5F-D86600AFA80E
Thanks once again for your help and for taking the time to reply!
