Legal Question in Family Law in Lebanon

Dear Madam,

Since you both agree on divorce, things should go easy, and there is no need to change your confession from "Maronite" to any other christian sect, and that for the following reasons:

1- The Maronite church has recently improved its procedures, and thus it is much more easy to get a divorce under the Maronite regulation than before. You can get now a divorce within 8 to 10 months.

2- If you change your rite and get divorced under another christian sect, let us say(ِAssyrian اشوري) or (Syriac سريان) or (orthodox), your divorce will be registered in the registers of the Lebanese State(سجل النفوس), however you will remain married as per the Maronite Church registers (سجلات الكنيسة المارونية)

3- The procedure may be faster when you change your confession, however it is still complicated and expensive: you have to change first your rite at the ministry of interior (سجل النفوس) and then you register yourself at the new church, and then get the divorce. The cost would be a minimum of USD 10000 to USD 15000. Whereas an agreed divorce would at a maximum of USD 6000 to USD 7000 at the Maronite Church.

4- If you encounter after the divorce any problems (supposing your husband stops paying the kids alimony, or breaches the agreement you had with him before the divorce) it would be difficult to solve them if he or you change once again your confession.

For the above reasons, it would be our opinion to remain in your confession since there is a mutual agreement to divorce.

Should you need any further details, please feel free to send us an email at the following address: [email protected]