family (6)
It can be a very traumatic experience and if the death occurs overseas you can feel additional distress since you are unfamiliar with French procedures which differ significantly to those in the United Kingdom : * the first step is to call a doctor he will draft a medical certificate of the death ( “certificat médical de décès”) Any doctor may be called even if he was not the GP of the deceased person. If the person died in a hospital or a old's people home, this ...
These days more and more English people are moving to France permanently or part of each year. The UK Government statistics show that just over thirty-five per cent of marriages break down. The French figures are almost the same : one third in the province, one half in Paris. You may feel somehow disconnected from the help you could obtain in the UK. You really can't face thought of going to a local lawyer, what with the language problems, the strange laws and customs and you have heard ...
A current TV campaign being run in France states that every 2.5 days a woman is killed by her partner (157 deaths in 2008, 149 in 2009). 75,000 women are thought to be the victims of rape each year and 20% of murders in France are the result of domestic violence. These figures seem almost unbelievable but are sadly all too true. If you are the victim of domestic violence, be aware that in France there are structures in place for support and advice. France has long had a policy of protecting the ...
Deciding on residency arrangements (previously known as custody) for your children can be a complicated issue.In France your children may either live with the father or the mother.They can also spend one or two weeks with the mother and same time with the father (it is known as joint custody “garde alternée”). The “juge aux affaires familiales” awards custody of the children to either the mother or the father or, in exceptionnal cases (violence, alcoholism...) to third party, if ...
If both parties are living in France, or if the children are living here with either the mother or father, or if the respondent is living in France, you can apply for a divorce here even if you were born or married abroad. What do you do? In France you cannot fill in a divorce petition by yourself and send it to a court (as in the UK). You must instruct a lawyer (“avocat”). There is no website such as that of Her Majesty's Court Services, where you find useful information and ...
Age restrictions: In order to get married in France: * You must both be over 18 and free to marry (single, widowed or divorced) OR * It is possible to marry if you are under 18 in certain circumstances (due to pregnancy, for example) in which case a special dispensation from the Procureur de la République (public prosecutor) in charge of the place of marriage must be requested In the UK the legal age of marriage in England, Wales and Northern Ireland is 18 (16 with ...