What advantages does a wife have when she gets a divorce if her husband abuses her?

Lawyer, can a wife who is abused by her husband unilaterally divorce? In this case, what advantages does the wife have when divorcing?

Dr., Lawyer Dang Van Cuong (Head of Chinh Phap Law Office, Hanoi Bar Association) replied: According to the provisions of the law on marriage and family, divorce can be consensual (both parties agree to divorce) or divorce at the request of one party (unilateral divorce).

Dr., Lawyer Dang Van Cuong. Photo provided by the character

In case one party requests a divorce, he/she must present documentary evidence to prove that the marital situation is serious, the common life cannot be prolonged, and the purpose of the marriage cannot be achieved, then the court will grant a unilateral divorce.

One of the grounds to show that the marital situation is serious is that there is prolonged domestic violence, and despite advice and reconciliation from family, friends, agencies, organizations or local authorities, the violent behavior still occurs.

In the case where a couple has been living apart, not caring for each other, having separate finances, being sick and neglected, despite reconciliation and advice, but the situation still occurs, it is also determined to be a serious marital situation, which is the basis for the court to resolve a unilateral divorce at the request of one party.

Article 56 of the Law on Marriage and Family stipulates: When a husband or wife requests a divorce and conciliation in court fails, the court will grant the divorce if there is a basis that the husband or wife has committed an act of domestic violence or seriously violated the rights and obligations of the husband or wife, causing the marriage to fall into a serious situation, the common life cannot be prolonged, and the purpose of the marriage cannot be achieved.

In case of a request for divorce as prescribed in Clause 2, Article 51 of this Law, the court shall grant the divorce if there is a basis to believe that the husband or wife has committed an act of domestic violence that seriously affects the life, health, and spirit of the other.

In cases of serious and prolonged abuse, when the victim files a petition for divorce consideration, the court will accept and grant the divorce according to the provisions of law.

When resolving a divorce, the court will resolve the issue of child custody and may resolve the request for division of common property when the parties cannot reach an agreement on the division of common property and the party concerned requests it.

Regarding the issue of dividing common property of husband and wife, the law stipulates that common property of husband and wife will be divided in half, but on the basis of the principle of taking into account the origin, contribution, circumstances of each party and especially taking into account the fault factor that caused the marriage to break up.

According to the law, whoever is at fault and violates the marital obligations will have to suffer the loss when dividing the marital property.

Therefore, if the abused woman files a divorce petition but the issue of common property cannot be agreed upon, she also has the right to request the court to resolve the division of common property and request to determine the husband's fault in causing the divorce to occur in order to have an advantage when requesting the court to divide the property.

In cases where the wife has been subjected to prolonged violence, the request for divorce can be resolved simultaneously with the denunciation of the husband's violent behavior or after the case showing signs of criminality is resolved.