Joint divorce
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Joint divorce is a two-way divorce. The spouses ask for divorce together with the same paperwork. They are therefore co-applicants of the divorce.
Here are the conditions for a divorce to jointly ask:
The spouses must agree on all the consequences of their divorce, custody of children, child support, alimony for spouses, sharing of the value of property, etc.
There must be no point of contention between the spouses, for example, they must agree on the date on which they ceased to live together.
The reason for the divorce must be separation for more than a year. Adultery and physical and mental cruelty can not be invoked.
If the spouses choose to retain the services of a single lawyer or notary to draw up their agreement and the divorce paperwork, that lawyer or notary must advise and be faithful to both spouses, that is to say that he can not favour the position of one to the detriment of that of the other.
Divorce on consent
Spouses are not obliged to divorce together, even if they agree.
In other words, spouses can divorce amicably, but they do so separately. For example, this would be the case if the spouses are in one of the following situations:
They each want to be represented by their own lawyer.
One of the spouses wishes to invoke adultery or physical or mental cruelty as a ground for divorce.
The divorce is already requested by one of the spouses and they reached an agreement later in the divorce process.
Spouses do not agree on all the consequences of divorce, for example, they agree on the custody of children but not on sharing the value of their property.
The spouses can record the points on which they agree in a written agreement that they will sign. This agreement can also be called a "draft agreement" or a "consent".
The agreement may be converted into a judgement and become part of the divorce judgement between the spouses.
How to turn the agreement into judgement depends on the situation of the spouses. Consult a lawyer to find out more.