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International divorce in Portugal: Las Vegas marriage, spouses living in Portugal and the United States, and a clean legal route based on long separation
Summary
We represented a Swedish national habitually resident in Portugal in divorce proceedings before the Portuguese Family Court, where the marriage had been celebrated in the United States and the other spouse remained resident in America. The case required a clear, efficient structure to secure dissolution in Portugal based on a long-standing de facto separation, with no children, no common assets, and no family home to litigate.
Background
- The parties entered into a civil marriage on 17 July 2015 in Las Vegas, Nevada (USA).
- No children resulted from the marriage.
- The marital relationship effectively ended in July 2019, which was pleaded as the date of de facto separation. From that point onward, the spouses no longer shared residence, income, meals, or any form of conjugal life.
- Crucially, the client has been resident in Portugal continuously since 2019, fully integrated in the country, while the husband remained resident in the United States (California), making this a genuinely cross-border family matter, despite the legal route being procedurally straightforward.
Key challenges
Cross-border reality, simple legal pathway: a marriage celebrated in the USA, with the petitioner in Portugal and the respondent in the USA, requiring a petition that is procedurally clean and court-ready from the outset.
No ancillary disputes to “absorb” delays: there were no children, no common assets, and no family home, so the focus had to be on a fast, well-supported dissolution grounded on the statutory requirements.
Prior unsuccessful attempts to dissolve by agreement: contacts between the parties after separation were only sporadic via social media, aimed at trying to dissolve the marriage without success, so litigation became the necessary route.
Our approach
Clear legal grounds: we structured the claim as a divorce without the other spouse’s consent, relying on (i) one-year de facto separation and (ii) the broader ground of definitive breakdown, under Article 1781 (a) and (d) of the Portuguese Civil Code.
Retroactive effects: we sought that the effects of divorce retroact to July 2019, the separation date, under Article 1789(2) of the Civil Code, to align the legal effects with the reality of the parties’ lives.
Efficient proof plan: the case was supported primarily with the marriage certificate, and witness evidence was identified to confirm the separation timeline and absence of conjugal life.
Procedural focus: the petition requested the mandatory conciliation attempt under Article 931 of the Portuguese Civil Procedure Code, ensuring the case was aligned with Portuguese family procedure from the outset.
Outcome: What the Work Achieved
The proceedings were framed to obtain dissolution in Portugal through a clear statutory route based on long separation, while managing the cross-border context (Portugal/USA) in a clean, court-friendly way — avoiding unnecessary factual noise and keeping the case strictly aligned with the legal test.
Note: This case study is for information only. Every case depends on its facts and evidence; outcomes are not guaranteed.