Husband asked wife for a court order to operate heater at home; High Court granted divorce to woman

DUBLIN: There are no particular reasons for marital separation. It could be either trivial issues or serious issues. Selfishness and wealth are just a few of them. But the case that recently granted a divorce in Ireland is interesting.

The couple currently live separately in a partitioned family home, despite the quarrel. But the problem was exacerbated when her husband started making noise at irregular hours. He had argued that the woman needed court orders to enter his portion to turn on the heating. The woman was seeking a divorce due to so many strange arguments like this. And she was granted a divorce order by Mr. Justice Max Barrett.

The court found that the husband had not fully disclosed his financial status and had abused the woman. The husband tried to convince the court that he was a gentleman, but at the beginning there was no problem between the two, the court said. However, the court found that he had been abusing his wife for recently. He acted badly towards her, forcing her, when she had little money, regularly to engage lawyers and to seek all sorts of orders against him, including to pay his share of utility bills.

He had an unstable nature. She was so frightened that, at one point, she even left the family home. The woman had earlier obtained an interim barring order against him for his behavior.

He had argued in court that he had never been violent towards her and had never beaten her. He also tried to portray the woman’s past badly. But the court did not accept any of this.

The couple, who got married a few years ago, have older children. It’s been more than two years since they separated. The wife said there was no possibility of reconciliation.

The two had previously gambled on property with borrowed money. But in the mid-2000s, the woman withdrew from it and instead became a homemaker running her own business.

When the property bubble burst in 2008, all property gamblers, including her husband, went into debt. All assets were mortgaged. A receiver was also appointed to handle the case.

The judge said there was a sincere effort on the part of the woman to recover from the financial problems. The court therefore intervened in this matter as well.

The judge said the divorce order would be granted as well as an order regarding the division of assets.

The judge ordered the selling of the family home and allowed the woman to live alone. The court also ordered the husband to leave the house within eight weeks. The judge told her to to approach court if he continued his difficult behaviour.

The mortgage has to be paid and the agreed payments should be provided to the creditors from the net proceeds of the sale. The court will then decide on the distribution of the remaining income. The court also ordered the sale of other properties.