Refusal to Grant a Divorce
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What Is Refusal to Grant a Divorce?
The issue of refusal to grant a divorce is discussed in the media often, and naturally, in a negative context. The Hebrew term:”Sarbanut Get” is the refusal of the husband (in most cases) to give his wife a divorce. By not divorcing her, the wife is left as an “Agunah” which is the Jewish religious term for chained to/in her marriage, and cannot re-marry. What are the implications? What does the law say? To find out read ahead.
What is divorce refusal?
As implied, divorce refusal is a situation where a husband will not grant a divorce to his wife, by that, he hinders her possibility to divorce and re-marry. A wife in this situation is considered, according to the Jewish law, as an “Agunah” – anchored to her marriage and still married to her husband. The main implications of this situation are as follows:
Prohibition to marry: an “Agunah” cannot marry. She is considered as a wife, i.e. still married to her husband, although she is not living with him or having intercourse with him.
Prohibition to have intercourse: an “Agunah” cannot have intercourse with another man since she is considered married to her husband. If she has intercourse with someone else she will be considered as an adulteress and will lose the right for her Ketuba (payment of the amount written in the Ketuba) and alimony.
Danger of bastardy: according to the Halacha, a wife who has intercourse with another man and has his children, these children will be considered bastards, i.e. children who cannot marry. This situation is absurd since the woman is not residing with her husband but is still forbidden to have intercourse with someone else.
Can sanction be imposed due to divorce refusal?
The answer to this question is Yes. The Rabbinic court has the authority that enables it to impose sanctions on a husband who refuses to grand his wife a divorce. However, the religious view is to reduce, as much as possible, the use of sanctions. The religious source to these sanction is the Hebrew equivalent word to “compelling” him until he says I will. In the fast, this meant that the husband would be compelled, by torcher, to grant a divorce to his wife. However, in our modern days, compelling may be manifested by imposing fines, revocation of driving license, incarceration etc.
As an “Agunah” – what can I do?
If G-d forbid you are in a position where you are refused a divorce, there are a number of ways to act:
Receiving legal advice: it is important not to cope with divorce refusal by yourselves, but get professional legal advice ASAP.
Approaching the Rabbinic court: it is advisable to approach the Rabbinic court ASAP (and if needed more than once) so as to have sanctions imposed on the husband, to try and speed the divorce process.
Civil lawsuit: the civil court recognizes divorce refusal as tort damages. So you can look into this option as extra leverage on the husband i.e. file a civil suit for a large sum of money.
To sum:
Unfortunately, divorce refusal is a phenomenon existing in our reality. Although it is not a simple matter to handle, it is important to know that there are ways to fight it. I feel that the first thing to do, in cases of divorce refusal, is to consult with an expert lawyer in family law.
Consult with a team of veteran and experienced lawyers in the field!
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You are invited to come to a counseling meeting where we will look at the existing situation and provide answers and explanations to your questions and a recommendation what we think is best for you are what to do.
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