Legislator Edgardo Araya, from Frente Amplio, propsed a reform to the Family Code that intends to establish the impossibility of living a common life as a cause for divorce.
According to the current Family Code, when a person wants to dissolve the marriage bond because they no longer wish to live with their spouse, they must wait for a mutual agreement to apply for a divorce or separate for three years, during which obligations continue.
The legislator said that this situation forces many people to stay in a marriage for years and it’s very contradictory because for a marriage to work it is essential that both people want to maintain the bond.
According to the draft, the current situation generates inequalities between persons united in marriage and constitutes a violation of the legal principle of autonomy.
At present, if there is no mutual agreement, the person must leave the common home without any right over the property and must wait three years to be able to claim the assets that belong to both spouses. This could make it difficult to separate because of economic reason and force people to sustain a coexistence,”
added Araya.