BY availing of the High Court's original jurisdiction and the terms of Article of the Constitution, the first couple to obtain an Irish divorce in modern times have already gone their separate ways.
On January 17th, Mr Justice Barron granted an applicant a decree of dissolution of marriage. The application was not contested by the man's spouse.
For those who will follow this couple in applying for, and obtaining, a decree of divorce, the relevant legislation is contained in the Family Law (Divorce) Act 1996, which became law on November 27th last year. The first applications for decrees of divorce under the statute may be made on and after February 27th, 1997.
Before arriving at this point, a number of serious legal issues must be addressed by the prospective divorcees. Among the most weighty of these matters is the new taxation status of the divorce couple.
The advent of a divorce jurisdiction in the State has implications for the tax liabilities of the divorced spouses. Much of the law in this regard is framed with reference to previous regulations governing marital breakdown.
The major difference now is the extinguishing of certain rights upon the remarriage of a divorced spouse. Upon remarriage the divorced spouse's new marriage is recognised as a subsisting marriage for tax purposes.
The complexities of the new divorce jurisdiction with regard to tax liability are set out in Hilary Walpole's Tax Implications of Marital Breakdown. This concise textbook is published by the Institute of Taxation and is a new addition to the institute's library of titles which cover all areas of personal and corporate taxation in painstaking detail.
The complexities of each marriage breakdown will give rise to its own set of tax implications. In considering the tax code in each of its component parts this book will avail legal and tax practitioners of a comprehensive body of knowledge for the benefit of those seeking advice in circumstances of marriage breakdown.
All major areas of taxation are set out, including income tax, capital gains tax, PRSI, residential property tax (now defunct but still collectable in arrear), capital acquisitions tax, stamp duty and probate tax.
Hilary Walpole is a pioneer in this new area of tax specialisation. Her work sets a baseline for the development of tax law in the new world of divorce, Irish style. Lawyers, accountants, tax advisers, bankers, social workers, potential litigants and divorcees will find answers to general queries on their own and their client's tax liabilities with respect to divorce and other, less radical, forms of marital breakdown.
The book deals with the tax implications of all forms of marital breakdown ranging from informal separation to nullity to judicial separation agreements and orders. It also deals with co habitation and foreign divorce.
It is, however, the arrival of divorce in the State which justifies the opening of a new field of study in the area of tax law.
Preliminary figures from the 1996 Labour Force Survey reveal that 47,500 marriages - affecting 95,000 married people - have broken down. Of these 95,000 individuals, it is believed that up to 60,000 have been living apart for the four out of the previous five years.
This is one of three grounds which must be satisfied before the court may grant a decree of divorce. (The other grounds are that there is no reasonable prospect of reconciliation between the spouses and that the court is satisfied that such provision as it considers necessary is made for spouses and dependent members of the family.)
It is expected that an initial surge of divorce applications will be made following the commencement of the act later this month. Hilary Walpole's book will be of assistance to all those availing of the new law.
