Best Mutual Consent Divorce Lawyers in Surat — Verified Advocates

Jurisdiction is the first practical question. A petition may be filed where the marriage was solemnised, where the couple last resided together, or where the respondent resides — and for a migrant family those are frequently three different states. A wife may additionally claim maintenance where she currently lives. Where a spouse has gone back to a home district, a Supreme Court transfer petition is often needed before anything can be settled together.

The Section 13B structure is fixed: a first motion recording at least a year's separation and agreement to dissolve, then a second after six to eighteen months confirming consent still stands. Following the Supreme Court's decision in Amardeep Singh, the Family Court can waive the six-month gap where the separation has already been long, mediation has failed and the settlement is complete — which can bring the process down to two or three months.

The settlement is where the matter is actually resolved. It has to deal with permanent alimony and its schedule, custody and visitation, property and stridhan, and the closure of every parallel track — the Domestic Violence Act application before the Magistrate, the maintenance claim under Section 144 BNSS, and any Section 85 BNS complaint, which is not compoundable as of right and needs a quashing petition before the Gujarat High Court at Ahmedabad.