Family law in the Dominican Republic

What we handle

Dominican family law is governed by the Civil Code, Law 1306-bis on Divorce, the Code for the Protection System of the Rights of Children and Adolescents (Law 136-03) and Law 659 on Civil Status Acts, among other rules. We advise on divorce by mutual consent and for cause, liquidation of the marital regime, custody, visitation and child support, adoption, parentage, and successions and partitions.

A significant part of our practice involves families with ties to the United States and Puerto Rico: marriages celebrated in one country and dissolved in another, children with dual nationality, estates with assets on both sides. For them, the value lies in a lawyer who knows both systems and prevents a decision valid in one country from being useless in the other.

• Divorce by mutual consent and for incompatibility or other causes
• Divorce of foreigners in the Dominican Republic and its effects in the home country
• Prenuptial agreements and separation of property regime
• Liquidation and partition of community property
• Custody, visitation and child support, including international cases
• Domestic and international adoption under Law 136-03
• Successions, wills, determination of heirs and partition
• Recognition (exequatur) of foreign divorce, custody and succession judgments

Binational families

A divorce granted in the Dominican Republic between spouses living in the United States, or the reverse, raises questions of jurisdiction, applicable law and recognition. We analyze where it is better to litigate, how to ensure the judgment is recognized in the other jurisdiction and how to protect assets located in each country during the process. In matters involving children, we apply the Hague Convention on international child abduction, to which the Dominican Republic is a party.

Estates with assets in several countries

The succession of a Dominican with property in the country and accounts in the United States, or of a foreigner with a villa on the coast, is governed by different rules depending on the asset and the country. The Dominican forced heirship reserve protects children and limits testamentary freedom. We coordinate the determination of heirs, partition and inheritance taxes in the country with probate proceedings abroad, and we design wills and trusts in advance to avoid conflict.

Content reviewed by M. Yorleny Villar R., partner at VSP Consultores Legales. Updated September 22, 2026.