Some people like the idea of a Marriage under the sun and in a private desert beach in Costa Rica, rather than their normal marriage license in their hometown before a Judge or Priest, so for those of you that have that idea I will explain how things work in Costa Rica. Marriages in Costa Rica is a little bit different than in the United States and Canada, there you ask for a Marriage License and then perform the rituals of marriage before a person who is authorized to do it or before a Priest works different; there is two types of marriages. CATOLIC MARRIAGE: The Catholic priest has the law given right to solemnize marriages. This type of marriage automatically becomes a civil marriage, because by law the catholic priest are also civil authorities to perform marriages. This responsibility is granted thru their inscription before the Civil Registry of their signature and official seal. Catholicism is the official religion of the Costa Rica Government by law, so one of the benefits Catholics get of this is that their Priests are able to perform marriages, all other religions are not authorized to perform marriages, they cannot be registered and will not have legal value CIVIL MARRIAGE: This one is performed by a Family Judge authorized by the court, or by a Notary Public, all the other religious denominations have to perform a civil marriage by a Notary Public or Judge, get it registered and then go back and have the religious ceremony, Lawyers that are also credited as Notary Publics and duly registered in the Civil Register and Judges are the only ones authorized to perform marriages, they have a special book for that, they keep a record of them and are the ones responsible for the registration of that marriage before the National Registry. ( Civil Registry keeps track of identification numbers for citizens, marriage records, birth records, and death records). In any of the cases the basic requirements are: Two witnesses, they have to be of legal age and be present a the moment of signature of the documents Certification from the national registry of your civil status ( In case of foreigners they sign at affidavit, stating that there is no previous marriages. In the case of the Catholic Church they require a pre-marital course, and that the persons to be married are Catholic, also that the witnesses have to be Catholic, and the Religious ceremony has the validity of the Civil Marriage. After this requirements it normally takes the lawyer or priest involved about a month to inscribe your documentation in the National Registry Divorce is a lot different than in the United States, Canada and most countries, because if you want to divorce by mutual agreement or irreconcilable differences and there is no dispute there are several things to think about first The first requirement is to have your marriage is at least 3 years old, if it is not then sorry but the law does not allow negotiated divorces to happen before the marriage is that old Any of the other causes of divorce can be started at any time, but in those cases there will be litigation involve, physical or sociological damage or unsustainable situations The causes to get a divorce if it is not by common agreement are: Adultery Attemp to murder the spouse or any of the children Prostitution of the spouse or any of the children Cruel treatment Legal separation for at least one year The absences of the spouse legally declared Separation for at least three years If your situation does not fit in one of those, you can’t get divorced, also the average amount of time to get a divorce in court would be of at least two years, so maybe is better to talk to your ex and get a divorce by mutual agreement that would take only three months Also important in a divorce situation The real estate and other assets purchased or obtained by any other mean, by any of the two parties during the time they were married are to be divided in halves If you have been awarded an inheritance this is the only thing that its not subject to be divided, it is only yours. The party that provides the income to the family has to provide alimony to the one that has no income until he or she gets a way to earn a living If you have children, the Patronato (Government Institution that is en charged of supervising minors in Costa Rica), is going to be a party in your divorce, children get child support until they are 18 years old, or 25 if they are studying Normally the women will be granted with the custody fort he children, that is almost fact, the only way to change that is to demonstrate that the women will not provided a safe environment for the children to grow in, but, prove it Please be advise that this information is a general idea of the situation and that in any particular case there is always differences and situations that might change some of the facts, and might not fit exactly in the general rule, so always consult your counselor for a professional advise, it is important to obtain certainty when you are thinking in the way you are going to live in the future, and also to avoid inconveniences that might show up when acting without proper professional advise.