On July 18, 2018, a reform to the Civil Code was published in the Official Gazette of Mexico City that allows spouses to request a divorce at any time, without having to wait for a minimum of one year to elapse from the celebration of the marriage.
This requirement was eliminated both in the case of administrative divorce, in which it is not necessary to go before a Family Judge to obtain the dissolution of the marriage, as well as in the case in which the divorce has been requested through the courts due to the existence of minor children or the need to pay alimony and/or liquidate the marital partnership.
This reform arises as a consequence of a recent resolution issued by the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation that declared unconstitutional Articles 266 and 272 of the Civil Code for unjustifiably obligating the interested parties to wait at least one year to file for divorce. The Supreme Court held that such a waiting period violates the dignity of individuals and their free psychosocial development.
This criterion is in accordance with the elimination of the grounds for divorce, so that in order to decree the dissolution of the marriage bond in Mexico City, it is sufficient for either of the spouses to request it at any time and without the need to express the causes that motivate it.
The Civil Code and the Code of Civil Procedures were also amended to allow the executors appointed in testamentary successions to resign from their position for personal reasons. In the explanatory memorandum of said reform, the legislators pointed out that this change.
