The divorce procedure is a topic known to former couples. When entering into marriage, we believe that our marriage will be compatible, happy and lasting, and this is also the text of the marriage vow. We make a decision and a commitment at the same time – in front of our witnesses, we promise each other love and honesty, and we will live together until the grave.
Unfortunately, with time it turns out that not every decision was right and not every obligation could be fulfilled. For various reasons – what was meant to be forever – ends. A decision is madeto divorce.
Grounds for divorce
There are two positive premises for divorce:
- complete breakdown of marital life.
- permanent breakdown of marriage
What is married life? According to the letter of the law – these are the ties between the spouses – an emotional bond- that is, feelings – love between the parties, physical bond – intimate life between spouses and economic bond – living together and running a household together.In order to obtain a divorce, it should be shown that the above-mentioned ties have expired – completely – there is no love between the spouses, there is no intercourse and the parties do not run the house together, and that the breakdown of these ties is permanent, i.e. there is no indication that the situation between the spouses she had.
Not every termination of marriage justifies divorce. If the spouses see a chance to save the relationship, and the problems that have arisen in the relationship are temporary – the breakdown of the marriage is not permanent, and therefore does not qualify for a request for divorce.
There are also negative grounds, i.e. those which, if any, are not possible to divorce. Those are:
- contradiction to the welfare of the minor, joint children of the parties
- contradiction to the principles of social coexistence
- only the innocent spouse refuses to divorce
If the marriage has children who have not yet reached the age of majority at the time of divorce, then it should be assessed whether the children’s welfare is at risk. Until recently, the dominant view was that it was best whenthe child is brought up in a complete family. Currently, more attention is paid to creating safe and peaceful living conditions for the child. So if divorce offers a chance to improve the strained relationship between parents, then in the relatively best interests of the child, the divorce not only does not oppose it, but is desirable.
Contradiction with the principles of social coexistence is a general clause, allowing the court not to declare a divorce in a situation where the specific conditions of a given case, although in the light of the law allowing divorce, in the public opinion exclude such a possibility – e.g. a serious illness of a spouse.
Divorce is also not admissible if it is requested by the spouse who is solely guilty of the breakdown of the marriage, unless the other spouse agrees to the divorce or that the refusal of his consent to divorce is, in the given circumstances, contrary to the principles of social coexistence.
Divorce Procedure – A petition for divorce is required
Divorce is decided by a court, therefore it is necessary to file for divorce in the competent court. Such a court is the district court in whose district the spouses were last domiciled, if at least one of them is still domiciled or habitually resident in that district. If there is no such ground, only the court of the defendant’s domicile is competent, and if there is no such ground, the court of the plaintiff’s domicile.
The petition must contain the details of the claimant (the spouse of the petitioner) and the defendant (the spouse with whom he / she wants to divorce): name, surname, address and PESEL number, the place and date of drawing up the petition. Please indicate whether you are requesting a non-fault or a fault-based divorce. If the spouses have children, additional applications are also necessary:
- a decision on parental responsibility over joint minor children in terms of the manner of its exercise
- determining the place of residence of children
- making contact between children and a parent with whom they do not live
- a decision on alimony
Additionally, we can apply for:
- division of property (however, the court decides in the divorce decree on the division of property only if it does not cause excessive delay in the proceedings),
- a decision on the use of the spouses’ shared flat,
- for the eviction of one of the spouses from the shared apartment,
- and for maintenance for the other spouse.
The application must include evidence – that is, indicate with what evidence we want to prove the fulfillment of the conditions for divorce, the lack of negative grounds for obtaining it, and the legitimacy of the other applications contained in the lawsuit related to the minor children of the parties, possible division of property, use of a common premises, eviction or spousal maintenance.
The evidence in the case is primarily the testimony of the interested parties – the plaintiff and the defendant, but also all kinds of documents, printouts, photos, audio and audiovisual recordings, testimonies of witnesses and expert opinions.It is necessary to attach a marriage certificate and children’s birth certificates – if minor children come from the relationship
The lawsuit is subject to a court fee in the amount of PLN 600. If we are unable to pay the fee, we can apply for an exemption from court fees, enclosing a declaration of property and family status. In addition, it is worth attaching, although it is not necessary, documents that show the related costswith supporting children, bills, income certificate, tax declarations.
The lawsuit must substantiate our claim. The justification contains only statements that will have to be proved in court anyway, so it is not necessary to be very extensive, but it should contain the date and place of marriage, the reasons for the breakdown of the marriage, present the current relationship of parents with children and the financial situation of the parties, where they work and what are their financial possibilities. The statement of claim must be signed by hand.
We submit a statement of claim to the court containing the originals of the attached documents and a copy of the statement of claim (being a copy of the original) for the other spouse. Already, the divorce procedure is getting complicated – part of it is behind us.
Complained. What’s next?
After filing the statement of claim, we are waiting for a letter from the court with information about the date of the hearing. The court will conduct evidence proceedings, and obligatorily hear the parties. If both spouses agree to divorce without being guilty or submit other, however unanimous applications, the court decides the matter after hearing the spouses, so the proceedings may end at the first hearing. However, if the spouses’ demands are different, it will be necessary to take evidence, which, depending on the position of the parties and the amount of evidence submitted, may significantly extend the process.
The mere divergence of the parties’ positions does not prejudge the length of the proceedings. The parties may, at any time, engage in discussions on their own or through a court mediator, which will facilitate the proceedings and allow them to work out at least a partial compromise, which in turn will allow the parties to obtain a divorce faster and more efficiently.
The divorce procedure ends with a divorce decree
The court issues a judgment after a hearing. If the content of the judgment is in line with our expectations, we only need to wait for the judgment to become final. The judgment becomes final 7 days after its announcement – however, only in a situation where neither party will question it. If any of the parties is dissatisfied with the decision, they have 7 days to submit a request to justify the judgment. Such a request is subject to a court fee in the amount of PLN 100. After receiving the justification, the party requesting it has, as a rule, 14 days to appeal – that is, to appeal against the judgment, which will be examined by a higher court – the court of appeal.
Lawyer Aleksandra Tabędzka
Apl. lawyer Agnieszka Skoracka
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