Process
How does adivorce work?
A divorce rarely touches the law alone. Children, the home, accounts and your sense of security are all in the room at once. Much of it can be prepared during the Trennungsjahr (year of separation), long before the first pleading reaches the Amtsgericht Frankfurt am Main.
The
route
Step by step to a final order
From the year of separation to the final court order. The line shows where you currently stand.
Precondition · about 12 months
The year of separation
Every divorce begins with the Trennungsjahr. If both live apart for a year and both want the divorce, the law presumes the marriage has broken down, § 1566 (1) BGB. After three years of separation that presumption becomes irrebuttable, § 1566 (2) BGB.
Living apart does not necessarily mean living at different addresses. It is also possible within the shared home: separate bedrooms, separate money, no shared household.
Cases of hardship break the deadline. Where continuing the marriage would be unreasonable, the divorce is exceptionally possible earlier, § 1565 (2) BGB.
You do not have to spend that year waiting idly. Maintenance, joint accounts and the question of who stays in the property for now are things we settle already.
about 1–2 weeks
First conversation and strategy
At the start there is a conversation: by phone, by video or at the office in Frankfurt-Gallus, whichever comes easier to you.
Two questions are at the centre: what is your goal? And what is your greatest worry? The strategy grows out of the answers, not the other way round.
after the year of separation
The petition at the family court
Once the year of separation is complete, we file the divorce petition with the Amtsgericht Frankfurt am Main. Which court has jurisdiction follows from where you live, § 122 FamFG, not from where you married.
If you agree, one attorney is enough for the petition. We handle all correspondence with the court.
a few weeks
Key dateService and the decisive date
The court formally serves the petition on the other side. With that service the case becomes pending, and that day becomes the key date.
Why it counts: the marriage period for the Versorgungsausgleich (pension rights adjustment) ends on the last day of the month before service, § 3 (1) VersAusglG. Every month earlier or later shifts which pension entitlements are shared at all.
about 2–4 weeks
Advance on court costs
Before things continue, the court requests an advance on the court costs. The proceedings only move on once it has been paid.
The amount follows the value of the proceedings, which rests above all on both spouses' income and assets.
about 3–6 months
The consequences of the divorce
Alongside the petition we settle what is to hold good after the order. These ancillary matters often decide more about your future than the divorce itself.
Separation and post-marital maintenance belong here. Post-marital maintenance follows the principle of halving; each earning spouse is first allowed an earner's bonus, as a rule one tenth of their earned income. This maintenance can be limited in time or amount under the conditions of § 1578b BGB.
Assets, debts and property are distributed under the statutory matrimonial property regime through the Zugewinnausgleich (equalization of accrued gains), § 1363 BGB. Where necessary we demand disclosure of the other side's assets under § 1605 BGB.
The pension rights adjustment divides the pension entitlements acquired during the marriage. Both of you fill in questionnaires and the pension providers report the entitlements back. Where there are children, custody, contact and child maintenance under the Düsseldorfer Tabelle are added, as are household goods and the living situation.
Hearing: about a day
Summons and oral hearing
Once all the information is in, the court summons both spouses to the oral hearing. It is a short one: both appear in person and confirm that they want the divorce and that the year of separation is complete; as a rule the court asks for no more.
We are at your side at the hearing.
immediately to one month
Order and legal force
At the end the court pronounces the divorce and serves the order on both sides.
If both waive their right of appeal at the hearing, the divorce becomes final immediately. Otherwise the one-month appeal period runs first, § 63 FamFG. With legal force the marriage is over: for good.
Duration
How long does the whole thing take?
Four to twelve months on average, noticeably faster when uncontested. Three levers decide the pace: agreement speeds everything up, disputes about maintenance, assets or children draw it out, and the court's workload sets the rest. The first lever is in your hands, the second as well. The third is not.
As of July 2026. The court publishes its current processing times on its own website.
Preparation
What to bring along
For the petition and the ancillary matters we need a number of documents. Not everything has to be there for the first conversation; we will tell you exactly what counts in your case.
- Marriage certificate, certified copy from the marriage register
- Birth certificates of shared children
- Proof of income for both spouses
- Pension record for the pension rights adjustment
- Prenuptial or divorce settlement agreement, if one exists
- Details of assets, property and debts
Often
overlooked
Everyday life and the time afterwards
It is not only the court and the law that change, it is everyday life. What happens to the tenancy agreement, the utility bills, the insurance policies? Does a child need to change school? When do you report the separation to the authorities and to your employer? We keep these questions in view with you.
Once the divorce is final
Keep the divorce order with its certificate of legal force safe. It is your proof. You can take your former name again at the registry office if you wish.
Your tax class changes as a matter of obligation from 1 January of the year following the calendar year of your separation. People living apart are put in tax class I; with a child in your own household, tax class II may apply. In the calendar year of the separation itself, joint assessment is still possible.
Your former spouse no longer inherits automatically once the divorce proceedings are running and their requirements are met, § 1933 BGB. Wills and beneficiary designations now belong on the table, and joint accounts, insurance policies and contracts should be separated or updated.
A draft law from 2026 is intended to make forgotten or concealed pension entitlements shareable even after the proceedings have ended. It is not yet in force.
Going deeper
Read up on every step in detail
Contact
You do not have to take the first step alone
Tell us about your situation. We reply personally, usually within one working day.