German legal terms around divorce,explained plainly

Anwaltszwang (mandatory representation)

Before the family court, at least the petitioning person must be represented by an attorney; you cannot file the divorce petition yourself. In an uncontested divorce it is often enough that this one side is represented; the other consents to the petition. An attorney always represents one side only, never both.

einstweilige Anordnung (interim order)

A provisional ruling by the court that does not wait for the main proceedings, for instance on maintenance, the matrimonial home or contact. It takes effect at once and is enforceable, but it does not replace the final decision. No lawyer is required to apply for it (§ 114 (4) no. 1 FamFG). Where matters are urgent, it is the fastest route to a workable arrangement. More on separation and maintenance

einvernehmliche Scheidung (uncontested divorce)

Both spouses want the divorce and agree, or are close to agreeing, on the main consequences: maintenance, assets, children. That makes the proceedings faster, cheaper and less adversarial. More on uncontested divorce

gewöhnlicher Aufenthalt (habitual residence)

The place where a person's life is actually centred. Among other things it determines which family court has local jurisdiction, rather than the address in the population register. More on international family law

Härtefallscheidung (divorce on grounds of hardship)

Exceptionally, a marriage can be dissolved before the year of separation has run if holding on to it would be unreasonably harsh for one spouse for reasons lying in the person of the other (§ 1565 (2) BGB), for instance in cases of violence or serious threats. Reasons on the applicant's own side are not enough. More on the year of separation

Trennungsjahr (year of separation)

As a rule spouses must live apart for one year for the marriage to count as having broken down. The year has to be complete at the time of the decision, not already when the petition is filed, so petitions are usually filed towards the end of it. Separation is also possible within the same home. More on the year of separation

Verbundverfahren (joint proceedings)

The divorce and its ancillary matters (for example the pension rights adjustment or maintenance) are heard and decided by the court together in one set of proceedings, known as the “Verbund”.

Zerrüttungsprinzip (breakdown principle)

German divorce law does not ask about fault, only whether the marriage has broken down. Who caused the separation plays no part in the divorce itself.

Beratungshilfe (legal advice aid)

State support for advice outside court proceedings, applied for at the local court where you live. It covers the first consultation and out-of-court representation where income and assets are not sufficient. For the proceedings themselves, Verfahrenskostenhilfe applies instead. More on divorce costs

Verfahrenskostenhilfe (legal aid for proceedings)

State support that covers the costs of family proceedings in whole or in part where your own income and assets are not sufficient. It is applied for at the court (formerly: Prozesskostenhilfe). More on divorce costs

Verfahrenswert (value of the proceedings)

The notional value on which court and attorney fees are based. In divorce proceedings it is derived above all from both spouses' net income and their assets. It is not an amount anyone pays. More on divorce costs

Anfangs- und Endvermögen (initial and final assets)

The two cut-off values from which the accrued gain is calculated. Initial assets are the position at the wedding, final assets the position when the divorce petition is served (§§ 1374, 1375, 1384 BGB). What lies in between is the accrued gain. Inheritances and gifts count towards initial assets even when they arrive during the marriage. More on the equalization of accrued gains

Ausgleichsforderung (equalization claim)

The amount actually payable at the end of the equalization of accrued gains. Whoever achieved the larger gain owes the other side half the surplus (§ 1378 BGB). It is a claim for money. Nothing changes ownership because of it. More on the equalization of accrued gains

Ehewohnung (matrimonial home)

The home or property used jointly by the spouses. On separation the court can decide who stays there for the time being, regardless of who owns it. More on the matrimonial home and household goods

Güterstand (matrimonial property regime)

The legal arrangement governing how the spouses' assets are treated. Without a prenuptial agreement the Zugewinngemeinschaft applies automatically; by agreement, separation of property or community of property are possible. More on the equalization of accrued gains

Hausrat (household goods)

The shared objects of the household: furniture, appliances, furnishings. On separation and divorce they are divided between the spouses; where necessary the court decides on equitable grounds. More on the matrimonial home and household goods

Inhaltskontrolle (review of contractual content)

The court's examination of whether a prenuptial agreement or a divorce settlement agreement holds. It runs in two stages. First comes the question whether the contract already placed one side at a one-sided disadvantage when it was made; then whether relying on it today would still be fair. Agreements that cut out child maintenance or care-based maintenance entirely rarely survive this review. More on prenuptial agreements

latente Steuern (latent tax)

The tax burden sitting inside an asset that has not yet fallen due. In the equalization of accrued gains it is deducted to the extent it would arise on a notional sale, for instance with a practice or a share in a business. The deduction often changes the value considerably. More on valuing a business

notarielle Beurkundung (notarial recording)

Certain agreements become effective only once a notary records them: they read the contract aloud, explain it and certify it officially. That protects both sides from rushed or unclear arrangements. More on the divorce settlement agreement

Nutzungsvergütung, also Nutzungsentschädigung (compensation for sole use)

Compensation for one side using the shared home alone after the separation. The statute calls it a Vergütung, everyday usage often an Entschädigung; the same thing is meant. The spouse who moved out can ask for it (§ 1361b BGB), but only from the point at which they actually demand it; there is as a rule nothing retroactive. The amount follows the local market rent, reduced by the running charges that continue. More on the matrimonial home and household goods

Scheidungsfolgenvereinbarung (divorce settlement agreement)

A contract in which the spouses settle the consequences of the divorce themselves by agreement instead of leaving them to the court. Examples are maintenance, the division of assets or the pension rights adjustment. Often it has to be recorded by a notary. More on the divorce settlement agreement

Teilungsversteigerung (partition sale)

The auction of a jointly owned property where the owners cannot agree on a sale or a buy-out. Any co-owner can apply for it at the local court (§ 180 ZVG). It is the last route and usually the most expensive, because the proceeds regularly stay below market value. More on property on separation

Versorgungsausgleich (pension rights adjustment)

The pension entitlements both partners acquired during the marriage are split in half on divorce, so that both are provided for in old age. The court normally orders it of its own motion. More on pension rights adjustment

Wohnvorteil (imputed rental value)

The financial advantage of living rent-free in your own property. For maintenance it is added to income, because rent saved works like income earned. An advantage remains only in so far as the rental value exceeds the financing costs, the necessary maintenance and the charges a tenant cannot be asked to carry. Anyone repaying a loan therefore often has less of an advantage than expected. In principle the full rental value applies. As long as the marriage has not finally broken down and one spouse lives in the house alone, the reasonable value can apply instead, that is the rent which matches their circumstances. More on separation and maintenance

Zugewinnausgleich (equalization of accrued gains)

On divorce, the increase in assets earned during the marriage (the “Zugewinn”) is balanced out between the spouses in half: not the assets themselves, but their growth. More on the equalization of accrued gains

Anrecht (pension entitlement)

A single claim to provision that a spouse built up during the marriage. The state pension, an occupational pension, a civil servant's pension and a private pension policy are each an entitlement of their own, and each is divided separately in the pension rights adjustment. More on pension rights adjustment

Ehezeit (marital period)

The stretch of time that the pension rights adjustment divides. It starts on the first day of the month of the wedding and ends on the last day of the month before the divorce petition is served (§ 3 VersAusglG). Anything built up before or after stays out. More on pension rights adjustment

externe Teilung (external division)

The value of the entitlement moves to a different pension provider instead of staying with the existing one. This happens where the employer requires it. More on pension rights adjustment

interne Teilung (internal division)

The receiving person gets an entitlement of their own with the same pension provider where the other spouse built it up. This is the standard case. More on pension rights adjustment

Kontenklärung (clarification of the pension account)

The clearing up of your insurance record with the Deutsche Rentenversicherung, without which the pension rights adjustment cannot be calculated. Where periods of training, child-raising or time abroad are missing, the statement stays incomplete and the proceedings wait. This step often takes longer than everything else in an uncontested divorce. More on the V10 questionnaire

Düsseldorfer Tabelle (Düsseldorf table)

A nationally recognized guideline table for the amount of child maintenance, graded by the payer's income and the child's age. It is not a statute, but the courts use it as a guideline and it is updated every year. More on separation and maintenance

ehebedingter Nachteil (marriage-related disadvantage)

The economic disadvantage left with one side by the division of roles in the marriage, for instance from giving up work to care for the children. It is the yardstick for whether post-marital maintenance is limited in time or in amount (§ 1578b BGB). Whoever relies on it has to be able to prove it, and that is where such cases fail more often than on the law. More on post-marital maintenance

Ehegattenunterhalt (spousal maintenance)

The umbrella term for maintenance between spouses. It covers separation maintenance (during the separation) and post-marital maintenance (after the divorce becomes final). More on separation and maintenance

Erwerbstätigenbonus (earner's bonus)

A deduction from earned income before spousal maintenance is calculated from it. The idea is to keep the incentive to stay in work, and the effect is a lower basis for the calculation. Its size follows the guidelines of the higher regional courts and differs from region to region. More on separation and maintenance

Kindesunterhalt (child maintenance)

The child's maintenance claim. Whoever cares for the child contributes through that care; the other parent pays maintenance in money, the amount of which usually follows the Düsseldorfer Tabelle. More on separation and maintenance

Mangelfall (shortfall case)

The situation where income does not stretch to all maintenance claims and the retained amount at the same time. The statutory ranking of § 1609 BGB then applies, with minor children at the top, followed by parents providing care and spouses from long marriages. Whatever remains is distributed by quota. More on separation and maintenance

nachehelicher Unterhalt (post-marital maintenance)

Maintenance after the divorce becomes final. It is the exception: in principle everyone provides for themselves, and it comes into question only on specific grounds such as childcare, age or illness. More on separation and maintenance

Realsplitting (tax splitting of maintenance)

The tax option of deducting spousal maintenance paid as a special expense. The recipient has to consent and then pays tax on the money themselves, which is why the payer compensates them for the disadvantage that creates. Consent is declared year by year on the form Anlage U. More on tax after the separation

Selbstbehalt (retained amount)

The amount that has to stay with the person liable for maintenance to cover their own living costs. Towards minor children it is lower than towards adult claimants, and someone in work keeps more than someone who is not. The figures are set out in the Düsseldorfer Tabelle and change every year. More on child maintenance

Trennungsunterhalt (separation maintenance)

Maintenance paid by the economically stronger spouse from the separation until the divorce becomes final, where the other cannot cover their own needs. More on separation and maintenance

Aufenthaltsbestimmungsrecht (right to determine residence)

The part of custody that decides where the child lives. Where custody is joint, the parents decide together; in cases of conflict the court can transfer this right to one parent alone. More on custody and contact rights

Sorgerecht (custody)

The right and the duty to care for a child and to decide on important matters: where they live, school, health, assets. After a separation it as a rule remains with both parents jointly. More on custody and contact rights

Umgangsrecht (contact rights)

The right of the child and of the parent not providing daily care to regular personal contact. It exists independently of custody; where the parents cannot agree, the court settles it. More on custody and contact rights

Wechselmodell (shared care model)

A care model in which the child lives with both parents in roughly equal shares, as opposed to the residence model with one fixed main home. It also affects maintenance. More on the shared care model

Anknüpfung (connecting factor)

The step that decides which national law applies to a question. For divorce the Rome III Regulation works through a ladder for this. First comes the spouses' common habitual residence, then their last common one, then their common nationality. Which rung a couple lands on decides which divorce law applies. More on the applicable law

Apostille

A certificate from the authority in the issuing state that makes a foreign document usable in Germany. It is the short route and applies between the states of the Hague Convention of 1961. More on international family law

Forum (forum)

The court where proceedings run, and with a foreign element also the question of which country may decide at all. Because every court applies its own conflict of laws rules, the forum indirectly determines the applicable law too. That is why it matters who files first and where. More on international jurisdiction

Kollisionsrecht (conflict of laws)

The body of rules that determines which national law governs a case with a foreign element. It does not decide the matter itself. It points to a legal system, and only that system then answers the actual question. For divorce it sits in the Rome III Regulation, for maintenance and matrimonial property in separate European regulations. More on international family law

Legalisation (legalization)

Confirmation of a foreign document by the German mission abroad. This route takes the place of the apostille where the Hague Convention of 1961 does not apply, and it costs mainly time; time is what tends to be missing before a hearing. More on international family law

Rechtswahl (choice of law)

The option of settling the applicable law in advance yourselves instead of leaving it to the connecting factors. For divorce the Rome III Regulation allows this within narrow limits, for instance the law of the common habitual residence or the national law of one spouse. In Germany the agreement has to be recorded by a notary. More on the applicable law

Restzuständigkeit (residual jurisdiction)

German jurisdiction for cases where the European rules produce no competent court. § 98 FamFG then steps in, for instance where one spouse is a German national. Without this fallback there would be constellations in which a couple could not be divorced anywhere. More on international family law