International
family law
International family law:which court, which law
Mieke Karcher, attorney at law · as of July 2026
Anyone living in Germany who married abroad, holds a second nationality or has assets across the border faces a question that comes before every other one. Many notice it only once it has already been answered.
On separation, a marriage with an international element falls apart into two separate questions: which court may grant the divorce, and under which law? In a purely German case the two coincide. With an international element they often do not. A German court can divorce your marriage under Italian or Turkish law: that is the normal case, not a mistake.
Frankenallee 230, Frankfurt-Gallus · advice in English · Deutsch · Español
Forum
and law
Which court, which law
Within the EU, jurisdiction is determined by the Brussels IIb Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2019/1111, applicable to proceedings from 1 August 2022, in force in all member states except Denmark). What counts above all is the habitual residence of the spouses, alongside nationality (Art. 3). In detail, several routes lead to a court. The joint habitual residence opens one, and so does the last joint residence, as long as one of them has stayed there. Beyond that, the respondent's residence counts, and your own after a year, for Germans in Germany after only six months. The joint nationality is the last route. The place of the wedding is not on that list. Anyone who married in Italy but lives here is divorced by a German court.
Frequently the courts of several states have jurisdiction at the same time. Then it is decided by who files first: the court seised later stays its proceedings (Art. 20). This race occasionally determines more about the outcome than any question of substance.
The law applicable to the divorce, by contrast, is governed by the Rome III Regulation (Regulation (EU) No 1259/2010), in which not all EU states take part. Without a choice of your own it descends a fixed ladder. First comes the joint habitual residence, then the last joint one, provided a spouse still lives there and moved away less than a year ago. After that the joint nationality counts, and last the law of the court seised. Two German passports therefore do not automatically lead to German law either: a German couple who have lived abroad for years are divorced, absent a choice, under the law of their state of residence.
You can, however, choose the law yourselves within the limits of the regulation, in Germany even while the proceedings are running. This choice of law is often the most effective lever of all, because it decides on periods of separation, on any element of fault, and thereby on the statics of the whole proceedings. It is not a handshake, though, but a transaction bound to a form: in Germany it needs notarial recording, and in pending divorce proceedings a declaration recorded by the court can replace that. Whoever makes the choice already in a prenuptial agreement takes the sharpest weapon out of a future conflict: precisely the race for the forum.
The
difference
Why the same marriage ends differently in two countries
Whether a divorce presupposes a year of separation, whether it asks about fault, how long maintenance flows and who keeps what of the assets: every legal system answers that differently. The difference is structural, not one of degree. German law as a rule requires the Trennungsjahr (year of separation, § 1566 BGB) and does not ask about fault. Other legal systems know shorter periods or none at all, or they carry elements of fault right through into maintenance.
With assets the difference shows most clearly. The German statutory matrimonial property regime, the Zugewinngemeinschaft, equalizes only the growth in the end; other states separate the assets entirely or pool them from the wedding onwards. For marriages from 29 January 2019 the EU Matrimonial Property Regulation as a rule freezes the governing law at the first joint residence after the wedding; a move years later changes nothing about it.
Maintenance, too, changes its face with the place: amount, duration and any time limit follow the law designated by the Hague Maintenance Protocol, that is in principle the habitual residence of the person entitled. If that person moves, the applicable law moves with them; a change of residence after the separation can therefore shift the maintenance position, in both directions. With children, by contrast, a logic of its own applies: questions of custody and contact attach to the child's habitual residence, not to the forum of the divorce and not to the parents' tactics. Where the child lives is where it is decided.
Four sets
of rules
One separation, four sets of rules
In an international case, divorce, maintenance, assets and children each have their own source for jurisdiction and applicable law. This overview shows the order behind the apparent confusion.
| Question | Jurisdiction | Applicable law | Choice of law? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Divorce | Brussels IIb: above all habitual residence (Art. 3) | Rome III: absent a choice, the habitual residence | Yes: in Germany even while proceedings are running |
| Maintenance | EU Maintenance Regulation | Hague Maintenance Protocol: residence of the person entitled | Limited |
| Assets & matrimonial property | EU Matrimonial Property Regulation | the same regulation: first joint residence after the wedding | Yes: law of residence or of nationality (Art. 22) |
| Custody & contact | Brussels IIb: the child's residence | Hague Child Protection Convention: as a rule the law of the deciding court | No |
Simplified overview, as of 2026. The EU Matrimonial Property Regulation applies to marriages from 29 January 2019 or following a choice of law; for older marriages the earlier conflict-of-laws rules often attach differently. Not all EU states take part in Rome III, and Denmark stands outside the Brussels IIb Regulation.
From
abroad
Living abroad, divorced abroad
A divorce in Germany is often possible from abroad as well. The joint German nationality of both spouses suffices for the jurisdiction of German courts (Art. 3 Brussels IIb Regulation). Anyone returning to Germany has, as a German, a forum at their new residence after only six months. Where no European rule applies, § 98 FamFG holds a residual jurisdiction ready. The proceedings do not require a residence in Germany. Pleadings run through your lawyer, and for the hearing the court may under certain conditions allow participation by video (does my divorce lawyer have to be based in my city?).
Conversely, a divorce from another EU member state applies here without any special procedure (Brussels IIb Regulation; Denmark excepted). Outside the EU, by contrast, formal recognition by the competent state justice administration is usually needed before you count as divorced here and can marry again (§ 107 FamFG). After that the decision is equivalent to a German one. An exception applies where both spouses were nationals solely of the state of the decision: such home-state decisions take effect without proceedings of their own.
Hardly any other country knows the pension rights adjustment, and a foreign court does not divide your pension entitlements. It is not lost because of that, though: where German law applies, a German court can decide on it separately. Anyone divorced abroad therefore keeps that possibility and only has to assert it actively, because nobody raises it of their own motion.
How to
recognize it
How to recognize the international element
Not every contact with another country makes a divorce international, and many a genuine international element goes unnoticed until it becomes expensive.
It usually becomes international
where different nationalities are involved, where a spouse lives or works abroad, or where joint years of the marriage were spent abroad. The same applies where assets lie across the border, for instance property, accounts or pension provision, and where a move abroad is on the table.
In themselves uncritical
are, by contrast, a wedding abroad, since the place of the wedding establishes neither jurisdiction nor applicable law. A foreign passport alone changes nothing where both spouses have always lived here. Nor does a stay abroad for a limited period: the habitual residence does not move along with every temporary relocation.
Where one of the first points applies, it is worth looking at forum and law before the first pleading, and equally at obtaining the documents. Outside the EU, the foreign marriage certificate needs an apostille or legalization, depending on the applicable convention, and regularly a translation by a sworn translator. That costs weeks, in some states months, and therefore belongs at the beginning.
How we
support you
In Frankfurt this is no niche subject
Binational marriages, moving in and moving away, assets on two sides of a border are part of everyday life in this firm, and the advice runs in German, English and Spanish.
In concrete
terms
Securing the combination of forum and law
The actual task is not to “win” a country but to find the combination of forum and law that fits your situation, and to secure it before the other side creates facts.
For that we first examine the connecting factors and clarify which courts have jurisdiction, determine the applicable law and use the choice of law as a lever while it is still open. We file the application where it is more favourable for you, and we assign maintenance and matrimonial property to the right regulations. We have foreign divorces recognized and make up the pension rights adjustment where it is missing.
The conversation takes place at Frankenallee in Frankfurt-Gallus or by video, from anywhere.
How the process
runs
From the international element to the ancillary matters
At the start stands the international element itself: residence and nationality of both spouses, because all the connecting factors hang on that. Then the forum is determined: which courts have jurisdiction and which of them is the more favourable for you. After that the choice of law, while it is still open.
Only then follows the application, filed where it belongs. And at the end the ancillary matters are put in order: maintenance, matrimonial property, the pension rights adjustment, and where applicable the recognition of a foreign decision.
The usual order; an individual case may differ (as of 2026).
Frequent
questions
What we are asked most often about this
Do I need lawyers in both countries?
Not for the divorce proceedings themselves: they run in one state, and only there does its procedural law apply. A second adviser becomes useful where assets or the later enforcement lie in the other country. In those cases we coordinate with colleagues on the ground.
The other side has already filed abroad: is everything decided by that?
As regards the forum, as a rule yes: the court seised first keeps the case, the one seised later stays its proceedings (Art. 20 Brussels IIb Regulation). What is not decided by that, though, is which law is applied there, how the ancillary matters run and whether the German pension rights adjustment can be made up afterwards. It is therefore worth having the situation examined even then.
Does an international divorce become more expensive?
Where the proceedings run in Germany, the same fee rules apply as otherwise: court and lawyers' costs follow the value in dispute (FamGKG, RVG). On top of that there can be costs for translations and certified documents as well as, where assets lie abroad, coordination with advisers there. The international element therefore makes the preparation more expensive rather than the proceedings.
What comes
next
Every constellation in detail
Married abroad: divorce in Germany?
Why the place of the wedding establishes neither jurisdiction nor applicable law.
ReadRecognitionHaving a foreign divorce recognized
When formal proceedings are needed and when they are not.
ReadForumWhich country has jurisdiction for the divorce?
The routes to a forum under Brussels IIb.
ReadChoice of lawWhich law applies to the divorce? Rome III
The ladder of connecting factors and the lever of the choice of law.
ReadPassportsDivorce with dual nationality
Why two passports do not automatically lead to one law.
ReadAssetsForeign assets in the equalization of accrued gains
Where assets lie across the border.
ReadPlanning aheadPrenuptial agreement
The place for a precautionary choice of law.
ViewSources
The European legal acts mentioned in the text at EUR-Lex; the German provisions at “Gesetze im Internet”, the portal of the German Federal Ministry of Justice.
- Brussels IIb Regulation (EU) 2019/1111
- Rome III Regulation (EU) No 1259/2010
- EU Maintenance Regulation (EC) No 4/2009
- EU Matrimonial Property Regulation (EU) 2016/1103
- Hague Maintenance Protocol
- Hague Child Protection Convention
- § 98 FamFG
- § 107 FamFG
- § 1566 BGB
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