Online divorce

Online describes only the way there, and that way really can save a great deal of effort. Your authority, documents and statements reach us by email or post, without a visit to the office, and we draft the Scheidungsantrag (divorce petition) and file it with the Familiengericht (family court) that has local jurisdiction.

After that the court takes over, and there the same rules apply as in any other divorce. The Familiengericht (family court) orders both spouses to appear in person at the divorce hearing and hears them itself on their intention to divorce (§ 128 (1) FamFG). It wants to form a direct impression, and no digital route gets around that.

Yes. Before the Familiengericht (family court), representation by a lawyer is compulsory (§ 114 (1) FamFG). Only a lawyer can file the Scheidungsantrag (divorce petition), not the person concerned.

Where you both agree, a single representation is enough. One side files the petition, the other consents to it before the court and needs no lawyer of its own for that consent (§ 114 (4) no. 3 FamFG). The consent has a limit, though: the consenting side cannot file applications of its own on maintenance, parental responsibility or the Versorgungsausgleich (pension rights adjustment) without its own representation.

Yes, and no provider shortens it. A marriage counts as broken down where the spouses have lived apart for a year and both petition for divorce or one consents to it (§§ 1565 (1), 1566 (1) BGB). Before the year is up a court grants a divorce only in genuine cases of hardship, for instance where there has been serious violence (§ 1565 (2) BGB).

Living apart does not necessarily mean two flats. Separation is possible under one roof as well, as soon as there is no domestic community left (§ 1567 (1) BGB). The courts do, however, set strict requirements for proving it.

The costs follow the law and not the provider you choose. Lawyers’ and court fees are measured against the Verfahrenswert (value of the proceedings), which comes above all from the income of both spouses, plus a supplement for the Versorgungsausgleich (pension rights adjustment) (§§ 43, 50 FamGKG). Anyone on a low income can apply for Verfahrenskostenhilfe (legal aid) and then pays nothing at all or only part (§ 113 (1) FamFG with §§ 114 ff. ZPO).

The decisive question is who actually takes responsibility for your petition, a law firm or a mere agency, and whether you can reach that person when the proceedings raise questions. That is no formality: a Scheidungsantrag (divorce petition) is a lawyer’s pleading, and whoever signs it is liable for it.

A second point to check is the Versorgungsausgleich (pension rights adjustment). As a rule it runs automatically; the pension entitlements acquired during the marriage are divided, whether the petition mentions them or not (§ 137 FamFG). Only in a short marriage of up to three years does it stay out of it, provided nobody applies for it (§ 3 (3) VersAusglG). A flat-rate offer that says nothing about this leaves out a core part of the proceedings.

Behind your petition here stands a law firm with a name. The proceedings are conducted by Mieke Karcher, and she is also the person you reach when something in them is unclear.

We begin with an assessment by video and establish what your case needs and whether the digital route holds. You then send us the authority and the documents by email or post, without coming to the office, from anywhere in Germany. Once the Trennungsjahr (year of separation) is about to end, we prepare the petition and file it; that usually takes one to two weeks. If the income does not stretch, we apply for Verfahrenskostenhilfe (legal aid).

If at some point you would rather speak in person, that is possible at any time. Both routes are of equal standing, and you do not have to commit at the outset.