Practice area

Uncontested divorce

The route through the court is the same as in any divorce. Uncontested means that the decisions stay with you.

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What the term means

There is no separate type of proceedings

German law does not know the einvernehmliche Scheidung (uncontested divorce) as a procedure of its own. The route is always the same: Trennungsjahr (year of separation), petition filed by the side that has a lawyer, Versorgungsausgleich (pension rights adjustment), hearing at the court, final order. Uncontested means that both of you carry the divorce and settle its consequences between you, instead of fighting them out against each other.

That does away with the dispute, not with the proceedings. It does not hurt any less for it. It only means that the two of you decide what becomes of the money, the home and the children, and not a court that gets to know your family in one morning.

This route is the focus of our practice, together with marriages that reach across borders. We sit in the Frankenallee in Frankfurt-Gallus, Germany.

The six steps from the year of separation to the order

When it is open to you

Three things have to come together

The first two are laid down by law. The third only makes the route easier, it is not required.

The year of separation is over
One year of living apart from bed and board, §§ 1566 (1), 1567 BGB. Two addresses are not needed for that. The separation begins in the shared home as well, as soon as no joint household is run any more and the finances come apart.
An earlier divorce follows only in cases of hardship, § 1565 (2) BGB. That exception is narrow and is examined case by case.
Both of you want the divorce
One side files the petition, the other consents. At this point the law asks for nothing more.
You agree on the consequences, or want to
Maintenance, assets and the home can be settled in a Scheidungsfolgenvereinbarung (divorce settlement agreement), but they do not have to be. The Versorgungsausgleich (pension rights adjustment) runs alongside in any case, of the court’s own motion.

If the other side does not consent

Then the divorce still comes, only later and with more scrutiny. Without consent the presumption after one Trennungsjahr (year of separation) does not apply, and the petitioning side has to set out that the marriage has broken down, § 1565 (1) BGB. After three years of separation the law presumes the breakdown even without any consent, § 1566 (2) BGB.

An initial refusal often still turns into uncontested proceedings, once the consequences are on the table in a fair arrangement.

Frequently asked questions on proceedings and court

Who represents whom

Why one lawyer is enough

Before the Familiengericht (family court), representation by a lawyer is compulsory. Only someone who is represented can file the Scheidungsantrag (divorce petition), § 114 FamFG. A divorce in Germany is therefore not possible with no lawyer at all. What you save is the second representation, not the first.

The side that files has to be represented. The other consents to the petition and needs no representation of its own for that.

We only ever represent one side

Both at once would be a conflict of interest, and professional rules forbid it even where you agree on everything. Whether the other side is already a client of ours we check before the appointment, and we tell you straight away.

Separate advice does not open a dispute

Anyone who only consents may still have their position assessed independently. Where there are larger assets that is often sensible, and a single hour of advice is frequently enough for it.

What the fees depend on

Court and lawyers’ fees are measured against the Verfahrenswert (value of the proceedings). That value comes above all from the income and assets of both spouses, and not from how fiercely you argue. Every additional matter the court has to decide raises the value on which all the fees hang.

That the petitioning side is worse off for it is a widespread misunderstanding. It advances the court costs; at the end, though, the court regularly sets the costs off against each other in matrimonial matters, § 150 FamFG. Each side then bears half the court costs and its own lawyer.

How the fees are calculated

What stays open

Six consequential matters, and what applies without an agreement

Of its own motion the court settles only the Versorgungsausgleich (pension rights adjustment). Everything else lies where it is as long as nobody raises it. Anyone who believes that the final order settles everything is confusing open with done.

Pension rights adjustment: Runs alongside, of the court’s own motion.
Excluded only by notarial deed or on the record at the hearing, § 7 VersAusglG.
Post-marital maintenance: Owed only in the exceptional cases set out by law.
An agreement before the order becomes final needs a notary, § 1585c BGB.
Separation and child maintenance: A statutory claim, even without an agreement.
No waiver for the future, § 1614 BGB.
Enforceable only once it is a title.
Accrued gains and assets: The equalization claim arises with the divorce.
An agreement before the order becomes final needs a notary, § 1378 (3) BGB.
Marital home and household goods: The court allocates only on application.
Can be settled without any form.
Parental responsibility and contact: Joint parental responsibility continues.
The court only decides on application.
Can be settled without any form, the measure is the child’s welfare.

Putting it off is the most expensive option. Once the order is final, the strongest argument is spent: consent to the divorce. Bundled and in the right form, all of this is held by the divorce settlement agreement.

When it does not hold

Agreement needs no harmony, but it needs equal footing

The route holds where both want the divorce and not just one side accepts it, where a conversation stays possible, through the lawyers if need be, and where income and assets are open on both sides.

Separate advice is called for where only one side knows the figures, meaning accounts, shareholdings and retirement provision. The same applies where there is noticeable pressure, in the form of “sign this quickly”, or where income and bargaining power are far apart. An agreement that comes about only because one side did not know its claims rarely holds.

If the agreement tips over along the way

The divorce carries on. The contested question becomes a consequential matter of its own and can be heard together with the divorce, § 137 FamFG. Anyone who then files applications needs their own lawyer, including the side that had only been consenting until then.

The best protection against that is to have the deed drawn up before the break. What stands in the agreement nobody has to negotiate again.

If something changes later

Together you can change an agreement at any time. As long as the divorce is not final, a change to maintenance, the Zugewinnausgleich (accrued gains) or the Versorgungsausgleich (pension rights adjustment) again requires the notary or the court record. What applies after that depends on the subject. One side alone can only do so where the law provides for a modification, for example for maintenance after a significant change in circumstances.

Where there is fear or violence, protection comes before proceedings

Then this is the wrong route, and the order of things changes. In acute danger call 110. The German Violence against Women Support Hotline is free of charge and available around the clock at 116 016.

What we take on

Our work in uncontested proceedings

In the first conversation we establish whether the uncontested route holds in your case and when the right moment for the petition is. After that we take on:

Drafting and filing the petition and conducting the correspondence with the court
Drafting your agreement on maintenance, assets and the home, negotiating it with the other side and going with you to the notary
Filling in the pension rights questionnaires with you and checking the figures the pension providers return
Applying for legal aid where the income does not stretch
Preparing you for the hearing and being at your side there

Fill in the intake form

There is no official form to fill in yourself for the petition. It is a lawyer’s pleading whose content is prescribed by § 133 FamFG. The intake form collects the details for it.

Intake form

Gather the details for the petition now

The form asks for what the court requires, including whether you agree. We review it before the first consultation.

About an hour, pause at any time
Stays on this device until you send it
We clarify gaps at the appointment

Open the intake form

When you are in agreement

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The first step

Whether the route holds in your case is settled in a conversation

60 minutes, at our office or by Zoom. You describe your situation, and you find out whether the conditions are met and what still has to be settled before the petition. You are under no obligation to hire us afterwards.

Under § 34 RVG (German Lawyers’ Fees Act), the first consultation costs at most €226.10 including VAT. If we take on your case, this fee does not apply. Or give us a call: +49 69 97391424, Mon to Fri, 10 am to 1 pm and 3 pm to 6 pm.