How Do You Start A Separation or Divorce?

A marriage breakdown that ends in a separation or even divorce is difficult and heartbreaking for many, but it doesn’t have to be that way. It is important to remember that the law can cover each situation depending on your specific circumstances.

Having made that complicated decision to end the marriage, some questions arise, such as: What do I do to file for divorce? What about the custody of my minor children? What happens if we do not agree on the division of our assets? There are several types of divorce or separation that adapt to each specific need, and we will analyze them below. But for sure, the right lawyers are really needed in any case.

If it is by mutual agreement or in a friendly manner:

Out of court:

First of all, it is not always necessary to go to court: in certain cases, divorce can be perfectly processed extrajudicially, which is colloquially known as “express divorce.” If the marriage is still recent, the Voluntary Jurisdiction Law is a way of processing separation or divorce reserved for requests by mutual agreement between the parties. Provided that there are no minor, non-emancipated children or judicially modified capacity that depend on their parents.

Through judicial channels:

On the other hand, there is the judicial route. Despite what you imagine, this option can be quick, simple, and inexpensive, with the presentation of the claim and the regulatory agreement being sufficient for its subsequent ratification in the Court of the last family domicile. In addition, it has advantages such as lowering costs by allowing both spouses to act represented by the same attorney and defended by a single lawyer.

Separation or Divorce
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What is a contentious divorce?

Only one of the spouses files the claim in a contentious divorce, so a proposed regulatory agreement will not accompany it. However, it will be necessary to indicate in the same the measures that must be adopted regarding the custody and custody of the children, the visitation regime, alimony, and compensatory pensions, and the use of the family home so that the judge establishes them in the sentence decreeing the divorce.

This procedure is longer and more expensive and will be followed according to the verbal procedure procedures, although with specialties. Once the claim is presented and answered by the other spouse, the judge will summon the parties to a hearing, to which they must appear with their lawyers and attorneys. If there are minor children, the Public Prosecutor will also be part of it.

Once the hearing is held, the judge will issue a sentence decreeing the divorce and establishing the measures that will govern the spouses’ relationships and those of the spouses with their children. He will order that it be registered in the Civil Registry. You can also request your registration in the Property Registry or the Mercantile Registry if either of the spouses is an entrepreneur.

Can you go from contentious to amicable divorce?

There is also the possibility of changing your mind in the divorce or separation process. Suppose the spouses manage to reach an agreement during the contentious procedure. In that case, it can be transformed into a procedure of mutual agreement, that is, an amicable separation or an amicable divorce. This change is achieved by preparing and presenting a regulatory agreement to the court, in which both spouses must be ratified.

The exact opposite can also occur: if a divorce procedure has been initiated by mutual agreement, one of the parties does not ratify the claim and the agreement they presented before the court, the mutual agreement procedure is archived, and a procedure of contentious divorce.

Hence the importance of counting on experts who advise adequately according to each circumstance, especially when superior interests such as those of children are involved, in addition to economic or patrimonial interests.

Featured Image by S. Hermann & F. Richter from Pixabay