45% of marriages end in divorce in France, which represents 130,000 divorces per year in the country. Add to that the separations of PACS or cohabiting couples, and that makes many people who experience a separation. Depending on your situation, the terms differ.
When you are simple cohabitants or civil partnerships
In case of PACS
- If the two partners agree, it will be necessary to fill in a form with a copy of your identity document for each party and to send it to the place of registration of your PACS (town hall / notary)
- If only one of the partners wishes to separate, it will be necessary to contact a bailiff who will inform, depending on the place of registration of the PACS, one of the following authorities (town hall, notary or consulate)
The town hall (or the notary or the consulate) registers the dissolution and informs the partners. The town hall (or the notary or the consulate) keeps the copy of the meaning: Act by which a party informs his opponent of an act or a decision of justice through a bailiff made by the partner who decides to end the PACS.
The dissolution of the PACS takes effect within the following time limits:
– From its registration by the town hall (or the notary or the consulate) for the partners
– From the day on which the formalities of publicity: Public information formalities in general (property, mortgage, etc.) or restricted (birth certificate, etc.) have been accomplished for the third party: Person unrelated to a legal case
Each partner takes back his personal property. Common goods are shared according to the rules set by the PACS. Anyone can prove by any means that he owns a property. In the event of disagreement, the partners may refer the case to the family court judge with the competent court on the following points: Financial consequences of the break-up and/or Compensation for the resulting damages.
In case of cohabitation:
- During the separation each partner takes back his personal effects, it will also be necessary to decide on the fate of the common property, for example for any real estate its sale or the redemption of the shares by one of the two for the benefit of the other.
When there is a disagreement concerning minor or still dependent children, one of the parties can refer to the Family Affairs Judge for the organization of the custody of the children. You can be assisted and represented by a lawyer to seize the Judge, but it is not obligatory.
If you are married
When you are married you must divorce. The lawyer is obligatory even in the event of divorce by mutual consent. Each party must have their own lawyer. It will be necessary to examine your matrimonial regime to analyze the property consequences of your divorce. In any case, there are two main types of divorce: divorce by mutual consent and judicial divorce.
Divorce by Mutual ConsentI
For divorce by mutual consent, each party having its lawyer, a divorce agreement is established between you regulating the end of community and the consequences of the divorce. In particular, it is decided on the patrimonial consequences, the custody of the children and the liquidation of the community. Once this agreement has been drawn up, it is sent to you by registered mail, thus giving rise to a period of fifteen days for consideration. When this period is over, an appointment is set for the signing of the agreement in the presence of the spouses and their lawyers. This divorce agreement is then registered with a notary, and the lawyers with the formalities with the Town Hall to transcribe your divorce.
Judicial divorce
In the event of a disagreement between the spouses on the consequences of the divorce or when there is real estate, for example, the fate of which has not yet been settled, it is necessary to refer to the Family Affairs Judge to request your divorce. The divorce procedure is divided into two stages, the first part is a hearing to fix the provisional measures during the divorce procedure.
During these requests for provisional measures, it is possible, for example, to request maintenance in the premises of the marital home, to request the payment of a contribution to the maintenance of the children, or even a duty of assistance in the event of disparity significant amount of income between the spouses. Then, the procedure follows its course before the Judge in order to finalize the divorce and the consequences of it.
In any case, it is important to be accompanied in the event of separation by professionals such as Pyrénées Avocats, this allows you to understand the consequences of these and to refine the best strategy for you on the choice of divorce.