Spouses can decide at any time to end their marriage through divorce. The divorce procedure can be initiated either by a proposal for a mutual (amicable) divorce or by a lawsuit for divorce.
Mutual Divorce
Spouses can enter into a written agreement on divorce at any time without fulfilling any conditions. If they have minor children together and joint property acquired during the marriage, the divorce agreement must also include a written agreement on the (sole or joint) exercise of parental rights, as well as a written agreement on the division of joint property.
The court will include the spouses’ agreement on joint property in the judgment regardless of its content, while for the agreement on parental rights, the court will seek the opinion of the social welfare center and will approve the agreement only if it is in the best interest of the child/children.
Divorce Lawsuit
If the spouses do not agree on divorce, and their marital relationship is seriously and permanently disrupted or it is objectively impossible to maintain the marital community, either spouse has the right to file a lawsuit for divorce. Only spouses, as well as the guardian of a legally incapacitated spouse with prior consent from the guardianship authority, have the right to file for divorce, and this right is non-transferable. However, the heirs of a spouse may continue an already initiated proceeding to establish that there was a basis for divorce.
One of the important property consequences of divorce concerns gifts that spouses have given to each other during the marriage. Common gifts made between spouses during their life together are not returned, but gifts whose value is disproportionately large compared to the value of the spouses’ joint property must be returned. A spouse has no right to reclaim a gift if accepting such a claim would be manifestly unfair to the other spouse.
Divorce is finalized by court judgment and is considered effective as of the date the judgment becomes final.