If only one spouse is seeking a divorce and has hired a lawyer, is the other spouse required to sign something and what is the cost? How long does the process of drafting and submitting to court take? Know more about us here.
If one spouse intends to initiate a divorce proceeding, therefore, it is not a consensual request of the spouse, the actions to be taken prior to the initiation of court proceedings depend on whether the spouses have joint minor children. Namely, in a divorce proceeding, the court makes a decision on the place of residence of the child, the exercise of parental care and the personal relations of the parents with the child, so this factor is most significant in the divorce proceedings themselves.
In cases where the spouses have a joint minor child, Family Law, prescribes compulsory counseling as a form of assistance for family members to make consensual decisions on family relationships, taking particular care to protect the family relationships in which the child participates and the legal consequences failure to reach an agreement and initiate court proceedings in which the child’s personal rights are decided.
The procedure is initiated at the request of a party and is filed with the social welfare center, and is filed by the very spouse who intends to file a divorce suit. Following the procedure, the Social Welfare Center prepares a report, valid for 6 months from the drafting, which contains essential data on participation in the procedure, readiness for agreement and participation in family mediation, allegations of domestic violence, whether the parties have been warned about the consequences of not reaching the agreement. During compulsory counseling, the social welfare center will acquaint the spouses with the consequences of divorce, legal and psychosocial, with the possibilities of marital counseling, refer them to the child’s well-being when arranging the relationship, and present to them the benefits of family mediation. If the spouses (parents) do not reach an agreement before the social welfare center, they will be referred to the family mediation procedure to reach an agreement. The counseling process described will not be conducted if one spouse is deprived of legal capacity, incapable of judgment, or of an unknown residence or residence.
If the parties did not reach an agreement during the mandatory counseling, then they are obliged to join the first family mediation meeting, that is, the party who intends to initiate the divorce proceedings is obliged to do so, since the submission of proof of participation in the first mediation meeting is a mandatory supplement to the divorce lawsuit. Then the conditions for initiating court proceedings are met by a divorce action and the court will decide in the proceedings on which parent the child will live with, on parental care and personal relations with the other parent, as well as on child support. A special guardian will be appointed for the child to protect his rights and interests, and it will also be possible for the child to express his or her opinion in accordance with the Family Law.
