Divorce and Family Law in Spain
Do you live in Spain and wish to get divorced? Does your estranged spouse live in Spain and you wish to get divorced? Thinking about getting divorced in Spain?
Unfortunately relationship breakdown or divorce is a stressful and emotional time and important decisions have to be made about your future, your children and finances.
Our specialist international family and divorce lawyers can help you decide what is right – personally, legally and financially – for you and your family. With in depth expertise in dealing with national and international separations, divorces and breakdowns of civil partnerships you can be sure you’re in safe hands.
Our team of experienced and international specialist family and divorce lawyers can provide advice in the following areas:
- Separating from your spouse in Spain
- Getting divorced in Spain or around the world
- Issuing divorce proceedings in Spain
- Presenting mutually agreed proceedings for Spanish divorce
- Spanish maintenance agreements
- Registering Spanish divorces
- Spanish Civil Partnerships
- Dividing and separating joint held Spanish assets
- Dealing with cross border family issues and contact with children
- Child custody
- Child abduction
- Certificates of Spanish, English, Irish, Scottish law on aspects of Spanish divorce
- Expert reports for foreign courts on Spanish Family Law
Read our Top questions when divorcing in Spain and contact us and ask to speak with our leading international family lawyer, to discuss how we can help you.
Separation & Divorce
Under Spanish law you can opt for either a petition for separation or a petition for divorce. The main difference is that if you opt just for a separation, you cannot marry again until you obtain a divorce order. In both cases (Separation or Divorce) you can reach an out of court agreement that must be signed before a Judge, or you can agree the terms at court.
In order to obtain a divorce order it is not necessary to commence separation proceedings first.
International Divorce
We live in a global community where traveling and communicating between countries is fast and easy. As a result of this, the number of international couples, or couples with assets abroad is increasing. Our expert team of family lawyers can help you in your separation or divorce process as we have great experience in dealing with cross border family issues, where two or more jurisdictions are involved.
We also work closely with lawyers from other jurisdictions and can provide international legal advice, certificates of law and expert witness reports for foreign legal proceedings.
Jointly held Spanish assets
If there are any jointly held assets in Spain, we can assist you with the transfer process and the change of ownership even if the divorce process is being pursued out of Spain. We can also provide you with legal assistance in enforcing freezing orders issued by foreign courts.
Children & Custody
When children are involved in a family breakdown in Spain, we will advise you how to protect their welfare and best interests. On many occasions parents are not able to reach an agreement regarding children, and one of the consequences of this are disputes regarding children´s residence.
In the most dramatic situations, children are taken out of the country without the other parent´s consent. In that kind of situation it is necessary to act quickly and obtain legal advice in order to seek the children´s return. If you live in Spain and are planning to move abroad, legal advice is required in order to obtain the necessary and compulsory court orders to allow the children to live outside of Spain.
Civil Partnerships
Generally, Spanish matrimonial law applies to civil partnerships, however in every autonomous region of Spain there are differences between legal regulations for civil partnerships. In order to prove that you are a non married couple or are in a civil partnership, you will need to register your Spanish marital status at your local Town Hall.
If you are planning to live in a civil partnership, or if you are already part of a civil partnership, advice may be required on how to regulate your relationship in order to prevent future stressful situations. It is important that you are aware of your rights as a member of a civil partnership in the case of a break down in the Spanish Civil Partnership.
Prenuptial Agreements
Talking about money before getting married is not one of the most romantic things that you can do when you are planning your wedding. However, if you want to protect your business or your assets in the event of a breakdown we can offer you pre matrimonial advice for your financial matters. You think about your honeymoon and we will think about protecting your pre matrimonial assets!
Contact our specialist international family and divorce lawyers for a free consultation.
