Hello and Happy New Year to all.
I am separated and now planning to divorce my french husband. I had a marriage contract in place as I own my house…whew!. I have contacted a lawyer here who says although we are divorcing amicably, we have to go before a judge (due to Brexit) which is more expensive.
Does anyone have advice for me on how to steer through the system?
Many thanks
My understanding is that much will depend on where both you, and your ex-husband are resident, and where (if you live in separate countries) you intend to introduce your divorce proceedings. I would have thought that the family lawyer in France (if you are resident in France, which is what I presume is the case from the details you give), would be the best placed to advise you.
French divorce law is complicated by any one’s standards, even if using the recently made available mutual consent option, especially if children are involved, or there is a history of domestic abuse.
One of the reasons (but not the only one) that Brexit has thrown a spanner in the works is that the UK is no longer bound by the Brussels 1 & 2 Convention regulations on the recognition and enforcement of judicial authority decisions within the EU, and has not signed up to the Lugano Treaty (unless that has changed recently the Lugano treaty is the international private law alternative of the Brussels 1 &2 Regs) . This means that French courts will be wary about allowing certain stipulations, or about the interpretation, of a divorce contract that might be litigated under a non-EU law system, and which might require subsequent enforcement in the UK, or with regard to a person and their effects that is not subject to the application of EU law.
My recommendation really would be to seek advice from someone that knows both French and UK divorce law.
Thank you for your swift reply, that is very kind. We are both resident here in France but I am still a UK national which is the problem. I wonder if I try to become french quickly (if that is possible) it might help things.
Makes no difference what your nationality is (assuming you can stay in France at least). Check your marriage contract, usually what you put in is what you get out, it makes a big difference if you have children.
Oh, and this one, FWIW:
This second article, written before Brexit actually happened, raises the thorny issue of the recognition by the UK of any divorce settlement by “consentement mutuel”, simply because the instrument of agreement consigned by the notary is not a judicial decision. What that means is that although under French law, a Franco/British couple using the consentement mutuel procedure might be deemed divorced, they might well not be under UK law, at least not until there is some guidance or case law from the UK on the point.
Does the fact that you were married in France or married in England affect the jurisdiction?
The initial poster mentioned that a marriage contract was drawn up, so hopefully the issue of jurisdiction was dealt with appropriately, however, UK divorce law has some particular quirks relating to domicile and “litis pendens” meaning that it is at least theoretically possible to initiate divorce proceedings in the UK and obtain a decision earlier than one would in France, with potentially 2 decisions being applicable and having different provisions.
There has been a certain amount of publicity recently about UK spouses of non-UK nationals having used the English courts, after claiming domicile there (which under English law is not the same as residency) to obtain a significant award in their favour. This is an example of the differences in treatment that may await the unsuspecting spouse of non-British nationality.
For the record, just in case any one gets the wrong end of the stick, I am not a divorce lawyer, but my area of law relates to intellectual property (IP) and as such I follow what goes on around the world with regard to the ownership and claim to property under the law in general when I get the time or inclination. Divorce situations are messy for everyone, usually when IP is involved, it is inevitably about the money !
Ricepudding could that conceivably mean that it would be wiser to divorce in France then get the English courts to ratify or something?
Wow, a huge thank you to everyone for your help and advice. Very much appreciated.
Honestly couldn’t say, and would very much depend on what either one, or both of the parties were looking for.
Hi Steph
I am in process of divorce in France, so would make the following comments - firstly, you haven’t answered the key question that has been asked in the thread: did you marry in France (ie. at your local Mairie)?
Second: What do you mean by ‘a marriage contract’?
To cover the issues raised in your post - Brexit has got nothing to do with the ‘amicable’ divorce provisions, which are part of the French legal process, introduced at the beginning of 2017; they are incorporated in the Code Civil. You do not have to ‘go before a judge’ - but you do have to use 2 separate avocats, who present a written case to the judge. The judge’s ruling is then carried out by your notaire. That is why it costs so much - but it keeps the avocats in the process!
The first 3 pages or so of the divorce petition that your avocat draws up will set out in detail to the judge (actually a ‘tribunal’) that your circumstances comply with the jurisdiction of the court (so, marriage in France is the first obvious requirement).
I assume that what you refer to as the ‘marriage contract’ is the document prepared by your/a notaire following your civil ceremony conducted by your maire. You need to be very clear as to what the deal was which you signed - the judge cannot agree to anything which varies from this. You say ‘I own my house’, and this is a perfect example - this will be on the notaire’s record, along with whatever your husband also owned at the time of the marriage. It sounds as though your ‘marriage contract’ was under the separation des biens regime.
Tread carefully, Steph - an amicable divorce is not very profitable for an avocat, if you understand me. I wanted an amicable divorce, but my wife’s avocat advised/persuaded her to have a disputed one (even though, at that stage, we were not in dispute). That was around 5,000 euros ago, and the process is not settled yet!
Steph - If you’d prefer to contact me by PM that’s fine (and obviously more private): I posted as ‘Bosendorfer’, I seem to have two lives available to Survive France with, which is good!
Which account do you wish to keep?
Hi James
I’m happy to be just ‘Michael’.
Best to you both for a Bonne Année!
Michael Patterson
Hi Michael
Thank you for your message. I just came back from a rather long lunch so will read it tomorrow with a clear head haha.
What is the PM version? Private message maybe?
Thank you again
Stephanie
Thank you again for your kind replies. My soon to be ex husband is such a skinflint he makes Scrooge look like Father Christmas. Do you know what the timeline is for the Taxe Fonciere? I pay mine in October but do you know from what date it is calculated?
Many thanks again
1 Jan
It’s always payable in full for the year by whoever owned it on 1 Jan.
I usually get the bill about 2 months ahead by post indicating the date it will be direct debited.