Table of Contents
Question: Why do I need a lawyer in case of a divorce in Romania?
Answer: Procedures concerning the dissolution of marriage in Romania generally require the presence of a lawyer, able to provide all necessary details regarding the papers needed, options that you have, accurately explaining all phases, representing in front of authorities and clearly specifying vulnerabilities, in order to help the client and to rapidly identify the optimal answer for all specific requests.
The experts at our Romanian law firm can assist clients who are going through a divorce.
| Quick Facts | |
|---|---|
| Conditions for divorce in Romania |
By mutual agreement (when the spouses agree to dissolve the marriage in court or in front of a notary) or through court proceedings (when the divorce is lodged by a single party) |
|
Reasons for divorce |
Irretrievable marriage breakdown, upon request after a separation of at least 2 years, upon request in case of health issues that make the marriage impossible, by mutual agreement |
|
Legal effects of divorce on the parties |
The parties can revert to their former names or keep the name gained through marriage. The former spouses are free to remarry after divorce |
| Legal effects of divorce on the common property |
The matrimonial regime ceases immediately upon divorce or sooner, if decided by court (starting with the date of the actual separation) |
| The division of common property after divorce | Co-ownership until the court decides the distribution of property (according to each of the spouse’s contribution and other criteria) |
| Child custody after divorce |
Joint custody in most cases |
| Child maintenance payment after divorce | The court determines each parent’s percentage to the child’s expenses
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| Spousal maintenance after divorce in Romania | Only when one of the spouses claims maintenance due to a disability directly related to the marriage |
| Compensatory payment | Can be claimed by the plaintiff only when the marriage had a duration of at least 20 years. Not possible when the respective spouse also requests spousal maintenance. |
| Legal separation in Romania (Yes/No) | No |
| Marriage annulment in Romania (Yes/No) | Yes |
| Grounds for marriage annulment | Marriage with a person under the age of 16, for other purposes than for starting a family, when performed without the provided approvals or authorizations or when one of the parties did not consent freely to the union; a marriage is also null when one of the parties was under guardianship or when mentally incapacitated Our Romanian divorce lawyers can give you more details |
| Legal effects of marriage annulment | The patrimonial relationship between the spouses is subject to the general provisions of divorce In the event of marriage annulment, the children retain their status as children born during marriage Talking with our Romanian divorce lawyers can be helpful in these cases |
| Alternative marriage dispute resolution | Mediation can be helpful before going to court. Divorce by mutual agreement before the notary is also possible without the need to involve the court |
| Legal assistance during divorce |
Upon request, our Romanian divorce lawyers provide complete guidance and legal representation in court |
Question: I need assistance my very special and difficult case of divorce. Can your lawyers in Romania help me?
Answer: Yes, of course. Romanian divorce lawyers deal with four types of divorces and our job is to help you get through any difficult situation that implies legal matter, especially when your personal life is at stake.
Our lawyers in Romania would like to point out these situations for accurately designating all possible choices that our law system provides.
- The first circumstance describes the case when both spouses agree on the separation or one of them comes with this request and the other one accepts it.
- A second case involves the generally known “grounded reasons” making the continuation of the marriage impossible since the relation between husband and wife had been irremediably damaged.
- The third situation implies the two-year separation term followed by one of the spouse’s demand for divorce.
- The fourth case indicates a rather less common situation when one of the spouses is seriously ill making the continuation of the relationship impossible; the divorce is possible only when it is demanded by the spouse whose health no longer allows the prolongation of the marriage.
Question: Me and my spouse have different nationalities. How do we handle the divorce, in Romania, in this case?
Answer: There are situations when a divorce in Romania involves people of different nationalities. This is probably one of the most challenging cases, since couples are generally confused by the atypical procedures to be followed, under these circumstances.
The mutual divorce is always encouraged because it allows a faster and more diplomatic manner of dealing with this entire situation. There is also a set of regulations common for all EU countries that must be taken into account not forgetting the exceptions. Two spouses coming from two different EU states have several options when choosing to divorce. In most cases they file for divorce in the country where they are currently living. Another alternative is to decide for the country you both lived in and which represents the present residency state for at least one of you. All options must be clearly presented to clients in order to help them identify best possible verdict. So it becomes obvious that even if not being a resident in Romania or in any other country in EU, the presence of an attorney, even as a counselor, delivers the much needed transparency to such an approach.
A divorce in Romania supposes that one of the spouses is Romanian or one of them still lives here. For Romanians married to foreigners a divorce in our country is possible only if one of the spouses still lives in here.
Hiring a divorce lawyer in Bucharest becomes a priority because the presence of an expert able to profoundly understand the legal significance of such an approach guarantees your future safety and equilibrium. Please contact our team of divorce lawyers in Romania for a free case consultation.
Question: I am getting a divorce in Romania. I need assistance with the child custody and material goods. Are there any legal matters I should be aware of?
Answer: Yes, there are some aspects you need to know and our Romanian lawyers specialized in divorce explain here the legal consequences of dissolution of marriage.
Most common features that are brought to our attention through the divorce procedures relate to either marital assets or child custody aspects. If there is no agreement between spouses concerning the goods acquired during marriage, than assets are defined as common property. Marital assets are to be divided according to contribution when obtaining those assets and also taking into account their proved interest for fulfilling their responsibilities during marriage.
Child custody is a highly problematic process as it involves the presence of a child who is more vulnerable than both parents. Our Romanian lawyers specializing in divorce in Bucharest are able to accurately explain that custody is usually shared, but the court is obliged to take into consideration the child’s best interest. If considering more appropriate to grant custody only to one parent, the court will proceed accordingly.
Even when the custody case is a rather complex one, our attorneys in Romania specialize in issues related to custody and alimony and our law firm in Bucharest has the needed resources in order to represent in such difficult situations.
Question: Is it very expensive to get a divorce in Romania?
Answer: Getting a divorce in Romania is not very demanding financially and not extremely complicated from a bureaucratic point of view.
What are the types of effects of the divorce in Romania and what is the date of the dissolution of marriage?
Generally, the date of the dissolution of marriage is represented by the date when the decision pronouncing the divorce remained final.
In case of divorce by consent of spouses who have no minor children, marriage is dissolved after the divorce certificate is issued.
The marital regime will cease on the date of the divorce application, but either spouse may ask the court, in case of divorce by consent, to set the termination of the marital regime at the date of the separation in fact.
If a spouse dies during the process of divorce and his heirs continue the divorce, the law stipulates that the date of the marriage dissolution will be the date of death.
Regarding the types of effects that divorce causes, they are effects on property relations between spouses, effects on non-property relations between spouses and divorce effects on the relationships between parents and their children. The experts at our law firm in Romania can provide more details.
What are the effects of divorce regarding property and non-property relations between spouses?
The effects of divorce on non-property relations concern the family name after marriage and the rights of the divorced spouse. Thus, in the absence of an agreement between spouses or a declaration of court regarding the reasons to keep the name during the marriage, each spouse will return to the name given before concluding the marriage. Also, divorce is deemed ruled against the spouse whose exclusive fault caused the divorce and that spouse will lose the rights acquired by law or by agreement concluded earlier with third parties. In case of common fault or the divorce through common consent, these rights are preserved. Thise who are interested in more details can reach out to our team of lawyers in Romania.
Regarding economic relations, divorce takes effect regarding numerous aspects. Acts of alienation and encumbrance of real rights which concern the common goods or those that give rise to obligations for the community, signed by one spouse after the filing of divorce are voidable far as they have been concluded in fraud of the other spouse.
The innocent spouse who suffered injury through the dissolution of marriage may require the other to pay damages and will be different from the performance of compensatory benefit, benefit belonging to the spouse when the divorce is pronounced due to the exclusive fault of the defendant spouse, in order to offset the significant imbalance caused by the divorce. However, the compensatory gain can be granted only if the marriage lasted at least 20 years. If you wish to apply for this compensatory gain, our Romanian lawyers can assist.
Another effect of divorce on the property relations between spouses regards the cease of the obligations to maintain each other. However, the divorced spouse is entitled to maintenance under certain conditions stipulated by law.
Are you unsure of how a divorce will affect your jointly-owned real estate? Or perhaps you were already engaged in buying property in Romania when both or one of you filed for divorce? Our team can answer our questions and we can also represent your best interests as a foreign national interested in buying property or land in the country. You can reach out to us for more information.
How is the relationship between parents and their minor children affected as a result of the dissolution of marriage?
In this case, the guardianship court is the one that will decide upon such relationships on specific considerations and interests of children, the psychosocial investigation report or the parents’ agreement. Usually, parental authority will belong to both parents. However, the child’s best interest can argue the court’s decision to grant parental authority to only one parent, following the other to reserve the right to supervise the child’s growth and education and to consent to the adoption.
In exceptional cases, the court may pronounce the placement of the child to a relative, in another family, an individual or organization for protection under certain conditions. Our lawyers in Romania can assist you in all matters related to the wellbeing of children after divorce.
In terms of housing the child after divorce, the court, on the grounds of the child’s higher interest, may conclude that he/she has to live with a parent or other relatives, or even other people or a care institution. The Parent or parents who don’t live with their children have the right to have personal ties to them. The Family Law experts at our Romanian law firm can give you more details.
The guardianship court will rule on other issues as well, such as the contribution of each parent to the costs of education, growth, learning and training, and on maintenance obligations.
Is there any possibility to choose which law to govern an international divorce? If so, what is the moment until this choice can be manifested?
Of course. Romanian private international law establishes, under the provisions of the New Civil Code, within Articles 2597-2602, the conditions in which spouses may choose the law to govern their divorce, where this possibility appears. The New Civil Code absorbed the provisions found in the draft Regulation (EU) no. 1259/2010 implementing a system of cooperation in the area of the laws applicable to the divorce and limited divorce, known as the “Rome III”. Our lawyers in Romania specialized in divorce can provide more details on the governing laws.
Art. 2597 thus provides that spouses may choose, by mutual agreement, one of the following laws to govern their divorce:
- a) the law of the common habitual residence of the spouses at the date of the agreement regarding the applicable law;
- b) the law of the State where the spouses last had their common habitual residence if at least one of them lives there still at the time of the choice regarding the applicable law;
- c) the law of the State whose citizen is one of the spouses;
- d) the law of the State on which territory the spouses have resided for a period of at least 3 years;
- e) the Romanian law.
The agreement regarding which law to govern the divorce can be registered (or modified) until the date of referral to the authority competent to pronounce the divorce, but if the divorce is done before a Court of law, the authorities can receive proof of an agreement between spouses at the latest until the first hearing at which the parties were duly summoned.
It is useful to know that the agreement regarding the law applicable to divorce agreement needs to be concluded in writing, dated and signed by the parties. The experts at our law firm in Romania can assist during this step.
What happens if none of the spouses expresses its choice on the law applicable to the divorce? Can your Romanian lawyers help?
In this case, the public internation law establishes that the law applicable to the divorce will be determined objectivele and thus will be:
- a) the law of the State of common habitual residence of the spouses at the date of the request for divorce;
- b) in the absence of common habitual residence, the law of the State where the spouses had their last common habitual residence if at least one spouse has his habitual residence in that State on the date of filing for divorce;
- c) in the absence of the spouse’s habitual residence in the State where they had their last common habitual residence, the law of the common citizenship of the spouses at the time of filing for divorce;
- d) in the absence of common citizenship of the spouses, the law of the last common citizenship of the spouses, if at least one of them retained the citizenship at the date of the application for divorce;
- e) the Romanian law, in all other cases.
There is also the situation where foreign law determined according to the rules above or chosen by the spouses does not allow the divorce or permits it in extremely restrictive conditions. In this case, Romanian law will apply if one of the spouses is a Romanian citizen or is ordinarily resident in Romania at the date of the request for divorce. If this is the case, our lawyers in Romania are ready to assist.
Is there a possibility of divorce in a unilateral manner? If yes, what is the applicable law?
The New Civil Code provides for the possibility of divorce by unilateral termination. However, Article 2601 entitled “Recognition of the divorce by unilateral termination” found in the New Civil Code establishes a golden rule, namely that the act that was drafted abroad and which expresses the unilateral will of a man to undo the marriage, without the law of that certain Stat having recognized the same rights to women, will not be recognized in Romania. If this is the case, the experts at our Romanian law firm who specialize in litigation can asisst.
Exceptions to this rule require meeting certain conditions, namely: the act complies with all the conditions of substance and form prescribed by the applicable foreign law, the woman accepted freely and clearly this method of dissolution of marriage and there is no other reason for the non-recognition in Romania of the decision of dissolution of marriage in this manner. Our lawyers in Romania can provide more details about the applicable exceptions.
Our competent team of lawyers has the necessary background to come with effective solutions, being familiar with all features common for divorce involving dual citizenship or any other particularity requiring a deeper understanding of the entire process, at national and also European level. Let us help you get through your divorce hassle-free, while you put the time aside to handle your private life. Call our law firm in Romania now for a free case consultation!