What does a divorce cost

If you file the divorce petition first, you are the applicant. Each participant bears the costs of the proceedings before the court for himself. You and your spouse each pay a lawyer. The costs of the legal proceedings are usually divided in half.

The item value is crucial to the divorce costs

• The joint monthly earnings of the spouses, which is formed from three times the net income, is your personal property value.
• The object value is not the fee to be paid. According to him, it is only determined what a divorce costs based on the tables set out in the Court Fees Act (GKG) and the Lawyers' Remuneration Act (RVG).
• The pension compensation to be clarified in the divorce process (compensation value, the pension and Pension entitlements) can increase the item value determined on the basis of your income by € 1,000 to € 2,000. The pension adjustment is determined separately.
  instagram viewer

The procedural fees - what a separation really costs

In principle, a divorce three court fees, the amount of which can be found in the GKG depending on the value of the subject. If you spare the court from explaining the facts and reasons for the decision and declare a so-called waiver of legal remedies in the judgment, the court fees will be reduced. The lawyer's fees are also clearly regulated: For each lawyer whom you commission with the divorce, According to the Lawyers' Fees Act, at least a procedural fee and an appointment fee are charged due. If there is consent to the divorce, it is sufficient for one spouse to hire a lawyer and the other only to consent to the divorce petition. That saves approx. 50% of the legal fees.
An example illustrates how much a divorce really costs: Is the joint monthly Net income 2,600 euros and the pension adjustment results in 1,000 euros, the divorce costs the following Amounts:

• € 7,800 (3 times the net income of both spouses) + € 1,000 (the calculated pension adjustment)
  = € 8,800 item value.
• According to the legal table, the object value of € 8,800 results in: € 535.60 (procedural fees) + € 494.40 (appointment fee) + € 20.00 (communication fee / effort) = € 1,050.00 (total amount).
• Added to this are € 199.50 (19%) VAT.
• This means that the divorce costs a total of € 1,249.50.

How to save divorce costs

The more you do before the divorce date or Clarify alone within the year of separation, the cheaper the divorce costs will be. It is best if you present ready-made solutions to the consequences of divorce in the form of a division list to the attorney. Here are a few hints:

• Separate shared accounts. At the beginning of the year of separation, distribute credit between two accounts.
• Divide the household items fairly (she keeps the washing machine, he keeps the television).
• Assign shared assets to each other (he keeps the coin collection, valuable goods are given to them).
• Agree on the rights of access for children in writing in the year of separation (child spends every second weekend with the father).
• Clarify the claim to the marital home (he moves out, she keeps the apartment). This is also necessary if you were to spend the year of separation within the same apartment or house. of the house.
• If the lawyer hardly has to mediate between the spouses because you have agreed on the most important consequences of the divorce, you can also hire a lawyer together. He is entitled to apply to the competent family court to reduce the value of the item by 25%.
• Those who earn too little to pay what the divorce really costs can get legal aid through the lawyer apply and have the procedural costs paid from the judicial coffers (declaration of personal and economic Conditions necessary).
• One of the fastest and cheapest ways to get divorce is to divorce online. You apply for a lawyer online to file the divorce petition. The other spouse agrees to the divorce. Regardless of your place of residence, you can initiate a divorce nationwide via the Internet - without driving up the costs of the divorce. On the contrary: The online divorce saves time and money, because the spouses only need to appear at the divorce date. Everything else can be clarified by telephone, by mail or by email.

Use process cost calculator online

• Visit the link Process cost calculator.
• Calculate the item value as described above.
• The amount received can be reduced by up to 30 percent in the case of an amicable divorce. After the questioning about income, the court will ultimately rule on the amount.
• The pension adjustment to be carried out increases the value received so far by at least another 1,000 euros. Even if the pension adjustment is excluded by a notary, the amount still has to be paid.
• The object value does not correspond to the amount of the procedural costs to be paid. These result from the inclusion of a special table of fees from the court.

In order to get a more precise overview of what a more extensive procedure might cost, you have to contact a lawyer directly. He can also advise you on how the procedure can be designed cost-effectively and whether you can claim legal aid.

Additional author: Thomas Detlef Bär