Uncontested Divorce Case in Turkey
In Turkish law, uncontested divorce is another form of terminating the marriage community for spouses seeking divorce. Uncontested divorce can be decided by the judge if spouses mutually agree on the financial issues of divorce, children custody, alimony and pecuniary and non-pecuniary compensation.
CONDITIONS OF FILING AN UNCONTESTED DIVORCE SUIT IN TURKISH LAW
These are the conditions of filing an uncontested divorce suit in Turkish law;
- The marriage has lasted at least for one year. If the marriage has lasted less than one year, the judge will reject the case, disregarding other conditions.
- Spouses jointly file an application for divorce or one spouse accepts the case filed by the other spouse.
- The judge listens to spouses in person.
The component court for uncontested divorce cases is family courts. If a family court does not exist in the place of jurisdiction, the civil court of first instance is component. The place of jurisdiction is the courts of the place where spouses reside in or have lived in the marriage community for the last 6 months.
What is Uncontested Divorce Agreement?
In practice, when spouses conclude a written agreement where they state the issues related to divorce that they agree on, we call it “ Uncontested Divorce Agreement”.
In this agreement, spouses may regulate the financial issues of the divorce, children custody, alimony and children maintenance. If spouses really agree on these issues before the court, the judge decides on divorce. Otherwise, the case turns into a contested case.
Children Maintenance and Alimony in Uncontested Divorce
As stated above, spouses have to provide that they agree on Children Maintenance and Alimony in the uncontested divorce agreement.
According to the Court of Cassation (Yargıtay) decisions, spouses may not claim alimony as they get poor after the conclusion of the case.
However, the situation is different for children maintenance. Children maintenance not claimed during the uncontested divorce case may be claimed by the spouse who has the custody of children on the grounds that new financial obligations arise by filing a separate suit.
How Long Do Uncontested Divorce Suits Last?
This time changes depending on the workload of the court. Along with this, the case is usually concluded in one hearing or two hearings in some cases. It means that it lasts for about 3-4 months.
You can make sure that our legal office will follow up closely the uncontested divorce process to speed up the divorce process and minimize your grievances during this process.
