Article chapters:
What documents do you have to file to a court for a divorce?
- Proposal of Child Custody Agreement
- Divorce Settlement Agreement
If you are applying for a divorce without without specific cause (an uncontested divorce), you will need a Property Settlement Agreement for establishing the division of the spousal property, housing and alimony.
Proposal of Child Custody Agreement
If you and your husband have minor children, the court will not finalize the divorce until there has been a decision regarding both child custody and child support for all minor children. Thus, agreeing on how minor children will be provided for is the first thing you will have to solve. The most effective and best way in this case is parental agreement. If the child is mature enough, do not forget to ask for his opinion about what he or she wants.
If you respect their wishes, the child will know that you still care about them, and one day they will appreciate that as parents you were able to agree. By agreement, you will make it easier for your children and also yourself to start new life. You will also save many years of trials, stress, payments for expert opinions, etc. The court always assesses whether the agreement is in the best interests of the children. If so, in most cases the court will approve the Child Custody Agreement and the whole process will be significantly sped up – on one court date, if both parties appear, the case can be resolved.
The key points you both should agree on:
- in the care of which of the parents will be the child
- how often and for how long the other parent will be with the child
- the amount of child support
In cases where you are able to agree on the contact of the other parent with the child, you do not need to specify in the judgment how often and for how long the other parent will be with the child.
All court decisions are always guided by the best interests of the child. If your agreed terms do not comply with the best interests of the child, the court may decide differently from your agreement. Trial proceedings before the court are initiated by filing a petition with the court. If you both agree, you will file with the court a “Proposal for the approval of the parents’ Agreement of Child Custody and the Child support of minor children“. In order to complete the divorce, it is always necessary to make all necessary adjustments for this relationship with minor children during the divorce process. In practice, we make these adjustments even before the divorce proceedings begin.
In the case of disagreement, one of the parents submits a “Proposal to adjust the Custody and Child support of minors”. A sample of this proposal can be found on the website of the Ministry of Justice. Keep in mind that this sample proposal is only a generic model, and in the case that you forget some details, or do not provide all the essential information and documents required, the whole process can take a much longer time. Therefore, it is always better to have the proposal checked by a divorce attorney before submission, of course.
Divorce
We will walk you through the whole process step-by-step from filing to court approval. Will will also ensure the best possible settlement for you, your children and your property. We proceed quickly, discretely and with experience. You may also pay after services are provided.
Important information regarding the Proposal of Child Custody Agreement:
- Documents required for divorce need to be sumbited to the municipal court in whose district the child is domiciled. If you are unsure of the jurisdiction of the court, (thus where to file a petition), it is advisable to find out with the socio-legal protection of children and social care (called Child Protection Services in US English), or use the advice of a divorce attorney.
- A handwritten signature on the documents is sufficient. It does not have to be officially verified.
- Deliver everything to the court in three copies.
- In practice, you can file for divorce and for adjusting the child’s custody at the same time. However, the court must always decide first about any minor children.
- A proposal to adjust the custody of minors is exempt from any court fees.
The attorney advises: If you are unable to agree in any way, and there is a need to temporarily adjust the situation with minor children, you can apply for an interim measure. This is an extraordinary measure, (and parents sometimes overuse it, and thus complicate and prolong the possibility of a final decision in the case). Interim measures can be submited, for example, if the other parent does not contribute to the minor’s support, and the length of the court proceedings could put you in financial difficulties; or, if the care of the minor children needs to be adjusted temporarily. The interim measure has certain specifics, in the case of minors, and the court must decide within a maximum of 7 days. Therefore, interrogations are not normally held, because of the short deadline for a decision. Everything necessary needs to be explained and documented to the court. The basis for a successful interim measure is to assess whether the conditions for both filing an interim measure, and that the intermim measure proposal is well-written, are met. An experienced divorce attorney will always give you the best advice in these matters.
Divorce Settlement Agreement
The proposal itself may be filed by one of the spouses; or if both spouses have agreed, they may file it together. In the case of agreement, and thus an uncontested divorce, (a divorce without finding of any one person’s fault for the break-up), it is necessary to meet several conditions as stated by law:
- the marriage lasted at least one year at the time the proceedings started
- the spouses have not lived together for more than 6 months
- if they have a minor child together, they have agreed on a Child Custody and Support Agreement for the time beginning after the divorce, and the court has approved this agreement
- an agreement has also been reached on the Property Settlement Agreement
If there is a situation where one of the spouses does not agree to the divorce, or the spouses are unable to agree on the care of a minor child or the property settlement, then one of the spouses will file for divorce. In that case, the divorce will be contested, (a divorce with cause).
To the Divorce Settlement add a copy of the marriage certificate, and in case of a minor child, add the birth certificate of this child. Also, attach the submission of a final judgment on the adjustment of the conditions of post-divorce child custody, housing, child support and a Property Settlement Agreement as well.
Important information about filing for divorce:
- Submit the application to the district court (in Prague, the Municipal Court) in whose district you have or had your last common residence together, if at least one of you still live in this district. If you have both moved away from it, send a proposal to the court in whose district your spouse currently resides.
- For filling a petition, you will pay a court fee of 2.000 CZK.
- The court fee is possible to pay either to the court’s account, or with the help of payment coupons (stamps), which you can buy in all branches of the Czech Post Office.
Proposal of Property Settlement Agreement
The marital joint property of the spouses ends with the divorce and must be settled. The most optimal solution for property settlement is an agreement. The agreement is effective on the day when the marital property ceases to exist. It does not matter if you conclude it before or after the divorce of the marriage; (for an uncontested divorce, it is necessary to have it concluded).
If you are not able to agree, there are 3 options:
- You can conclude the agreement later.
- If you do not agree, then within 3 years of the divorce it is possible to file a petition with the court to settle the marital property. In that case, the court will decide to whom the specific property and debts which arose during the marriage will fall. The court either orders common properties to one of the ex-spouses, with condition to pay partial (usually half) of the value of those properties to the other spouse, or divides the properties equally in some way, or may decide to sell some or all of these properties and distribute the money between the spouses.
- If you do not agree on the Property Settlement Agreement within 3 years of the divorce and do not file a petition with the court, then the so-called irrebuttable legal presumption arises and an automatic settlement based on law will take place. Movable and immovable property will remain in the possession of the ex-spouse who uses it exclusively as the owner for the needs of him or herself, his or her family, or his or her family household. Other movable / immovable property, including debts with receivables, will remain in shared ownership.
Important information regarding the Proposal of Property Settlement Agreement:
- File the petition with the court that decided on the divorce.
- Submit everything to the court in two copies.
- Fees for the property settlement of movable and immovable property are in the thousands of crowns, and in a case of a joint company it can be more than tens of thousands. The exact amounts change quite often. It is a relatively costly affair that takes a long time.
Keep in mind that even the least complicated uncontested divorce, (without the need to settle the custody of a minor child or property settlement), lasts several months. In cases where the divorcing spouses cannot agree on nearly anything, the whole process can take several years.
If you want to keep the whole process as simple as possible, and keep the court time to a minimum with the best possible result, we will help you. The Dostupný Advokát team has experienced attorneys who will solve everything with you quickly online, and can represent you in court as necessary, providing everything you need.