Divorce Proceedings according to Turkish Divorce Law

There are two main Divorce Proceedings according to the Turkish Divorce Law;

1-     The Consensual Divorce: 

Both parties should agree on the matters regarding divorce including monetary claims and the agreed matters are to be arranged in a protocol to be signed by both parties. Parties’ agreement should cover the custody, alimony, division of properties as well as compensation matters. This protocol is then submitted to the court with the divorce claim file. We would like you to bear in the mind that the parties should be present at the courthouse during the hearing alongside their lawyers as this is a pre-requirement brought by law. Our lawyers can prepare consensual divorce protocol together with the court file, assist and represent you at the courthouse.

2-     The Contested Divorce:

One of the spouses (or their lawyers) may submit the divorce case before the court. Contested divorce cases are more complicated and may take considerable amount of time (several years for some cases) depending on the volume of the parties’ claims. Monetary claims such as Alimony and Compensations can be put forward alongside Divorce claim within the same court action. However, division of matrimonial property is in general dealt with through a separate court action – unless there is an agreement between the parties – once the divorce is concluded.  It is critically important to submit relevant evidences (written records, witness statements etc) proving the conflict of the spouses as well as the “fault” of the counter party particularly for the monetary claims. The parties are not obliged to appear before the court unlike the consensual divorce route therefore the procedure can be concluded without need of your presence. Our lawyers would be able to assist you throughout the entire procedure.