A divorce — whether consensual or contested — dissolves a marriage that has been lawfully celebrated, that is, with all due formalities, whether religious or civil. The usual issues that arise from divorce and that must be resolved by the divorce lawyer are the following:
- child support (alimony for the children),
- custody of the children,
- spousal alimony,
- visitation rights of the parent who will not retain custody,
- the residence of the children,
- any property disputes
Types of Divorce
The types of divorce provided by law are, as mentioned, the consensual and the contested divorce. There is also the so-called automatic divorce, but in practice this constitutes a sub-category of the contested divorce. An automatic divorce arises where there has been a separation of the spouses for more than two years. Separation is understood as the absence of physical or psychological contact between the spouses — what in Latin legal terminology is referred to as corpus (body) and animus (mind).
In a consensual divorce, the former spouses share a common position as to how the issues arising from the divorce will be resolved. They thus consent, settling any pending matters peacefully, with the assistance of their lawyers. However, divorce often gives rise to disputes, since unfortunately there are conflicting interests between the parties. Where there is no common course of action, contested divorce is the only path for justice to be administered. In any event, a divorce lawyer is required to carry out the necessary legal procedures and to protect your rights.
Consensual Divorce
Under the new procedure for issuing a consensual divorce, jurisdiction for the dissolution of marriage has been transferred from the courts to notaries public. Specifically, marriage is now dissolved not by a court ruling but by a notarial deed, a copy of which is filed with the registry office where the celebration of the marriage was recorded. Until the notarial deed of consensual divorce is registered with the competent registry office, the marriage is deemed valid.
Under the new procedure, representation of the spouses by their lawyers remains mandatory. The lawyers co-sign with the couple, or alone if they have been granted such authority by special notarial power of attorney, the notarial deed of consensual divorce, the agreement on dissolution of the marriage, as well as the agreement on the custody, visitation and alimony of any minor children. The special power of attorney for signing the above documents must have been granted to the lawyers within the last month before their signing.
Under the new consensual divorce procedure, a period of at least ten (10) days must elapse between the signing of the spouses’ written agreement to dissolve the marriage and the signing of the notarial deed. To prove the date of signing of the agreement of dissolution of marriage, the amended Article 1441 of the Civil Code (AK) provides that the authenticity of the spouses’ signatures thereon must be certified by the Registry of the Magistrate’s Court (Eirinodikeio) of the seat of the notary who will draw up the notarial deed.
Pursuant to paragraph 4 of Article 22 of Law 4509/2017, the spiritual dissolution of a religious marriage becomes mandatory. It should be noted that until then the dissolution of a religious marriage was pronounced by a final and irrevocable court ruling, which was simply registered with the relevant registry office, without the spiritual dissolution being mandatory. Couples in particular who did not wish to remarry — at least not soon — would not proceed with the spiritual dissolution of their religious marriage in order to avoid expenses. Now, Law 4509/2017 no longer leaves former spouses the option of not dissolving their religious marriage spiritually as well as administratively.
The cost of obtaining a consensual divorce by notarial deed is clearly higher compared to the previous method of dissolving a marriage by court ruling. This is because, on the one hand, mandatory representation of each spouse by a separate lawyer was introduced and, on the other hand, due to the introduction of the notary in the procedure, who is of course remunerated for drawing up the notarial deed of dissolution of marriage.
Specifically, each spouse must pay (a) the fee of his or her lawyer for legal advice, representation before the notary and the drafting or review of the agreements of dissolution of marriage and of custody, visitation and alimony of any minor children; (b) his or her share — or even the entire fee — of the notary for drawing up the deed of dissolution of marriage, depending on the agreement with the other spouse; (c) the fee for the religious dissolution of the marriage at the Holy Metropolis to which the church where the marriage was celebrated belongs, in the case of a religious marriage or of a civil marriage subsequently blessed in church; (e) the special fee for the dissolution of the religious marriage payable to the Public Treasury; (f) the notary’s fee for drawing up the special powers of attorney to the lawyers, in case the spouses do not wish to come into contact and become actively involved in the entire procedure; (g) other minor expenses that may arise.
The minimum supporting documents for the issuance of a consensual divorce, which must initially be provided to the spouses’ lawyers in order for the latter to take the necessary steps to dissolve the marriage, are a recent family status certificate and a marriage registration certificate. If the spouses have children who are minors at the time of the dissolution of the marriage, it is advisable also to submit their birth registration certificates. Depending on the circumstances, additional documents may also be requested, such as a valid passport or national ID, if one of the spouses is a citizen of another EU Member State.
Changes towards the digitisation of the consensual divorce procedure before the notary are introduced by the new Law 4800/2021. A few words about this procedure:
As mentioned above, this procedure concerns only the issuance of a consensual divorce and not a contested one, which continues to be heard before the Greek courts.
This procedure is exceptionally simple and very fast, with the result that within only a few days the consensual divorce desired by the parties may be issued, with the parties participating in the procedure with a single click from their home.
However, the assistance of a notary is still required, as is the case today; only this assistance will be provided directly through the electronic platform and, of course, with the involvement of a lawyer, one for each side.
The procedure begins with the application of one of the lawyers on the electronic platform, who enters into the system the information requested, such as the spouses’ details, marriage registration certificate, the spouses’ VAT number (AFM), social security number (AMKA), etc.
Then both parties — the spouses, the other party’s lawyer and the notary — are notified electronically by email and are invited to also participate in the progress of the procedure.
One lawyer uploads to the application the text of the consensual divorce agreement, which may also include an agreement on the individual matters of parental care, custody, alimony and visitation of any children, where these exist and where the parties wish them to be included in the divorce text. The other lawyer then confirms the final text agreed upon by his or her client and by himself or herself, and also confirms the notary who will undertake to draw up the notarial deed of consensual divorce.
The spouses, through the application, will declare that they consent to this text and to the continuation of the procedure, without any need for certification of the authenticity of their signatures. Following the spouses’ consent to the continuation of the procedure, the electronic application sets and begins the ten-day period that must elapse, as required by law, in order for the divorce agreement to be finalised through the notary.
Once the ten-day period has elapsed, all parties (spouses, lawyers, notary) are notified electronically of its expiry, so that they may proceed to complete the divorce procedure with the notary digitally through the electronic platform. The notary drafts and uploads to the system the divorce agreement together with any individual matters, which is approved by joint digital declaration of the spouses and their authorised lawyers, or solely by the authorised lawyers, where they hold a notarial power of attorney issued within the last month before the digital declaration of approval of the divorce agreement.
Subsequently, the notary, through the platform, declares the completion of the consensual divorce agreement and, in the case of a religious marriage, the notary must also state details concerning the spiritual dissolution of the marriage.
The procedure is completed with the electronic update of the Citizens’ Registry by the application itself.
Finally, the procedure is completed with the registration of the consensual divorce at the competent Registry Office, and the system notifies all parties (spouses, lawyers, notary) by email of the completion of the procedure, while at the same time informing all of them of the unique code/identifier assigned to that divorce as a deed.
It goes without saying that the in-person issuance of a consensual divorce at the notary’s office continues to apply normally as well, which is also very fast and easy and has been made even easier by the abolition, under the new law, of the requirement that the spouses’ signatures on the Private Divorce Agreement be authenticated by the territorially competent Magistrate’s Court. Authentication of the spouses’ signatures for the purpose of signing their Private Divorce Agreement may now be carried out either at the Citizens’ Service Centres (KEP) or before any other administrative authority, while no authentication of their signatures is required in the case of a joint digital declaration through the electronic platform for the paperless consensual divorce.
Of course, it remains the case that the signing of the Private Agreement, as well as the signing of the Divorce before the notary, may also be carried out solely by the authorised lawyers, where they hold a notarial power of attorney issued within the last month before the signing of the agreement.
However, the remote completion of this divorce procedure is even easier, less burdensome and entails less emotional strain for the spouses, as it will literally be carried out with a single click from their home.
- See also article Relocation of the Family Home
- See also article Joint Custody of a Child
- See also article Child Support
- See also article Certificate of Inheritance
- See also article Renunciation of Inheritance by a Minor
- See also article Eviction of a Tenant
- See also article Change of Name
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ON DIVORCE – LAWYER
1. What is the difference between a consensual and a contested divorce?
A consensual divorce is issued where the spouses agree on the dissolution of the marriage and on the individual arrangements for custody, visitation and alimony of the children. It is finalised by notarial deed, without recourse to court, and is clearly faster and less emotionally taxing. A contested divorce is chosen where there is no agreement or where there has been a serious breakdown of the marital relationship. It is heard by the Single-Member Court of First Instance and requires either proof of the breakdown or a two-year separation of the spouses, in which case the breakdown is irrebuttably presumed. The choice depends on the stance of the other spouse and on the possibility of reaching an understanding regarding the children and property.
2. How long does it take to obtain a divorce?
In a consensual divorce, the procedure is generally completed within a few weeks, since at least ten days must elapse between the signing of the private agreement and the notarial deed of dissolution of the marriage. The digital platform under Law 4800/2021 allows the procedure to be completed remotely, without physical presence. A contested divorce is considerably more time-consuming: the scheduling of the hearing, the oral hearing, the issuance of the judgment and its becoming final and irrevocable may require from one to two years or more, depending on any appeals and on the joint hearing of ancillary matters such as alimony and custody.
3. What documents do I need to start the procedure?
The basic supporting documents are a recent family status certificate and a marriage registration certificate. Where there are minor children, their birth registration certificates are also required, as well as a written agreement on custody, visitation and alimony. A national ID or valid passport, the spouses’ VAT number (AFM) and social security number (AMKA) are also required. In the case of a religious marriage, its spiritual dissolution must also be completed through the competent Holy Metropolis. If the client does not wish to be personally involved, he or she may grant a special notarial power of attorney to his or her lawyer, issued within the last month before the signing of the agreement.
4. What happens with the custody and alimony of the children?
In a consensual divorce, the spouses regulate by written agreement which parent will exercise custody, the manner of visitation with the other parent and the amount of alimony. The agreement is valid for at least two years and may be renewed. In a contested divorce, where there is no consent, these issues are decided independently by the Single-Member Court of First Instance, with the best interests of the child as the guiding criterion. Alimony is calculated based on the actual needs of the child and on the financial capacity of both parents. Joint custody has been promoted following Law 4800/2021, although it does not constitute an absolute rule.
5. What is the cost of obtaining a divorce?
In a consensual divorce, the cost includes the fees of two lawyers (one for each spouse, on a mandatory basis), the notary’s fee for drawing up the deed of dissolution of marriage, the fee of the Holy Metropolis for the spiritual dissolution where the marriage was religious, as well as a special fee payable to the State. If the spouses grant a notarial power of attorney, there is also an additional cost for its drafting. In a contested divorce, the cost is clearly higher due to filing fees, court stamp duties, costs for filing and oral hearing, as well as the increased lawyers’ fees required by full court proceedings.
6. What is the role of the lawyer in a divorce?
Representation by a lawyer is mandatory in every form of divorce. In a consensual divorce, the lawyer drafts or reviews the agreement of dissolution of marriage and the agreement concerning the children, ensures that the terms protect his or her client, and co-signs the notarial deed. In a contested divorce, the lawyer files the divorce lawsuit, submits briefs, examines witnesses and supports ancillary claims for alimony, custody and property disputes. Beyond the legal dimension, an experienced divorce lawyer also handles the emotional strain, seeking the solution that minimises friction and effectively protects the rights of the client and of the children.