Separation and divorce

Suspension of the joint household: living apart without divorce

Suspension of joint household allows to provisionally preserve the social and matrimonial benefits resulting from the marriage, and to officially start the 2-year period at the end of which the divorce can be requested by one spouse.
 

Suspending joint household life: what are the possibilities?
 

• You can choose to settle your separation without going to court.
   
• When you and your spouse agree, you can have an agreement ratified together by the Tribunal de première instance, which officially sets out the terms and consequences of the suspension of your joint household life (allocation of housing, matters relating to the minor child or children (residence and visitation rights), maintenance contribution(s), etc.).
   
• In the event of a conflictual separation, you can apply unilaterally to the court to request measures for the protection of the marital union. The judge will pronounce the separation by court order and will mainly settle:
  • The allocation of the family home and furniture
  • The allocation of residence of the minor child or children, the modalities for exercising visiting rights
  • The determination of the maintenance paid to any child or children and the other spouse

How do I bring a conflict before the court?
 

Step 1: make your request

You should prepare your application in written form and send it to the Tribunal de première instance by mail or by dropping it off directly at the court desk or the Greffe universel, in duplicate (in triplicate if you have a minor child or children). It must be written in French and signed.

You can also use the standard form provided by the Federal Office of Justice.

Your request must include the following details:

• What you want to obtain (separation, allocation of the home, concerning the children (residence and visitation rights), maintenance contributions, etc.)
• The facts related to your request

You can act on your own, appeal to a lawyer or a legal advice service.
 

Step 2: to pay an advance on costs

You have to pay an advance on costs. The amount can vary from Fr. 200.- to Fr. 2'000.-, depending on the complexity of the case and the applications (amount of the maintenance contribution(s) and other measures).

If your resources are insufficient to ensure the defence of your interests, you can request legal aid.

Step 3: attend the hearing

Usually the court will summon you to a hearing where you and your spouse appear in person.

The court then tries to bring you to an agreement. If you fail to do so, the court will make a decision on the various measures to be taken (e.g. separation, allocation of the home, matters concerning the children (residence and visiting rights), maintenance contribution(s), etc.).

The court can set the date of separation of the spouses, which will trigger the 2-year period at the end of which the spouses will be allowed to file for divorce unilaterally.

If you are in a conflict over residence or the exercise of visiting rights to your minor children, the court may decide to request a report from the parental Separation assessment and support Service (SEASP).

The court may also decide, depending on the case, to hear the minor child or children personally.

Step 4: receive the judgment

The judge's decision is communicated to you by mail, if necessary through your counsel (lawyer, legal advice service).

Divorce and its consequences

Be careful, if you do not agree, the divorce cannot be pronounced before you have lived separately for 2 years (except in very exceptional cases).
 

What are the main effects of divorce?

• Allocation of the family home
• Determination of the maintenance contribution paid to one of the spouses
• Division of the occupational pensions' assets (2^nd pillar)
• Division of the marital property between the spouses (marital property)

If you have a minor child or children, the divorce judge also resolves the following issues:

• Allocation of parental responsibility
• Allocation of residence of the minor child or children and regulation of the modalities for exercising visiting rights
• Division of the parenting credit (AVS)
• Determination of the maintenance contribution paid to the minor child or children

The joint or shared parental responsibility is the rule and the alternate residence arrangement (e.g. one week at each parent's home) is often pronounced.

The different types of divorce proceedings

There are 2 types of divorce proceedings:

• Divorce by joint request, if you both wish to divorce:
  • With a comprehensive agreement, when you agree on all the effects of the divorce
  • With a partial agreement, if you have agreed to divorce, but have not been able to agree on all the terms of the divorce
     
• Divorce at the petition of one spouse, when only one of the spouses wishes to divorce

Divorce by joint request - steps
 

You agree with your spouse to divorce.
 

Step 1: make your request

You should prepare your application in written form to the Tribunal de première instance by mail or by dropping it off at the court desk or at the Greffe universel. It must be written in French and signed by you and your spouse or by your legal counsel.

You can also use the standard form provided by the Federal Office of Justice.

Your application must be accompanied by a comprehensive agreement that sets out the effects of the divorce, including the situation of the children:

• The allocation of the family home
• The matters concerning the children (parental responsibility, residence and visiting rights)
• The maintenance contribution paid to the child or children
• The division of the parenting credit (AVS)
• The maintenance contribution paid to the spouse
• The liquidation of the marital property regime
• The division of the occupational pensions' assets (2^nd pillar)

You can act on your own, appeal to a lawyer or a legal advice service.
 

Step 2: to pay an advance on costs

You have to pay an advance on costs which amounts to Fr. 600.- (art. 29 RTFMC).

If your resources are insufficient to ensure the defence of your interests, you can request legal aid.

Step 3: attend the hearing

The court summons you and your spouse and hears you separately to ensure that you have filed your petition and entered into your agreement thoughtfully and willingly.

The court may also ask you about the content of your agreement, especially for points that concern the children.

If there are no more contentious issues, the court will grant the divorce and ratify the agreement on the effects of the divorce.

Step 4: receive the judgment

The judge's decision is communicated to you by mail, if necessary, through your counsel (lawyer, legal advice service).

Divorce at the petition of one spouse – steps
 

You want to divorce, but your spouse is refusing to do so.
 

You can file for divorce on a unilateral basis, especially if:

• You have lived 2 years apart at the time of filing your claim

Step 1: make your request

You should prepare your application in written form and send it to the Tribunal de première instance by mail or by dropping it off directly at the court desk or the Greffe universel, in duplicate (in triplicate if you have a minor child or children). It must be written in French and signed.

Your request must include the following details:

• What you want to obtain (divorce, allocation of the home, matters concerning the children, maintenance contributions paid to the minor child or children as well as to you, division of the parenting credit (AVS), liquidation of the marital property regime, division of the occupational pensions' assets (2^nd pillar))
• The facts related to your request, by providing as much supporting documentation as possible to substantiate them.

Step 2: to pay an advance on costs

You have to pay an advance on costs to pay an advance of at least Fr. 1'000.- , the amount of which varies according to the complexity of the case and the applications (amount of the maintenance contribution(s) and other measures) (art. 30 RTFMC).

If your resources are insufficient to ensure the defence of your interests, you can request legal aid.

Step 3: attending the hearing

The court summons you and your spouse to a conciliation hearing particularly in an attempt to reach an agreement on the effects of the divorce.

If there is no agreement on the effects of the divorce, the proceedings will continue and the court will give your spouse the opportunity to express his/her views in writing on your request.

If you are in dispute about residence of your minor child or children, or about visiting rights, the court may decide to request a report from the parental separation assessment and support Service (SEASP).

The court may appoint a deputy to represent the child (representative deputyship).

See this question/answer

Step 4: receive the judgment

The judge's decision is communicated to you by mail, if necessary, through your counsel (lawyer, legal advice service).

Les frais de procédure comprennent les frais judiciaires (les émoluments, les frais d’administration des preuves, les frais de traduction et les frais de représentation de l’enfant), qui peuvent faire l'objet d'une avance de frais destinée à couvrir tout ou partie des frais judiciaires, ainsi que les dépens. Si une partie mandate une avocate ou un avocat, il en résulte des frais supplémentaires, indépendants de ceux de la justice.

Vous trouverez, ci-dessous, les coûts judiciaires pour le divorce sur requête unilatérale et le divorce sur requête commune. A noter que ces coûts ne concernent que les émoluments judiciaires et non d'autres types de frais susceptibles d'intervenir en cours de procédure, comme les frais d'interprète ou les expertises à la requête du tribunal.

En fonction du déroulement de la procédure et de l'issue du litige, les frais de procédure fixés par le tribunal peuvent parfois être inférieurs ou supérieurs aux montants définis dans le règlement fixant le tarif des frais en matière civile (RTFMC).

Par exemple:

• Si une requête a été déclarée irrecevable, le tribunal pourrait fixer des frais inférieurs à ceux indiqués.
• Si l'avance de frais est d'un certain montant, mais qu'une publication dans la Feuille d'Avis Officiel (FAO) est nécessaire, les frais finaux peuvent être plus élevés que l'avance de frais effectuée.

Plus d'informations concernant les frais d'une procédure civile
 

Emoluments du divorce sur requête unilatérale en francs

Ce graphique présente la répartition des frais judiciaires (émoluments)

• En première instance (à gauche)
• En seconde instance (à droite) en cas de recours ou d'appel de la décision

Attention: l'émolument pour un divorce sur requête unilatérale est au minimum de Fr. 1'000.-. Il est toutefois fréquent que la ou le juge parvienne à concilier les parties en audience et à leur faire trouver un accord. Dans ces cas, les émoluments peuvent être réduits (inférieurs à l'avance de frais de Fr. 1'000.-), ce qui explique les montants en dessous de Fr. 1'000.- dans près de 50% des cas.
 

Emoluments du divorce sur requête commune en francs

Pour un divorce avec accord commun, qui se termine dans la quasi-totalité des cas en première instance, l'avance de frais initiale est de Fr. 600.-. Il peut dans de rares cas arriver que les parties ne soient pas d'accord sur tous les aspects de la procédure, ce qui peut entraîner des frais supplémentaires.
 

Emoluments relatifs aux mesures protectrices de l'union conjugale (MPUC) en francs

Concernant les mesures protectrices de l’union conjugale (MPUC), l’article 31 RTFMC prévoit un émolument forfaitaire de décision compris entre Fr. 150.- et Fr. 5’000.-, en fonction de la complexité et de l’ampleur du dossier.

Dans la pratique:

• En première instance, près de 80 % des procédures donnent lieu à des émoluments inférieurs à Fr. 600.-.
• En deuxième instance, les émoluments sont en général supérieurs à Fr. 1’000.-.

Conformément à l’article 98 alinéa 1 du Code de procédure civile (CPC), le tribunal peut par ailleurs exiger une avance à concurrence de la moitié des frais judiciaires présumés au début de la procédure.

Durée d'une procédure de divorce sur requête unilatérale

• En première instance, près de 60% des procédures se terminent en moins d'un an et plus de 80% se terminent en moins de deux ans.
• En deuxième instance, plus de 90% des procédures se terminent en moins d'un an

Durée d'une procédure de divorce sur requête commune

• En première instance, plus de 90% des procédures de divorce sur requête commune se terminent en moins de 6 mois.
• Etant donné la nature de la procédure, moins de 1% d'entre elles sont portées en deuxième instance.
   

Durée relative aux mesures protectrices de l'union conjugale (MPUC)

• En première instance, plus de 85% des procédures MPUC sont terminées en un an ou moins.
• En deuxième instance, la quasi-totalité des procédures sont terminées en moins d'un an.