In accordance with Articles 229 et seq. of the French Civil Code, French law provides for four cases of divorce: amicable divorce by mutual consent (divorce par consentement mutuel), if you agree on the principle of divorce and all its effects (see How does a divorce by mutual consent work?), and three judicial divorces:
Detailed answer
Accepted divorce (or divorce based on acceptance of the principle of the breakdown of the marriage)
What is it? You agree to divorce, but leave it to the judge to decide on the consequences of the divorce.
What are its specific features? The wish to divorce is recorded in writing (a record of acceptance of the principle of the breakdown of the marriage, or procès-verbal d’acceptation du principe de la rupture), countersigned by your lawyers. You will therefore no longer be able to invoke fault as the cause of the divorce later on.
What are the steps in the procedure?
- The judge rules only on the consequences of your divorce.
- The judge verifies that your consent to the divorce is free and informed.
Divorce for irretrievable breakdown of the marriage
What is it? You have been in a de facto separation (séparation de fait) from your spouse for at least one year. You must therefore have been living apart for more than a year and be able to prove it.
What are the conditions?
- Your life together must have ceased for at least one year on the date of the summons (assignation), if the summons specifies the grounds of your petition, or on the date the judge rules, if it does not. Note: resuming life together cancels the time already elapsed.
- You must provide proof of this separation, for example through rent receipts, police reports (mains courantes), correspondence, separate tax returns, witness statements, etc.
What are its specific features? You do not need to agree on the principle of divorce. Furthermore, the judge cannot refuse to grant the divorce if the de facto separation is proven. Finally, it can be used as an alternative claim to a fault-based petition.
Fault-based divorce
What is it? One of you has committed a serious or repeated breach of the duties and obligations of marriage.
What are the conditions?
- A serious or repeated breach of a marital duty: fidelity, assistance, support, etc.;
- This fault must be attributable to the spouse and make continued life together intolerable (Article 242 of the French Civil Code);
- Proof may be provided by any means: witness statements, official reports, certificates, etc.;
- There must have been no reconciliation since the facts relied on.
Gaëtan Escudey is available to advise you on the grounds to choose for your divorce petition, depending on the strategy adopted.
This general information does not replace a consultation: each situation requires individual assessment.
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