Divorces and Separations

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First steps in your divorce / separation process

When you live conflict situations in couple, doubts and uncertainty always appear first place.

If the decision that makes weight is the separation or the divorce, the first and inevitable question is: am I doing the right thing, will it be ok getting into this?

In MartaGil Abogados we advise you in the divorce or separation process, as well as with any other issue related to Family Law.

Our working area is not limited to Montequinto, Dos Hermanas (Seville), so if you are interested in our intervention, a specialist lawyer will attend you in this branch.

Next and hand in hand, come all the questions that arise when one shares life, home, children, burdens, friends …

The excess of information is total and is highly biased according to the gender of the informant and how his own story went.

For this reason, here are some simple guidelines, accessible to anyone and that, in my opinion, help clarify and distinguish between what is desirable and what is essential.

  • DEFINE YOUR INTERESTS

    In these processes, determining what the interests are is especially complex, since it is easy to confuse the individual perspective and our own interests with those of others in their broadest aspect: my interests may collide with those of my ex-partner …, but also with those of my children or those of my birth family.

    However, it is good to define the interests of each part because it helps to manage the situation of change that one is going to face.

    Therefore, I advise making a list of all the important questions that affect each specific case (from the most trivial to the most important) and analyzing their advantages and disadvantages.

  • THINK ABOUT YOUR REAL POSSIBILITIES

    Once the issues that are truly important to each one are clear, it is necessary to determine if, actually, they can be embodied. To do this, make an assessment of the options that you really have within hand´s reach. This assessment will allow you to weigh the interests at stake and discard options, which are not valid for your specific case and, at the same time, confirm hypotheses that can be easily put into practice.

  • DEFINE YOUR POSITION

    It is time to clarify: delimit your position in 3 or 4 points.

    This process improves if you confront it with a sheet of paper and a pencil. Even if you think it is a waste of time, writing will help you clarify and focus on what is truly important to you, and possibly advantageous to everyone else.

Gather the necessary information

Economic and economic information
Gather the documents that justify the income, expenses, properties and loans of the family unit.

Literal marriage and birth certificates

First thing we have to prove in court is our marital status.

The only document that reliably complies with this fact is the literal certificate (of marriage or birth), not being useful either the Family Book, the numerous Family Book, or any other document, no matter how official it may be. In fact, even literal certificates must meet a requirement: have a duration of no more than 3 months …

These certificates are issued in the Civil Registry of the place of celebration of the marriage and birth of the children. Usually they are given at the moment, but most of the times they can also be requested online.

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Ask for more information

Because you deserve to be well advised

Frequently asked questions about separations and divorces

The procedures are simple and this quick:

  1. 1. To the other certificates already mentioned, a regulatory agreement is added and then the lawsuit for divorce or separation may be submitted to the corresponding cou
  2. 2. Once the lawsuit is admitted to be handled, spouses and summoned in order to ratify such lawsuit and the content of the regulatory agreem
  3. 3. The agreement is transferred to the prosecutor (in case there are underage kids).
  4. 4. The judgement is render
  5. 5. The judgement is inscribed in the Civil Record.

If a common agreement procedure cannot be undertaken, you can opt for a contentious process that has the following features:

  1. 1. The lawsuit is submitted (without a regulatory agreement) in which the measures thought to be adequate are included.
  2. 2. It is transferred to the prosecutor and to the other party for 20 day ´
  3. 3. A trial is hold.
  4. 4. A sentence is dic
  5. 5. If none of the parties appeal the sentence, it is inscribed in the Civil Record. This process can be reconducted at all moments to a common agreement on How?

A common agreement which must be signed by both parties is drafted, it is ratified by both spouses in the court and the sentence is dictated.

Separations and divorces themselves are not expensive processes, in spite of their bad fame. What is really expensive and in most cases, complicated, is to liquidate the marriage contract, or what is the same, share the assets and charges which are in common. That is why it is important to take a realistic approach to each personal situation and from that point, move forward with the objectives already set.

Before starting any type of process, it is convenient to make a clear budget that details the contracted services and the method of payment. In my case, I always ask for a provision of funds at the beginning and break the total amount into partial payments as the procedure progresses.

It depends basically on three issues.

The first one, if it is a process of common agreement, the procedures are usually easier than those that are litigious.

The second one, the court where the procedure takes place. Regarding this matter, we have no influence, since the lawsuit is presented at a general register. And not all courts work the same way.

The third and fundamental one: the necessary time in order to make the client’s expectatives coincide with his or her real possibilities, within legality.

This is the big question. And there is no answer, or in other words, it depends on who is answering it (my ex, my sister, my friend, the neighbor…).

There is no set rule which determines how, what and to whom. There are trends in court and issues on which decisions have to be taken necessarily (what happens with the family home and how are the kids going to live, if any), but little more.

That is why, now more than ever, it is the time to stop and think how we want to do this and which option is the more convenient for oneself, depending on the context.

That is for sure the option that contemplates my rights and responsabilities, and that rarely moves away from legality.

Not necessarily.

If kids are adults and it is a mutual agreement procedure, then it is possible to go to a Notary, with equal effect as a judicial process.

In all other cases, you need to go to court. And you have to take into consideration that the court that took part into the divorce/separation, will be the same for all civil actions that might appear in the future: procedures for the liquidation of assets, executions and sentence modifications.

That is why it is recommended to submit reasonable requests: judges also have memory…

Definitely, no. Even if both parties move to the other side of the Spanish geography, once a civil court has ruled a sentence on a divorce, separation or domestic partnership, it will be the appropiate one to know all issues concern to this matter.

The measures adopted in this type of procedure may be modified, of course, but they were born to be permanent, which means that in order to change them, it is necessary to prove in court that the circumstances to adopt them have varied substancially.

That has to be prove in court and that is not so easy.

Therefore, it is better to look for the right formula and not rush trying to solve things quickly, because this decision may last for years.

From the age of 12, in case of discrepancy between the parents’ claims, courts are obliged tolisten to minors.

This is valid in both, new procedures and those initiated to modify the guard and custody regime or to extend visits system.

Logically, minor’s voice is heard, but this does not imply that the court simply accepts his preferences.

All in all, my experience with minors declaring in court is bad. First, it creates themselves a loyalty conflict that they do not always know how to solve, among other reasons, because they do not have the necessary tools or enough experience to put everything in its place. That is the reason why sometimes their statements have nothing to do with what they have sid their parents in privacy. The result can be just the opposite of the desired one, so if it can be avoided, it is much better.

But as in all family matters, it is required to analyze every specific case: in this field, more than in any other, there are no topics or general recipes. Each family and each situation is unique and thus must be treated.

Information and contact

You may contact us by:

Telephone: +34 629 747 692

Email: info@martagilabogados.com

Skype account: MartaGilAbogados

Facetime account: mgilvarela@icloud.com

Or if you prefer to address us personally, ask for an appointment and we will attend you as soon as possible at:

C / Villas Quinto, G-2

41089 Montequinto – Dos Hermanas, Seville

Monday – Friday: 10:00 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Saturdays and Sundays: Closed