Your Specialist Lawyer for Family Law in Wismar

A divorce generally requires a year of separation under German law (section 1565 BGB). Separation begins when spouses live "separate in table and bed" – also within the same home if household, finances and sleeping areas are clearly separated.

From this point much changes: separation maintenance may be claimed, pension equalisation begins to run, joint powers of attorney should be reviewed. Clear documentation of the separation date (in writing, dated, ideally countersigned) often avoids later disputes about when the year started.

A preliminary separation agreement can prevent many later conflicts: it can regulate separation maintenance, interim use of the marital home, joint accounts, division of household goods and contact with children – pragmatically and without prejudging the final divorce.

Divorce is granted by order of the family court. The usual requirement is the completed year of separation and the breakdown of the marriage. By mutual consent one year suffices; in contested divorce the process can be based on three years of separation even without the other spouse's consent.

With divorce, pension equalisation and, where applicable, maintenance and gain compensation as well as follow-on matters regarding household and housing are handled in the so-called bundled procedure. Careful preparation – ideally before filing – is often economically decisive because key dates are fixed once proceedings are pending.

In almost every case it is worth reviewing a divorce consequences agreement before filing. It can significantly reduce the scope of proceedings and create predictability.

German family law clearly distinguishes child maintenance (sections 1601 ff. BGB), separation maintenance (section 1361 BGB) and post-marital maintenance (sections 1569 ff. BGB). Each claim has its own requirements, calculation rules and different limitation options.

Child maintenance follows the Düsseldorf table, depending on the liable parent's adjusted net income and the child's age. Separation maintenance follows marital living standards and exists only until the divorce becomes final. Post-marital maintenance generally requires a connecting factor (care, illness, age, topping-up) and is often time-limited.

In advice, determining maintenance-relevant income precisely is decisive: work-related expenses, debt service, earning capacity – each item can shift maintenance significantly.

Without a marital agreement, spouses live under the statutory regime of community of accrued gains. On divorce, wealth acquired during the marriage is equalised: initial assets (at marriage) and final assets (at service of the divorce petition) are compared.

A clean statement of both sides' assets – property, insurance, securities, debts, gifts and inheritances – is the basis of every negotiation. It becomes complex with business interests, mixed gifts or cross-border assets.

With property, the question is often decisive whether the marital home is jointly owned, who continues to use it and how a division can be made economically viable.

Joint parental custody usually remains after separation and divorce (section 1671 BGB). Transfer of sole custody is only provided for in narrowly defined exceptional cases, especially where the child's welfare specifically requires it.

More important than formal custody in many cases is concrete contact: fixed, predictable contact times, holiday, birthday and festive arrangements, handover modalities. Balanced agreements that will stand up in court reduce conflict and create stability for the child.

Where child welfare is at risk, different standards and procedural rules apply. Early legal support is decisive to take the right steps.

Many disputes can be defused before they escalate: a separation agreement can structure separation maintenance, interim rules for the marital home, contact and household. A marital agreement or divorce consequences agreement can reliably order complex asset situations.

Even without immediate conflict, power of attorney and living wills should be reviewed in separation. Separation and divorce change the circle of authorised persons – without express amendment the old power remains in force initially.