If your spouse and you have mutually agreed to a divorce, you can save time and money with an online divorce. Attorney Dr. Christina Schmidt will gladly advise you on the requirements and exact procedure.
- What is an online divorce and how does it work?
- Cost and time savings through online divorce
- For whom is an online divorce suitable?
1. What is an online divorce and how does it work?
Even though the name suggests it, a divorce cannot be carried out completely online. With an online divorce, however, the process can be easily initiated via the internet. You do not have to attend lawyer appointments first.
If you would like to hire attorney Dr. Christina Schmidt for your online divorce, you can inform her of this by email or simply use the contact form on our website. In addition, Dr. Schmidt requires a power of attorney from you so that she can represent you.
Divorce counseling and correspondence, the sending back and forth of documents, etc. is then also usually done by email. Of course, Dr. Schmidt is also available to you by phone or in person for questions.
Based on your information, the divorce petition will be promptly drafted and submitted to the responsible court by mail. After that, everything proceeds as in a normal divorce proceeding: The court serves the divorce petition to your spouse by certified mail and sets a divorce hearing date.
You and your spouse must generally appear in person for the divorce hearing. The court's divorce decree is also not sent online at the end, but is delivered by mail.
Overview of the procedure:
- Contacting the law office. This is possible nationwide, you do not have to live in Munich to hire Christina Schmidt.
- Information on names and addresses of the spouses, last common residence, separation date, joint children, etc.
- Granting of a power of attorney.
- Information and documents are primarily sent back and forth between you and the law office via email.
- Drafting and sending the divorce petition to you by email. After coordinating with you, submission of the petition to the court (by post).
- Payment of the court cost advance.
- Further procedure as in a normal divorce proceeding.
2. Cost and time savings through online divorce
Online divorce primarily offers you a time saving and is more convenient. You can initiate it immediately from home without first having to attend a consultation appointment at the law office. Travel distances are also eliminated in this way. As with a normal divorce, the minimum one-year separation period must generally be observed with an online divorce as well.
Even if you are abroad you can benefit from the online divorce: you can easily hire attorney Dr. Schmidt in Germany online from there.
The divorce costs for a regular divorce and an online divorce are generally the same, since lawyers must base their fees in both cases on the… German Lawyers’ Remuneration Act (RVG) .
Nevertheless, you can save money with an online divorce, as it is usually amicable: only one spouse needs to hire a divorce lawyer. The respondent – i.e., the other spouse – does not need to engage a lawyer. They simply have to agree to the divorce petition filed by their partner. This way, you save the fees for a second attorney. In addition, in an amicable divorce, the couple typically reaches agreements on certain ancillary matters in advance. This also helps reduce costs, since the court no longer needs to rule on these issues.
3. For whom is an online divorce suitable?
An online divorce only makes sense for amicable divorces. You and your partner should both want the divorce. It is also important that an agreement has already been reached on essential ancillary matters. This must be explicitly stated in the divorce petition.
The following must be clarified, for example:
- the custody and visitation rights for joint children
- the Maintenance
- the allocation of the marital home
- the division of household goods.
An online divorce is not suitable for couples in conflict or those where only one person wants the divorce. In these cases, a multitude of questions usually needs to be negotiated in detail. Therefore, each partner should get their own divorce lawyer who will provide comprehensive advice and representation.
Even if large assets are involved or if one of the spouses is in a weaker position, an online divorce is generally not advisable. For example, anyone who is inexperienced in legal matters or who, as a foreigner, has a language barrier should definitely hire their own lawyer to represent their interests.
Divorce attorney Dr. Christina Schmidt offers online divorce not only in Munich, but throughout Germany. She will inform you in advance in detail whether an online divorce is advisable for you.
