If a spouse files for divorce, the marriage will not automatically be divorced. He only applies for a divorce. The other spouse should then acknowledge the failure of the marriage. Then there is an amicable divorce. A consensual divorce is the easiest to do. But what should be done if the spouse does not consent to the divorce? Even then, the marriage can be divorced. However, important criteria must be met.
Divorce: the requirements
In principle, a marriage can be divorced if the marriage has failed and the marriage is not restored. The spouses live separately from table and bed, so usually in separate apartments, whereby a separate life within one apartment is also possible is practiced in a shared apartment. If the couple lives apart for a year and, after careful consideration, still wants to get a divorce, the failure of the marriage is initially irrefutably suspected, and the marriage can (by mutual agreement) be divorced.
Divorce by mutual consent
A marriage can be dissolved as part of a consensual divorce, provided that the spouses agree on the failure of the marriage and either submit the divorce petition together or agree to the divorce petition submitted by the spouse. A consensual divorce is the easiest and fastest way to get divorced. It can also be significantly more cost-effective for both parties.
Hardship decision
The hardship divorce is even faster than the amicable divorce – albeit with a much more negative background. A hardship decision can be applied for in the event of criminal offenses such as physical violence against the spouse. Then the spouse can no longer be expected to remain married. The year of separation does not have to be observed if the victim cannot even be expected to be married only “on paper,” and the perpetrator does not have to consent to the divorce.
Divorce against the will of the spouse
Hardship decisions are rather rare; other reasons usually determine the divorce. If the barrel is full for one spouse, the other may still have a chance to save the marriage. The reasons for divorce may be diverse, totally personal, and important when it comes to proving the failure of the marriage. If the spouse does not agree to the divorce even after the year of separation, the applicant can try to prove the failure of the marriage to the court by bringing all the personal, sometimes very intimate reasons to the court. The more weighty the reasons, the faster the divorce can be advanced. It is possible that at least one of the two is already in a new partnership or is expecting a child from a new partner. Such reasons are weighty. But the process of weighing the grounds for divorce can drag on in the absence of such obvious life changing facts. But at some point, the end of the marriage and thus the divorce is in sight, even if the unwilling partner postpones the divorce: If the spouses live at least three years apart, the marriage is considered to have failed. Then consent to the divorce is no longer necessary, and the marriage is dissolved against the other spouse’s will.