First things first. There is no way to avoid sitting down with your spouse to discuss and agree answers to some basic questions. The court will, of course, reach its own decision, but that rarely results in a win-win solution. The best option is to find an attorney at-law (and perhaps each of you should find a different attorney) whom you can trust and who can mediate between you. Such negotiations can take hours but are still much shorter than the hours you will spend in court.

If you manage to find a compromise, your lawyer(s) can incorporate that into an agreement that you can then submit to the court for approval. In this way, you can get divorced at the second hearing. If you have underaged children, according to the law the judge has to delay the first mediation hearing and the parties have to initiate a continuation within three months (the earliest the court can appoint the date of the next hearing is 30 days after the request arrives).

In the arrangement countersigned by a lawyer, you have to regulate the following issues; otherwise the court will not approve your divorce with common consent:

- Parental custody of the common child(ren) ‒ which spouse will get custody or joint custody.

- Visitation rights between the separated parent and the child(ren) ‒ parties have to specify the exact days during school term and also during school holidays, the exact hours, and the place of handover and collection of the children. In the case of joint custody, however, parties do not have to regulate this issue.

- Maintenance for the child(ren) ‒ in case of joint custody, there is no need to agree on this. The court practice for child maintenance is 15-25% of the regular salary/child/month. However the total deducted monthly child maintenance from the salary (irrespective of the number of the children) cannot exceed 50% of the monthly income by law.

- Use of the last family home ‒ or if everyone has moved out, both parties shall refer to this fact.

- Alimony for the spouse where applicable.

Agreement on these issues makes the legal part of the separation shorter and easier and also results in a compromise between the parties which is in the children’s best interests.

Dr. Szegő Judit Law Firm’s activities cover the whole area of civil law, including the following areas: company law, property law, family law, labour law, inheritance law, and litigation. Furthermore the office has wide experience in representing foreign investors in Hungary with full authority in English and German.

H-1026 Budapest, Gábor Áron köz 6. fszt. 1.
Phone: +36-1-7863-156
Mobile: +36-30-9-896-046
Facsimile: +36-1-7858-939
Website: www.drszegojudit.hu

Proofread by Írj Jól Szolgáltató Kft