When am I officially divorced?
It sounds like a simple question, but in practice the answer is often less clear than you might expect.
There are actually different moments when spouses can be considered ‘divorced.’ For example, a separation may feel ‘real’ as soon as the spouses live apart or have signed a divorce agreement. It is important to know that the official date of divorce varies depending on the relationship between the spouses or their status in the eyes of third parties.
Divorce based on irreparable breakdown of the marriage
Between the ex-spouses
The law states that the divorce becomes final, and thus the marriage is dissolved, on the day the judgment pronouncing the divorce becomes legally binding.
In principle, the divorce judgment becomes legally binding once it is no longer subject to opposition or appeal.
After one of the spouses has served the judgment (i.e., official notification of the judgment via a bailiff), a one-month appeal period starts. Once this month has passed, filing an appeal is no longer possible. This means the judgment has become final and the divorce is therefore definitive.
In the case of a default judgment (i.e., when the defending spouse did not appear at the hearing), there is also a one-month period, but in this case to file an opposition. Similarly, the judgment becomes final after this month passes and the defending spouse has not filed an opposition.
Specifically for a judgment pronouncing divorce on the grounds of irreparable breakdown, one of the spouses must serve the relevant judgment! If this is not done, the one-month period does not start running, which is required for the judgment to become final and thus make the divorce definitive.
Regarding third parties
The divorce judgment must also be recorded in the Civil Status Acts Database (DABS). This serves as a publicity measure towards third parties, so that from that moment on, third parties can be informed of the divorce. This is, of course, also necessary to align the data in the DABS with the changed civil status of the spouses.
This is primarily done by the clerk of the family court that pronounced the divorce. Once the divorce judgment has become final, the clerk sends the judgment data to the DABS. Based on this information, the DABS creates a notification linking it to the marriage certificate of the parties.
From this notification on the marriage certificate onward, the divorce also has effects with respect to third parties, whereas previously it only had effects between the spouses themselves.
Divorce by mutual consent
Between the former spouses
In the case of divorce by mutual consent, the divorce also becomes final once the judgment pronouncing the divorce has become final and binding.
The notable difference with divorce on the grounds of irreparable breakdown of the marriage is that neither spouse is required to serve the judgment. In this situation, the judgment automatically becomes final one month after the ruling!
Regarding third parties
The rules concerning notification in the Civil Status Acts Database (DABS) and the effects towards third parties, as described above for divorce on the grounds of irreparable breakdown, apply in the same way to divorce by mutual consent. In this case, the clerk of the family court will also send the judgment data to the DABS.
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