Online Divorce

If you and your spouse have agreed to divorce by mutual consent, an online divorce can save you time and money. Lawyer Dr. Christina Schmidt will be happy to advise you on the requirements and the exact procedure.

01 What Is an Online Divorce and How Does It Work?

Although the name suggests otherwise, a divorce cannot be carried out entirely online. With an online divorce, however, the proceedings can easily be set in motion via the internet. You do not need to attend appointments at a law firm first.

If you would like to instruct Dr. Christina Schmidt with your online divorce, you can let her know by email or simply use the contact form on our website. In addition, Dr. Schmidt will need a power of attorney from you so that she can represent you.

Advice on the divorce and correspondence, sending documents back and forth and so on are then also usually handled by email. Of course, Dr. Schmidt is also available to answer your questions by telephone or in person.

Based on the information you provide, the divorce petition is drafted without delay and filed with the competent court by post. After that, everything proceeds as in normal divorce proceedings: the court serves the divorce petition on your spouse by formal postal service (Postzustellungsurkunde) and schedules a divorce hearing.

As a rule, you and your spouse must appear in person at the divorce hearing. The court's divorce decree is not sent online at the end either, but is served by post.

The procedure at a glance:

1. Contacting the law firm. This is possible from anywhere in Germany – you do not have to live in Munich to instruct Christina Schmidt.
2. Details of the spouses' names and addresses, last shared place of residence, date of separation, joint children, etc.
3. Granting a power of attorney.
4. Information and documents are exchanged between you and the law firm primarily by email.
5. Drafting of the divorce petition and sending it to you by email. After consultation with you, filing of the petition with the court (by post).
6. Payment of the advance on court costs.
7. Further procedure as in normal divorce proceedings.

02 Saving Costs and Time with an Online Divorce

Above all, an online divorce saves you time and is more convenient. You can initiate it straight away from home without first having to attend a meeting at the law firm. This also means no travel time. As with a normal divorce, the separation period of at least one year must, as a rule, also be observed in an online divorce.

You also benefit from an online divorce if you are living abroad: you can easily instruct Dr. Schmidt in Germany online from where you are.

The costs of a normal divorce and an online divorce are, in principle, the same, because in both cases lawyers must bill their fees in accordance with the Lawyers' Remuneration Act (Rechtsanwaltsvergütungsgesetz) (in German) (RVG).

Nevertheless, an online divorce can save money, as it is generally uncontested: only one of the spouses needs to instruct a divorce lawyer. The respondent – i.e. the other spouse – does not need to take a lawyer. Instead, they only need to consent to their spouse's divorce petition. This saves you the fees for a second lawyer. In addition, in an uncontested divorce, agreement on certain ancillary matters is reached in advance. This also saves costs, as the court then no longer has to hear these matters.

03 Who Is an Online Divorce Suitable For?

An online divorce only makes sense for uncontested divorces. You and your spouse should both want the divorce. It is also important that agreement has already been reached on the key ancillary matters. This must be expressly stated in the divorce petition.

Matters to be settled include, for example:

• custody and contact rights for joint children
• maintenance
• the allocation of the marital home
• the division of household effects.

An online divorce is not suitable for couples who are in dispute or where only one spouse wants the divorce. In such cases, a wide range of issues usually has to be negotiated in detail. Each spouse should therefore instruct their own divorce lawyer to advise and represent them comprehensively.

An online divorce is also generally not advisable where substantial assets are involved or where one of the spouses is in a weaker position. Anyone who, for example, is inexperienced in legal matters or, as a foreign national, faces a language barrier should definitely instruct their own lawyer to stand up for their interests.

Divorce lawyer Dr. Christina Schmidt offers online divorce not only in Munich but throughout Germany. She will inform you in detail beforehand whether an online divorce is advisable in your case.