How to get a divorce in Australia?

German-Australian divorce

If you live in Australia as a German citizen or if you are married to an Australian spouse, you are having an international marriage. In the event of your divorce, you have to answer the question of which divorce law your divorce takes place and whether the German divorce law, in particular, offers advantages and if possible you should get a divorce before a family court in Germany according to German divorce law. We explain which aspects play a role. In the following article, we get to know about How to get a divorce in Australia? So don’t skip the article from anywhere and read it carefully because it’s going to be very useful for you guys.

The most important thing to get a divorce in Australia

• If you live in Australia or are married to an Australian citizen, your marriage is international. For your divorce, you should then use the leeway that international divorce law provides.
• If you are a German citizen and thus have a personal connection to Germany, you can usually get a divorce in Germany and settle your divorce in accordance with German divorce law.
• German divorce law may have advantages over Australian divorce law.
• In some life situations, you should agree on German divorce law in a choice of law so that your divorce in Germany can settle according to German divorce law.
• At best, apply for your divorce online as an online divorce from Australia.

What is a German-Australian divorce?

As a German-Australian divorce, your divorce has an international dimension and raises questions of international divorce law if one of the following alternatives applies to you or your spouse:

• You and your spouse are German citizens and both live in or in Australia
• So, you German married to an Australian spouse and live in Australia or
• You are both Australian citizens and live in Germany or
• As a German, you live in Germany with your Australian spouse.

What if we got married abroad?

It doesn’t matter where you got married. Even if you got married in Australia or elsewhere, the only thing that matters that you formed an effective marriage to get a divorce in Australia. Either way, you can apply for a divorce in Germany. All you need is a personal connection to Germany. This reference exists because you or your spouse are German citizens or you are domiciled in Germany. Then one of the alternatives mentioned above applies to you.

I already got divorced in Australia. Do I have to get a divorce again in Germany?

If you have already divorced your marriage in Australia, the divorce decree in Germany must recognized by the responsible German state judicial administration to get a divorce in Australia. Only the recognition leads to the fact that your marriage also considered divorced in Germany and you may able to marry again. Recognizing an Australian divorce decree not easy as there different types of documents to get a divorce in Australia.

Divorce Decrees

Until the change in family law in 2002, divorce decrees refer to as the preliminary divorce decree “Decree Nisi”, which became final as the “Decree Absolute” after a certain period of time. These judgments usually recognized without any problems to get a divorce in Australia.

If you divorced by 2010, you have a “Certificate of Divorce” in your hand, which, however, cannot recognize in Germany for reasons of content. You, therefore, need a ” Divorce Order “. Since February 13, 2010, a new Divorce Order has issued instead of the Certificate of Divorce. If only an electronic version has issued, you usually need certification by the court and an apostille, a form of certification in international document traffic to get a divorce in Australia.

To what extent is a divorce court in Germany responsible?

For international divorces, the Competence Ordinance No. 2201/2003 of the European Union is relevant in Germany. According to this, a German family court is responsible for your divorce if:

• You are a German citizen, regardless of whether you live abroad (e.g. Australia) or Germany or
• both spouses, regardless of their nationality, have their habitual residence in Germany or
• a spouse, regardless of their nationality, still has their habitual residence in Germany after the separation or
• You have moved abroad and your spouse, regardless of nationality, still lives in Germany or
• You have been living in Germany for more than a year after the separation abroad (e.g. Australia) and you have established the centre of your life here.

Do not confuse by the jurisdiction rules above. The legislature tries to take up as many facts as possible and thus establish the jurisdiction of a court in Germany. The only thing that matters is that you have some connection to Germany. You establish this reference through your German citizenship or your place of residence in Germany. If this is the case, you can usually get a divorce from a German family court in Germany .

Which aspects speak for divorce in Germany?

If you are a German citizen, you should carefully consider whether to divorce your marriage in Australia. Different legal principles apply in Australia than in Germany. In particular, pension equalization is unknown. You also run the risk that your divorce in Australia will only recognized with difficulty in Germany. In this respect, it could be the better option to get a divorce right away in Germany and to make German divorce law the basis of your divorce.

Also, Australia has a two-pronged legal system for divorce. As a rule, the “Federal Magistrates Court” is responsible. If the matter is complex and if it is, for example, a dispute about your assets or maintenance payments, the higher-ranking “Family Court” is responsible for your divorce proceedings. In both cases, the divorce petition must submit to the local Family Law Registry. In Germany, the family court is always responsible as a subdivision of the local district court.

Bottom Line

The advantage of German marriage and divorce law is that you retain joint custody of your children even after separation and divorce and that the parent who is not caring for them has the right to appropriate access rights.

If you have little or no income of your own, German law requires spouses advisory assistance and grants legal aid . Then the state will pay for the initial consultation with a lawyer of your choice and your divorce proceedings.

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