France - Obtain a Divorce Certificate
ProcedureEdit
Except in the case of a divorce par consentement mutuel, divorces are obtained in a two-stage procedure.
Stage one: The judge will order the divorce, determine who has custody of the children and what financial support should be paid for the children and for the impoverished spouse
Stage two: The notary will then proceed with the division of assets
Required DocumentsEdit
- Personal identification document
- Power of attorney, if the applicant is an authorized representative or a person
- A payment order or receipt confirming payment of the state fee. These documents are not required if the application has been submitted online and paid through the e-government goal
Office Locations & ContactsEdit
Ministre des Affaires trangres et Europennes
Service Central de lEtat Civil
11, rue de la Maison blanche
44941 NANTES CEDEX 9
France
Nomie Houchet-Tran
22, avenue de l'Observatoire
75014 - Paris
Tel.: +33 (0) 1 84 16 02 93
Email: [email protected]
[email protected]
Ministre de la Justice
13, Place Vendme
75042 Paris cedex 01
Contact the Office of Justice in your region
Mairie du 18e/Lamarck, 18me
74 rue Lamarck
75018 Paris
France
Phone number +33 8 00 00 70 46
Barbs/Goutte d'Or, 18me
39 bis bd Barbs
75018 Paris
France
Phone number +33 8 00 00 70 46
The 20 district town halls in Paris
EligibilityEdit
When Your Spouse Consents to Divorce
- Divorce upon mutual consent
- Divorce requested by one party and accepted by the other
When You and Your Spouse are NOT in Agreement to Divorce
- Divorce requested for fault
- Request to divorce because of breach of communal life
- When you have lived apart for at least six years.
- When the mental faculties of your spouse have, for at least the past six years, become so altered that life together is no longer possible.
FeesEdit
Explain the fees structure which is required for obtaining the certificate/document.
ValidityEdit
Explain the time until which the certificate/document is valid. e.g. Birth Certificate Valid Forever
Documents to UseEdit
Template for DIVORCE request letter
Sample DocumentsEdit
Please attach sample completed documents that would help other people.
Processing TimeEdit
Please explain processing time taken in obtaining the document/certificate.
Related VideosEdit
Videos explaining the procedure or to fill the applications. Attach videos using the following tag <&video type="website">video ID|width|height<&/video&> from external websites. Please remove the "&" inside the tags during implementation. Website = allocine, blip, dailymotion, facebook, gametrailers, googlevideo, html5, metacafe, myspace, revver, sevenload, viddler, vimeo, youku, youtube width = 560, height = 340, Video ID = Can be obtained from the URL of webpage where the video is displayed. e.g In the following url "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0US7oR_t3M" Video ID is "Y0US7oR_t3M".
InstructionsEdit
Divorce judgments are obtained from the "Greffe du Tribunal Civil" where the judgment was pronounced.
The spouse who is requesting the divorce assumes responsibility for all fees involved, and must continue to meet his/her obligations to the children and the other spouse. The court will reject the request if either one of the spouses can prove that the divorce may result in severe moral or material consequences toward the other spouse or the children. In either case, the divorcing spouse must start the divorce proceedings with the judge, through an attorney. Such a request must specify how the spouse requesting the divorce will assure his/her obligations to the other spouse and children.
Required InformationEdit
Divorce certificates are obtained from the Office of the Mayor (La Mairie) where the marriage took place. The request must include: (a) the date of the divorce; (b) the full names of the two persons involved. The request must be accompanied by a self-addressed stamped envelope. There is no charge for a copy of a divorce certificate.
Need for the DocumentEdit
Divorce is pronounced by mutual consent, upon a joint request (or upon the request of either party when accepted by the other one), by fault, or by termination of common life.
In any case, the assistance of a lawyer is indispensable. In a joint request, both parties may request the assistance of the same lawyer. If your income is not sufficient to pay for the services of a lawyer, you may request, and be granted, judicial aid. Information on how to obtain legal aid is provided by the city hall.
Information which might helpEdit
Two non-French nationals may divorce in France if the "family home" is located in France, or failing that, if the parent with whom the minor children live is resident in France, or again, failing that, if the person who has not taken the initiative of the divorce is domiciled in France.
Generally, French law will apply to a divorce between foreigners who are both domiciled in France although a French judge can apply a foreign law when rendering a decision. In practice however this rarely happens because the parties would need to convince the French judge of the contents of that foreign law. Most French judges will feel more comfortable working with French law.
Other uses of the Document/CertificateEdit
Please explain what are other uses of obtaining this document/certificate. e.g. Birth Certificate can be used as proof of identity.
External LinksEdit
http://www.international-divorce.com/d-france.htm
OthersEdit
The notarys participation is only compulsory if the assets comprise real estate, if not the parties can draft the asset split themselves. The judge will then simply order the divorce and rubber-stamp the asset split as submitted by the parties. If the judge considers that the asset split is unfair, they may refuse to approve the document, however this rarely happens in practice