A cheaper divorce is possible! - The financial implications of divorce
In Hungary - based on statistics - an average of about 50 divorces take place every single day. Divorce can be very difficult not only emotionally, but also financially. Let's see how much!
Based on the current Hungarian legislation, during the legal proceedings for divorce, the parties must bear duties (the fee of procedure) and court costs.
The duty for divorce proceedings is one of the predetermined fees, which is currently HUF 30,000.
The party initiating the procedure must pay the duty at the same time as submitting the application to the court, unless the amount of duty must be determined afterwards. In the latter case, the duty must be paid by the person ordered to do so by the court.
The duty is higher if the disputed issues between the parties do not only cover the dissolution of the marriage, but also its ancillary issues. In such cases, the duty (6%) must be paid based on the value of the entire property, which can be a maximum of HUF 1.5 million.
The duty must be paid to the court. The parties may also have so-called court cost: the costs of court proceedings shall include all expenses the party has necessarily incurred during or prior to the proceedings in a causal relationship with the enforcement of a right in the action, including the loss of income stemming necessarily from having to appear before the court. The court decides on the bearing of court costs during the proceedings, regardless of who „won” the lawsuit, taking all the circumstances into account. The court costs include the fee of the legal representative as well, and it may also include the fee of the expert assigned during the procedure or the fee of the assigned interpreter. During a longer procedure, both the expert's fee and the lawyer's fee can be a significant amount.
In order to increase the efficiency of communication with a legal representative, as well as to possibly reduce the costs incurred, we would like to provide some practical advice below.
§ The proper transfer of information plays an extremely important role. All the relevant data and information should be written down and sent to the lawyer by e-mail. Important information will be easier to find this way. It is also essential that we inform our lawyer about important changes in our lives: for example, when we move or have a new partner
§ It is also essential that we hand over all the documents or copies required in the lawsuit to the lawyer: such as the marriage certificate, the prenup (if you have one), or documents relating to children.
§ In Hungary, the spouses have the option to "mutually request divorce on the basis of their final understanding reached without undue influence."
This form of dissolution is only possible is the spouses have agreed on the exercise of parental custody over their common child, the contact arrangements between the parent living separately and the child, child maintenance, use of the matrimonial home, and, if claimed, spousal maintenance, and their settlement reached before the court is approved by the court.
The duty must be paid even if the parties can come to an agreement, however, if the court approves the agreement, the court costs will be significantly lower than in the case of a lengthy lawsuit, and the parties can decide who has to bear the court costs. The legal representatives also provide comprehensive assistance in formulating the content of the agreement, the cost of which is also much lower than if endless litigation were to take place.
§ We recommend that if you have questions during the procedure, ask them in detail and in writing, so that your legal representative can give you a more specific and faster answer. At the same time, in order to represent your interests as successfully as possible, the lawyer may also need information. It is important to ensure that we respond to such requests in a timely and meaningful manner.
