What are the ways of ending a marriage?
Marriage is a legally regulated union of life between a man and a woman. A marriage ends with the death of a spouse, annulment or divorce. A marriage can be dissolved by concluding a written divorce agreement or filing a lawsuit.
What is a consensual divorce?
An amicable divorce implies that the spouses have reached an agreement on three important issues: that they no longer want to be married, on the exercise of parental rights and the division of common property. Divorce by agreement is more recommended, because it gives the parties the freedom to arrange their own relations, it is faster and cheaper. The procedure usually ends in one hearing. In the property part of the agreement, the parties have full freedom, that is, the court does not interfere in that part. When it comes to an agreement on the exercise of parental rights, the court assesses whether such an agreement is in the best interest of the child.
What does an agreement on the exercise of parental rights mean?
Parents exercise parental rights jointly and by agreement when they live together (whether they are married or cohabiting). However, even when they do not live together, parents can conclude an agreement on the joint exercise of parental rights and will exercise it jointly if the court judges that the agreement is in the best interest of the child. An integral part of the agreement on the joint exercise of parental rights is the determination of the child’s place of residence. Maintaining the child’s relationship with the parent with whom he does not live is by agreement, and the parents contribute equally to the maintenance of the child. Parents can also conclude an agreement on the independent exercise of parental rights, which includes an agreement on entrusting a joint child to one parent, an agreement on the amount of child support contributions from the other parent, and an agreement on how to maintain the child’s personal relationship with the other parent.
The terms joint and independent exercise of parental rights in practice often lead to the opinion that a parent whose child is not entrusted with the independent exercise of parental rights ceases to be the parent of his child. This interpretation is wrong. A parent who does not exercise parental rights still remains a parent with all the rights and duties that this role implies. This should be distinguished from the procedure of deprivation of parental rights, which is carried out if the parent grossly neglects the child, abuses him, etc. Also, lay people often equate assigning a child to a parent for independent exercise of parental rights with guardianship, which is a completely different institution.
What is divorce by lawsuit?
Each spouse has the right to divorce if the marital relationship is seriously and permanently disturbed or if the union of life of the spouses cannot objectively be achieved. In other words, no one can force anyone into marriage against their will. This is a more complex, uncertain and expensive way to divorce. In the lawsuit, the spouse can propose a model for maintaining the child’s relationship with the parent with whom he does not live, as well as the amount that this parent must pay in the name of maintenance, however, the final outcome will depend on the evaluation of the evidence presented before the court.
Danilo Babić- lawyer in Novi Sad
