Our firm provides legal services in many disputes concerning divorce cases and related matters such as liquidation of the matrimonial property regime, pecuniary and non-pecuniary damages, alimony and custody.
Our main principle in divorce cases is always to ensure that our clients' private lives are respected and to protect their privacy and their rights to the fullest extent permitted by law.
The main problem in divorce cases is the belief that a divorce will be granted after a few procedural steps. In reality, the legal process for resolving disputes about family life, the core of private life, requires specialized legal knowledge. Therefore, working with an attorney who is well versed in divorce law is important in order to learn about and secure your rights during the divorce process and to avoid losing any of them.
This is exactly where Eker Law Firm comes in. With attorneys who continuously follow the current case law of the Court of Cassation, work diligently and have in-depth legal knowledge, we serve you by developing effective solutions to disputes, protecting your rights and providing you with clear and useful legal information.
- Answers to your questions
Should I file for divorce, or should my spouse?
It does not matter much who files for divorce. Although there is a popular belief that "if I file first, it will count against me in court," this is not true and does not happen in practice. The most important factor in whether a divorce case is granted is the degree of fault. For your divorce case to be granted, it is enough that you are not at fault or are less at fault than the other party. Therefore, being the first party to file does not create any disadvantage before the court. In addition, even if the other party has filed for divorce, this does not put you at any disadvantage, and you also have the right to file a "counterclaim" against the party who filed.
Where should a divorce case be filed?
A divorce case may be filed at the Family Court where the plaintiff resides, where the defendant resides, or where the spouses lived together for the last six months before the divorce. The most common question here is: "I left home and moved in with my parents. Can I file the case here?" Yes, since you went to your parents with the intention of settling there, you can file the case there. However, you may face an objection from the other party regarding jurisdiction (venue). To overcome such an objection, it is advisable to register your residence at your family's address.
How much alimony can I receive during and after the divorce case?
You can receive alimony not only after the divorce case but also while the case is ongoing. The amount of alimony set by the judge during and after the case varies according to the parties' incomes. Courts have not set a fixed amount of alimony. The amount varies according to the circumstances of each case and is assessed by the court. In this respect, the responses to the financial status inquiries sent to the police are particularly important. After a divorce case is filed, your income, debts and assets are usually determined by telephone or through a police officer who visits your home, and alimony amounts are set based on these inquiries.
Can I receive compensation?
Taking into account the parties' degrees of fault as well as their incomes and assets, the court may order compensation to be paid to the spouse who is less at fault. This shows that the degree of fault is important in obtaining compensation. To receive compensation, you must be either not at fault or less at fault than your spouse. If the spouses are equally at fault, you cannot receive compensation. When determining the amount of compensation, the court takes into account the parties' assets and incomes. In other words, even where the degree of fault is the same, the compensation a professional football player pays to a spouse will differ from the compensation a worker earning minimum wage pays to a spouse.
Can I obtain a protective order in cases of domestic violence and similar situations?
Protective measures are taken under the Law on the Protection of the Family and Prevention of Violence Against Women (No. 6284) to protect a spouse who has suffered violence or is at risk of violence and to prevent such violence. If this is the case, we can ask the court to issue protective measures and a restraining order. The judge may then order one or more of the measures listed in the law, depending on the specific circumstances of the case involving violence or similar conduct.
Who will be granted custody of my child after the divorce?
In the divorce of spouses who have a child together, if the spouses agree on custody, custody is granted to the parent they agreed on. If the spouses cannot agree on custody, however, the court will decide. The main factor the judge considers when deciding on custody is the best interests of the child. The judge will therefore make an assessment by considering matters such as which parent can best meet the child's needs, which parent can offer the child a better future, with which parent the child will live more happily and which parent the child prefers. Another important factor the judge will take into account is the child's age. For a child who is young enough to need a mother's care and who, as is generally believed, needs maternal affection more, the judge will decide with particular attention to the child's personal development and health.
Can I make a claim concerning my wedding jewelry?
Under the law and the settled case law of the Court of Cassation, wedding jewelry belongs to the wife, regardless of which spouse it was given to at the wedding. Unless the wife's consent is proven, you will have to return this jewelry even if you have used it for something else. For this reason, defenses in your divorce petitions stating that the jewelry was used to pay wedding debts or to buy a house may later give rise to an obligation to return the jewelry to your spouse. Having used the jewelry without your spouse's consent will not relieve you of the obligation to return it. Proving such consent will not be easy either. In addition, since wedding jewelry is considered the wife's personal property, it is not included in the calculation for the division of property.
Claims regarding wedding jewelry can be made during the divorce case or through a separate lawsuit after the divorce case. In a lawsuit for the return of wedding jewelry, the return of the jewelry itself is requested first, and if that is not possible, payment of its value is requested.
I saw on my spouse's Instagram that they were exchanging obscene messages and sending obscene photos to people of the opposite sex, and I took screenshots of all of it. I want to file for divorce. Will this be sufficient evidence?
Whether posts shared on social media accounts have evidentiary value in divorce cases is one of the most frequently debated issues. How the spouse filing for divorce accessed the messages, posts or photos on the other party's social media accounts is of great importance. If the posts were obtained unlawfully, for example if the plaintiff spouse took over the other spouse's social media account and learned the password without consent, this is unlawful and the judge will not consider it as lawful evidence on the merits of the case. However, if the content was shared publicly, there is no unlawfulness. Since each case is assessed on its own facts, please contact our office for detailed information.
My spouse and I cannot have sexual relations. My spouse constantly makes excuses to avoid intimacy with me, so I want a divorce. Will compensation be awarded against the defendant spouse?
Sexual relations between spouses are important for the continuation of the marriage. If the spouse with the sexual problem avoids sexual relations without any health reason, or if there is a health problem that is temporary and treatable but the spouse refuses treatment, that spouse will be considered at fault and may be ordered to pay compensation.
We live with my mother-in-law, who constantly gossips about me to my spouse, says I am not a good spouse, makes insulting remarks and constantly belittles me in front of our close circle, and my spouse does not intervene. Can I get a divorce on these grounds?
In recent decisions of the Court of Cassation, a mother-in-law insulting and belittling her daughter-in-law while the spouse remains silent has been found to show that the marriage has broken down irretrievably, and the spouses may be granted a divorce because the marriage has become intolerable.
I recorded my spouse having an obscene phone conversation with someone else. Can I use the recording as evidence in the divorce case?
In line with Court of Cassation decisions, audio recordings obtained unlawfully in violation of the privacy of private life will not be relied on as the basis of a judgment in divorce cases.