Court costs/advance for divorce
In addition to the costs for the divorce attorney, the divorce costs are most strongly influenced by the fees for the court. We explain how these are made up and under which circumstances you are entitled to an allowance for the court costs.
- Determination of the court costs
- Consideration of subsequent matters
- Procedural value
- Court fees
- Court expenses
- Advance of the court costs
- Court costs allowance
The legal basis for the court costs in the case of a divorce is the so-called. “Law on Court Costs in Family Matters” (FamGKG). The procedural value of the divorce proceedings is decisive for the determination of the total costs. The higher the value of the proceedings, the more expensive the court costs will be.
Consideration of subsequent matters
Subsequent matters are all matters that are connected with the divorce and are therefore also to be settled within the scope of the divorce proceedings. These essentially include
- the pension rights adjustment
- the equalization of gains
- Matters of child and spousal support
- the dissolution of the matrimonial home
- custody and access rights
The more subsequent matters are to be settled by the court in the course of the divorce proceedings, the higher the procedural value will also be.
As a rule, individual matters relating to children’s affairs are taken into account, irrespective of the number of dependent children, with an additional procedural value of 4.000 € quantified.
For the dissolution of the marital home, another 4.000 € is added to the procedural value, for disputes relating to household effects an additional 3.000 €.
If a subsequent matter is not brought before the family court in conjunction with the divorce itself, but in isolation, the court costs will also increase. After all, this means that two separate proceedings are in fact being conducted, which are also associated with twice the expense for the court. In addition, there are also double attorney fees. In this respect, it is advisable to deal with all legal issues related to the divorce in a bundled procedure, if possible. In the ideal case, an amicable solution can be found for all difficulties arising around the divorce.
In addition, a separate judicial assertion usually also leads to a change in the division of the divorce costs. Normally, these are divided equally between the spouses; the pension equalization is also taken into account. However, if a subsequent matter is dealt with separately by the court, the unsuccessful party shall bear the costs of these additional proceedings. The cost risk increases therefore immensely.
Procedural value
The following are taken into account in determining the value of the proceedings in the first place
- the total net income of both spouses in the last three months
- any pension rights adjustment to be carried out
- lump sums for children and
- allowances for certain assets.
Court fees
The court fees of a divorce are to be determined as a lump sum on the basis of a fee table in the FamGKG, whereby a procedural value of at least 3.000 € is fixed:
| Procedural value (until) |
Court costs (2-fold gem. Annex 1 to § 3 para. 2 FamGKG) |
| 3.000,00 € | 238,00 € |
| 4.000,00 € | 280,00 € |
| 5.000,00 € | 322,00 € |
| 6.000,00 € | 364,00 € |
| 7.000,00 € | 406,00 € |
| 8.000,00 € | 448,00 € |
| 9.000,00 € | 490,00 € |
| 10.000,00 € | 532,00 € |
| 13.000,00 € | 590,00 € |
| 16.000,00 € | 648,00 € |
| 19.000,00 € | 706,00 € |
| 22.000,00 € | 764,00 € |
| 25.000,00 € | 822,00 € |
| 30.000,00 € | 898,00 € |
| 35.000,00 € | 974,00 € |
| 40.000,00 € | 1.050,00 € |
| 45.000,00 € | 1.126,00 € |
| 50.000,00 € | 1.202,00 € |
| 65.000,00 € | 1.466,00 € |
| 80.000,00 € | 1.730,00 € |
| 95.000,00 € | 1.994,00 € |
| 110.000,00 € | 2.258,00 € |
| 125.000,00 € | 2.522,00 € |
Court Expenses
The court expenses depend on the expenses incurred by the court in the course of the divorce proceedings. They therefore have nothing to do with the value of the proceedings.
Expenses in divorce proceedings are mainly costs for the service of the court file on the lawyer or for a possible. necessary procedural support for the children of the divorcing spouses is relevant. Such procedural assistance ensures that the best interests of the child are taken into account in the divorce proceedings.
The amount of the expenses depends strongly on the individual case, so that a general statement is not possible. Only for the service of the court file, a fixed amount of 12 € is estimated.
Advance payment of court costs
The divorce petition is sent to the competent court by one of the spouses. This spouse is the applicant and must pay an advance on court costs in the amount of the anticipated value of the proceedings. This payment is a prerequisite for the court to take action.
After the divorce has been carried out and the proceedings have been concluded, the court issues a so-called advance payment order. Order fixing the costs. This lists the exact costs to be borne by the respective spouse.
The spouse who has already made the advance payment can have the costs that were actually incurred by the opposing party reimbursed by the latter.
This can be particularly problematic if the other party is unable to pay. After all, the court will make sure that it is paid in any case, if necessary even without splitting the costs in half. The spouses are jointly liable to the court as joint debtors.
Court costs advance
If you cannot afford to pay the court costs, you can apply for a contribution to the court costs (so-called “legal aid”). “legal aid”). Depending on your income, this advance is granted either as an installment payment or even without any repayment obligation.
In order to apply for legal aid, the family court must be provided with the so-called “legal aid”. “Information on personal and economic circumstances” must be provided. The relevant application is available at the court, alternatively you can find it online as a form.
However, certain circumstances may cause the application for legal aid to be rejected:
- One factor may be, for example, the income of the other spouse. In these cases, he is ordered to pay the costs and legal aid is not granted.
- Legal aid is only intended to cover the court and lawyer’s fees. If you apply for legal aid, it can be extended to any subsequent matters.
Attention: If the financial circumstances improve noticeably in the four years after the application for legal aid, the court can demand a subsequent payment of the court costs.
This means at the same time an increase of the lawyer’s fees, because lawyers in divorce proceedings are only entitled to lower fee rates when legal aid is granted.
In addition to the legal aid, there is the so-called “legal aid”. Advance on legal costs. In principle, the applicant sues the other party for payment of the court costs. We will explain the special requirements of the advance on procedural costs at another point.