Lawyer for your divorce in Geneva

Divorce lawyer in Geneva

Do you need a specialized lawyer to help you with your divorce, separation or dissolution of your registered partnership? Do not hesitate to contact us to take advice as soon as possible with one of our lawyers.

We do not provide standard documents. On the contrary, a lawyer will assist you from start to finish. We will receive you and accompany you personally throughout the process of divorce, separation or dissolution of your registered partnership and remain at your disposal.

Divorce in Switzerland

The majority of divorces in Switzerland take place by mutual consent, i.e. by agreement between the spouses. Of course, contentious divorces on unilateral request exist.

In a nutshell:

  • With the integration of the new divorce law in Switzerland since January 1, 2000, the concept of fault in Swiss divorce no longer exists. Therefore, trying to find out who is at fault in the divorce or who caused the separation in the couple has no legal impact.
  • The estimation and definition of the contribution after the divorce will be established by the court. A specialized lawyer can assist you in the calculation of the maintenance contribution.
  • The granting of parental authority over the children will be given by the judge. The same applies to the determination of the place of marital residence, which is done according to a standard elaborated by the competent authorities. This has been decided in order to ensure that the well-being of the children and their development are preserved.
  • Contentious divorces where it is difficult to agree can be very expensive. Indeed, as the couple cannot agree on anything, the procedure can take months or even years. This has the effect of making the children suffer even more, as they have to accept the separation of their parents and watch them being torn apart. Before engaging in this kind of painful procedure, it is therefore essential to ask yourself one question: is it really necessary to win the case against your ex-spouse by making your children suffer, as they could carry the trauma forever? Is it really necessary?
  • Opting for an amicable divorce allows the couple to avoid exposing the dark side of their life together to everyone. But it also avoids to aggravate the situation with insults.
  • Amicable divorce is the fastest process if you want to end your union quickly. Indeed, the judgment can be issued in a short period of time. For a contentious divorce, the couple must have been separated for at least 2 years before being able to start the procedure with a unilateral divorce application.

The requirements for a divorce in Switzerland are the following:

  • Be a married couple, and
  • one of the spouses must live in Switzerland, and
  • it does not matter if you are a Swiss or a foreign citizen.

Marital union protective measures (MCP)

When the spouses are not (yet) divorced, whether for purely personal reasons or for procedural reasons, for example in the case of a unilateral divorce requiring a two-year separation, the judge can order measures to protect the marital union, also called spousal protective measures or MPUC in French, in order to rebalance the situation of the separated couple.

The purpose of protective measures is to allow a couple in difficulty to try to reconcile and/or to manage their daily lives during their life together as well as after the separation.

If the primary goal is not achieved, the purpose of the spousal protective measures is to protect the rights of one and/or the other spouse.

It is possible to ask the competent court to pronounce measures even if life together is not suspended. These measures are mainly the following

  • determination of the family maintenance contribution;
  • fixing the contribution to the spouse who takes care of the household and/or the children; and
  • withdrawal of the power of representation of the couple.

The measures requested by either spouse and ordered by the judges when the couple is separated mainly concern:

  • custody of the children and visiting rights;
  • the allocation of the family home, which is generally assigned to the parent who has received custody of the children
  • the spouse’s contribution of maintenance; and
  • the children’s maintenance contribution.

An initial consultation

from 60 min to CHF 220.00

Asses your situation with a specialized lawyer.

You only want an appointment to ask some questions?
Not sure what to do?
Is your situation unclear?

Opt for an initial consultation with a lawyer.

You will then decide if you wish to proceed and our lawyers will give you the cost of the procedure according to your case. Appointments available in person or by videoconference.

The next steps

  1. You make an appointment with one of our lawyers
  2. We establish together the next steps
  3. We draw up the documents (agreement and petition) by one of our lawyers
  4. You validate the acts
  5. We send the documents to the court
  6. We accompany you to the court hearing
  7. We check the judgment

Our lawyers

Me Sara Perez

Me Pauline Schott

Need a lawyer in Geneva?

Take an appointment now

by calling our secretariat or by filling out the form below. Appointments available in person or by videoconference.

+41 22 348 32 35