Divorce in Hungary

After divorce in Hungary

After the procedure of divorce is finally coming to the end, obtaining a paper showing divorce decree in the title itself usually does not close the relationship and this situation. We would like to show you what you should keep in mind after divorce.

1. Is it really final?

We have to highlight it as much as we can, that a divorce decree itself does not always mean that the divorce is closed. It has to be final, and executable. You can make sure about it at the end of the divorce decree.

If both parties let the judge know that they don’t wish to appeal against the decision, the judge makes notes at the bottom of the decision that it became final on the day it was announced.

If the parties don’t make a declaration at the time when the judge announces the decision, it doesn’t become final. The court has to type it and send to both parties, and after receiving the court waits 15 days for the declaration. If no declaration arrives, the judge makes a finalizing decision and sends to the parties. In such cases the divorce decree is final only with this finalizing decision.

The date of becoming final is very important concerning family law and inheritance questions.

2. Assets

Deciding about the common assets is not included in the divorce procedure, but they can be handled together in the same procedure. For example, it is not a problem for finishing divorce without deciding about the ownership of the common house, or other assets. That can be a matter of another court procedure, or can be discussed without going to court.

3. New marriage

It is important, that in Hungary concluding more marriages at the same time is considered to be a crime according to Hungarian Criminal Code, and can be punished with imprisonment up to three years. We would like to note that in the European countries and most countries of the World polygamy is prohibited, and considered to be a crime.

That is why even if not living with your ex-partner, but still married, and having a new partner does not allow you to re-marry until you have a final divorce decision issued by the court.

4. Pregnancy

Pregnancy can cause a lots of legal problems during divorce. According to Hungarian law, if there is a child born during the marriage (no matter if the biological father is known and accepts the baby), the legal father of the baby will be automatically the husband of the wife, if they are still not divorced at the time of the birth. Even if giving the family name of the biological father to the baby, this does not change the situation.

This means this case the child is considered to be legally common, and the parental rights belong to the husband, not the biological father. This fact can be changed only by the courts in another court procedure that is called “challenging the presumption of paternity”. If the divorce is already ongoing, it is highly advised to suspend it, and start the procedure of the challenging the presumption of paternity. If not doing so, the father may have obligations in connection with a child that is not his own.

We have to remind you that this rule also applies some cases after divorce. If a child is born in 300 days after the divorce becomes final, the ex-husband is considered to be legally the father. There is only one exception. If the mother concludes a new marriage after the divorce becomes final, the new husband will be legally the father even if the 300 days haven’t passed.