Amicable divorce: the joint application

• the division of property under your matrimonial property regime;
• the split of occupational pension assets (LPP) built up during the marriage;
• any maintenance between spouses;
• the family home;
• if there are children under 18: parental authority, custody, contact and child maintenance (see divorce with children).

Usually: a family certificate issued less than 6 months ago (for foreign spouses, marriage and birth certificates), salary certificates or payslips, tenancy agreement, health insurance premiums, pension fund statements showing the assets built up during the marriage. A foreign certificate often needs an apostille and a translation.

1. You sign the joint application and the agreement.
2. You send it to the competent court where one of you lives (see your canton) and pay the advance on costs.
3. The judge hears you separately and together to check that your decision is freely made and carefully considered, and that the agreement can be approved.
4. The judge grants the divorce. The judgment becomes final once the appeal period has passed, and is then entered in the civil register.

Since 2010, there has no longer been a two-month reflection period after the hearing.

Usually 3 to 6 months. Court fees: CHF 900 in the canton of Vaud, an advance of CHF 600 in Geneva, CHF 400 to 2,000 in Neuchâtel depending on income. Our package: CHF 690 without children, CHF 990 with children.

We gather and check the documents and set out your agreement on the official forms. You file the application and attend the hearing. We do not represent you in court and do not settle disagreements between you: if a point is not resolved, our partner lawyer can advise you. You can also have the agreement reviewed by our partner lawyer for CHF 250.

Sources: ch.ch, Federal Office of Justice.