Divorce in Slovenia

Updated on Monday 27th February 2023

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Divorce or dissolution of marriage in Slovenia is the termination of a marriage by court judgment. The marriage will be dissolved by a judicial decree, leaving both spouses free to marry again. Most divorces are obtained by both party’s consent, in which case the couple will follow a smooth path through the court system.

However, there are some couples that don’t reach an agreement regarding the termination of their marriage or the related issues. In this case, the two parties and their legal representatives will appeal to the court decision. Our team of Slovenian lawyers can provide legal representation on the procedures that are involved in a divorce in Slovenia.

The division of property procedure in Slovenia

In the initial phase of the divorce in Slovenia, the common property and the shares of each spouse must be determined. Only the shares from the total value of the assets are calculated, not the shares for each particular asset. It is considered at first that the spouses have equal shares from the joint assets, but they may bring evidence to prove that they contributed to the common goods in different proportions.

When deciding upon the division of property, the court will take into consideration various reasons, among which we mention the following: the spouses incomes, length of the marriage, the custody of children, the contribution to the common assets, the spouses’ care for the home and the family or the spouses’ expenses for the maintenance of the common property.

In the case of a common agreement of the parties, they should file a written and court certified document regarding the division of common assets, and which spouse will be the holder of housing rights. Our law firm in Slovenia can offer more information on other aspects related to the division of assets during a divorce in this country.

What are the legal grounds for requesting a divorce in Slovenia?

According to the Slovenian legislation on this matter, which is given by the Marriage and Family Relations Act, the legal grounds for divorce are divided between two options – divorce requested through an agreement between the spouses and divorce by action, the latter referring to the procedure through which a spouse takes a court action against the other spouse.

In the first case, the court will provide the divorce based on the Article 64 of the above mentioned legislation. This is applicable only as long as the parties have reached an agreement regarding all the aspects of the separation, including matters related to child support and maintenance.

Still, even if the parties reach an amicable agreement, in the case in which they have children, the Social Services Center must provide its opinion on the separation of the couple and the manner in which the children must be taken care of by both of the parents. Our team of lawyers in Slovenia can provide advice on the regulations that are addressed to couples wanting to file for divorce and who have children from the respective marriage.

As a general rule, most of the Slovenian divorces are concluded through a divorce agreement between the parties; if the event will take place by a divorce action and if the couple has children, the Social Services Center must also provide a report on the case.

What are the procedures for obtaining a divorce in Slovenia?

The procedures for obtaining a divorce in Slovenia are prescribed by the Civil Procedure Act (Article 32). Under the provisions of this law, the divorce request can be started at any district court in Slovenia – they can handle divorce procedures and marriage annulments. When requesting a divorce in Slovenia, the following steps have to be performed:

• the request for divorce must contain an extract from the marriage register;
• the file should also contain the birth certificates of both parties;
• in the case in which the parties will end the marriage through an agreement, they must present an agreement regarding the care of the children after the divorce is finalized;
• they must also file an agreement regarding the division of property (this has to be concluded at a public notary, as an enforceable notarial record);
• the file must also contain an agreement concerning the maintenance of the spouse who does not have sufficient financial means.

What are the statistics on divorces in Slovenia?

The information concerning the marriages and divorces registered in a calendar year are handled by the Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia, an institution which measures numerous aspects of the local economy and society. The latest data provided by the institution shows that the number of divorces registered here declined in 2018, the following being available:

• in 2018, there were 2,347 divorces registered in Slovenia;
• this represents a slight decrease compared to 2017 – the decrease was of 1.7%;
• Slovenian persons who have applied for a divorce had a marriage with an average duration of 14.2 years;
• the average age of a Slovenian man divorcing was of 46.8 years, while for women, the average age stood at 43.8 years;
• in 2018, only 44 divorces were registered after the first year of marriage;
• a share of 50.5% of the Slovenian divorces had no dependent children;
• in the case of divorces in which the couples had children (a rate of 49.5%), the custody was mainly given to the mother (in 69.4% of the cases).

However, it is necessary to know that the Slovenian parents can also benefit from joint custody, provided that certain conditions are met. In 2018, from all the divorces that involved the care and maintenance of children, 21.2% of them were terminated with joint custody of the children; our team of Slovenian lawyers can provide advice on the regulations that have to be met in order to obtain joint custody here.

In most of the cases, divorces in Slovenia took place between Slovenian citizens – more exactly, 82.3% of them. A small rate was also represented by parties in which one of the spouses had a foreign citizenship; a small rate (of only 1.6%) of the divorces registered in 2018 were represented by spouses who were both foreigners; our Slovenian law firm can provide in-depth legal representation to foreign persons who wish to file for divorce in this country.

Common debts in Slovenia

Both spouses remain liable for their common debts until the division of the common property is decided, at which point the debts are also divided. If debts are not divided by a court order, the spouses remain jointly liable. If the value of a spouse’s separate property which has been used to pay for common debts exceeds his/her share of these debts, he/she can then file a reimbursement claim against the other spouse. Please contact our law firm in Slovenia for more detailed information and personalized legal advice.

If you are married to a foreign national or you are a foreign national married in this country, you are invited to contact us for in-depth information concerning your residency in Slovenia after your divorce.

Our team of lawyers can help you complete the separation procedure and to relocate to another part of the city/region of Slovenia or can help you in the case you need to apply for a new residence permit/visa.