Polish Divorce laws and stigma attached to it

Can anyone tell me whether a Polish person can get a divorce if they are the guilty party and their spouse is not in agreement? Also, how easy is it to be accepted by a Polish family if you are seen as the person who broke up the marriage of their son/daughter?

Depends what they thought about their ex-son/daughter in law :)

anybody know if its true that if a Polish man seeks a divorce from his Polish wife (and he is the guilty party) that she gets all of his assets without question? (ie) house, car etc... (no children involved). I understand that she should get something, but shouldnt it be half and half?

Its not true. The most easy way is to divorce without judicial decision who was guilty - they can get divorce decisin on the second trial (it takes up to 4 months).

In the other case, when he is guilty, she has to proof it. When you have no time or just dont wont to fight usually you are givng her what she wants... etc.

Like everywhere... depends of good will, emotions, seeking alimony, etc..

He he. Who told You this nonsence?

well my boyfriend of course :)

Alright Email me at brittanylynncowen@live.com..

I have a serious question. I am in the US however my brother got married to a polish girl.. What are the seperation agreements and is it possible to get a divorce? What are the peneltes if he is an American citizen? Is he allowed to come home? Please this is very important.

- Brittany

No it is not. General rule is that what each partner takes in to the marriage they take away with them. What was earned/acquired during the marriage (apart from inheritance, donations, gifts, personal items and so on) is normally split between the two.

problem is the house is only in her name, even though he paid for it.

There's a very good overview of divorce in Poland here: law.uu.nl/priv/cefl/Reports/pdf/Poland02.pdf and another one here: ec.europa.eu/civiljustice/divorce/divorce_pol_en.htm

If the house was purchased while the marriage was in force then the house (or its value) is split evenly. Doesn't matter who paid for it, or whose name is attached to it. The only material goods which are not debatable, but rather belong to one of the spouses are personal items (clothing, cosmetics), items required to perform their employment related activities etc. If there is an overlap in those (for instance when both spouses are car racers but there is only one car) then the value is split evenly between the two, or as the judge deems appropriate.

Doesn't matter. If they acquired in during the marriage it belongs to them jointly. If they acquired it before marriage and he can prove he bought it for her, he might be able to sue for the return of the property but he might well lose (although he could certainly drop her in a large amount of **** with the tax office; if they find out she's been given a house and she didn't declare that and pay tax on the value of the gift, they'll have her guts for garters and she'll owe not only the tax she should have paid but a huge amount of interest too).

thanks for that info. guys.. very useful. What about the actual cost of filing for divorce.. is that very expensive and how long does it take on average if the non guilty party is not in agreement?

On those point I have no idea. A friend of mine recently divorced and the process was held up for half a year simply because her ex-husband didn't show up for the court hearings (because he's gone to the USA to work illegally after her father sponsored him for a tourist visa).

I can't speak about the cost since I got divorced in 1983 so I gather prices changed since then.

As for the process itself. It all depends on the circumstances. Usually, the first court meeting is an attempt of reconciliation, or rather making sure the two parties really know what they are doing. That's just a formality though in most cases, as I assume most people who file for divorce don't do it just for kicks.

After that the judge will hear if both parties still want the divorce. If they do, the case can be settled right there right then. My divorce took two sessions, and the second session settled it. There is a waiting period of 30 days, if I remember well. That time is meant to allow for any possible details and or claims that did not transpire during the last session. If neither party makes further claims, nor presents and additional information which could potentially change the final outcome of the divorce conditions (mainly financial or custodial) then this is it. In my case, we filed on Oct 1st. and by Dec 6th we were friends again.

However, if the financial situation is complex, or if there is a custody battle (kids) and if the parties appear to have a hard time to agree on the conditions then it can drag for months, rarely years.

thanks. there are no children, they are both living in the UK and have been separated for more than 2 years. I guess they would still need to file in Poland though and not in the UK?

Yes, because that's the country they were married in.

If they have been separated for two years then (other than division of property) the divorce would likely be a formality.

I'm not sure how laws work now that Poland is in EU though.

If there is property in Poland then I gather they may have to ask Polish courts to help them chop it between the two, as British Courts have no jurisdiction over properties located in Poland. They could sell the property and chop the doe in half, or go for a dozen other alternatives. That's just my rambling here. You need to ask someone who knows, perhaps a legal adviser in the Polish consulate somewhere in UK.

You know what advice a Polish consulate in the UK will give (assuming you can ever get through on the phone)? "You need to speak to a Polish lawyer."

My Polish girlfriend has lived/worked in UK for 4 years. She left her husband after 2 years ( 6 years ago) & their 8 year old son lives ( in Poland) with her parents.

She sees boy 2/3 times a year. Boy will remain living in Poland.

Husband has threatened to take boy if she tries to get divorce.

What are the two's custody rights .

Eddiewop I already wrote you about that. It is almost impossible for a man to get the children, even if he was a holy one and she was bad to the bone. That's changing very slowly, but for now the judge will give the child to the mother in most cases.

One thing I don't understand... Why does she care so much if the boy is with her parents? She's seeing him 2-3 times a year and she doesn't want to change that? That's a joke, don't you think? It's like he doesn't have a mother anyway. And to be honest if her husband care about the son, he would be rising him already instead of leaving him with her parents...

It looks like they are just using the poor baby to blackmail each other and in fact they both don't even give a f**k about him unless they can angry the other part. It's pathetic. I get angry by just hearing about such "responsible" parents. The kid is rised by his grandparents at age when he needs his PARENTS the most... I doubt he will be grateful, i have few friends in such situation and I can only say, they were badly hurt by that and have some serious problems and I'm not suprised at all.