Family cases turn on matters nobody wants to argue about in court. The work starts by separating what can be settled by agreement from what genuinely has to be decided by a judge, and by explaining that difference before anything is filed. Inheritance works the same way: division by agreement wherever the heirs can reach one, inventory proceedings where they cannot.
How the process runs
- 01
Opening conversation
Mapping the situation: whether there are children under 18, what assets exist, what has already been tried and whether agreement is possible. It ends with a route, with timescales and costs.
- 02
Attempt at agreement
Almost everything a court decides can be agreed beforehand. Agreement is faster, cheaper and, where there are children, keeps them out of the proceedings.
- 03
Proceedings
Without agreement, the case goes to court or to the civil registry, depending on the matter. In parental responsibility cases there is a parents' conference before the judge decides.
- 04
After the decision
Agreements and judgments can be changed when circumstances change, and there are specific routes for when they are not complied with.
What is covered
Divorce by mutual consent
Handled at the civil registry where there is agreement on maintenance, the family home and the children. It is the quickest route.
Divorce without the other spouse's consent
Court proceedings where there is no agreement, together with the related claims on the family home and maintenance.
Parental responsibility
Setting and changing where the child lives, the contact arrangements and the important decisions in the child's life.
Maintenance
Setting, changing and enforcing maintenance for children under 18 and for adult children still in education.
Division of assets and inventory
Dividing the couple's property, by agreement or through inventory proceedings, including joint debts.
Non-compliance with agreements
Where the arrangements are not respected, on contact or on payments, there is a specific procedure to enforce them.
Inheritance and proof of heirs
Who inherits and in what shares, the deed establishing the heirs and the schedule of assets that opens the file, with or without a will.
Dividing the estate and inventory proceedings
Division by deed where the heirs agree, and inventory proceedings where they do not, including the debts and the property nobody wants to sell.
Common questions
What to bring to the first conversation
None of this is required to book. The more there is in the first conversation, the more concrete the answer.
- Marriage certificate and the children's birth certificates, if you have them
- Proof of income and of the household's fixed expenses
- Any earlier agreement or judgment, where arrangements are already in place
- A list of the couple's assets and debts, even if approximate
- Death certificate, will and the schedule of assets, where the matter is an inheritance
This page describes the practice in general terms. Every case turns on its own facts and on the stage it has reached, so nothing here replaces looking at the file itself.