Our profession has a marked seasonality in certain matters. Taxes, for example, which are guided by the tax authorities’ calendar, or issues such as major changes in families, whether divorce negotiations or successions in family businesses, which tend to occur after long holidays or at the start of a new year. In short, when we have time to take perspective and reflect.
January arrives and our social networks are filled with advertisements for gyms and lawyers specialising in that area. It is not a sign from the universe, just Google’s suggestions when planning advertisements, which does not understand delicacy.
Our experience is that a divorce negotiation does not have to be contentious and dramatic as we are so often shown in films and TV series. Increasingly, those involved put the welfare of the common children, if there are any, as the top priority and where there are common assets, a fair and speedy division that allows everyone to rebuild their lives.
Notarial divorce is an increasingly popular alternative. This is done on the basis of article 54 of the aforementioned Law and has several key points for this type of divorce negotiation:
- There can be no minor children.
- A practising lawyer (who can be the same for both spouses) is required, who will be in charge of the agreement.
- There must be a competent notary.
Notarial Divorce vs. Judicial Divorce
The two (non-emotional) factors to take into account when negotiating a divorce are the time and the costs to be incurred. The cost of a notarial divorce, which is always quicker, is between 150 and 200 euros (if there is no liquidation of community property, as is usual in Catalonia). To this amount will be added the fees of the practising lawyer who must assist the spouses in the execution of the public deed.
An express divorce will not include the notarial bill, but as it depends on the judicial system it is always slower and the average price of the lawyer’s fees is around €400 (with a huge variability).
Taxes to be taken into account in divorce negotiations
Apart from the effect that alimony or maintenance payments may have on personal income tax. It is important to take advice when there are assets in common such as, for example, the main residence.
Depending on the autonomous community, a home that was acquired before the marriage in equal shares will not have the same tax burden as one that was acquired once married. A simulation of the overall cost from a tax point of view is a key step during the divorce negotiation.
Foreign divorce negotiation
Provided that at least one of the spouses is resident in Spain, a notarial divorce is possible between foreigners married in Spain or abroad.
The deed must comply with the regulations of the country of registration of the marriage. Depending on whether or not the country of registration accepts the notarial divorce, a series of extra steps will be taken.
As always, we are at your disposal for any questions you may have. We invite you to watch this video on the processing or negotiation of a divorce agreement that we carried out during the first confinement last year, in 2020.
