At the notary
At a notary, property can be divided together with the divorce or as a separate act, in case the marriage is divorced, for example, at the vital statistics office. In order to divide the property, a joint property division agreement is concluded. Joint property can be divided at the notary's office only if the divorcing spouses agree on the division of property. To divide property and/or divorce, you need to book an appointment with a suitable notary.
During the property division process, the notary finds out the composition of the joint property, advises the spouses on matters related to the division of property, and certifies the agreement on the division of property. In case the question or problem is beyond the competence of the notary, the notary will instruct who should be contacted.

The composition of the joint property is determined at the time of the end of the marriage, then a price is determined for all objects, rights and obligations, and the property is divided in equal parts, unless otherwise agreed, by value, not by object.

In court
In the absence of consensus regarding the division of property, disputes can be resolved in court. For this, a statement of claim must be submitted to the court and a state fee must be paid. If the other spouse does not agree with the way of dividing the common property stated in the statement of claim, he or she can file a counterclaim for the division of the joint property.
Before dividing the property in court, it is necessary to find out the composition of the joint property, because only those items that have been requested to be divided in the statement of claim or counterclaim can be divided in court proceedings.
A request for the division of joint property can also be submitted to the court together with an action for divorce or annulment of marriage or together with an action for termination of joint property.

Mutual agreements
If the property does not include real estate or other property entered in state registers, the spouses can agree on the division of other property, and it is not necessary to contact a notary.
If joint property is not divided upon divorce, then this property remains the joint property of the divorced spouses and transactions can only be made with it jointly. Divorced spouses can enter into an agreement on the division of joint property even after the divorce.

Assets cannot be divided at the vital statistics office, only divorce can be registered there.

When divorcing, it is necessary to divide the joint property that was created during the marriage. Joint property includes both objects, rights and obligations.

Joint items and property rights
Items and property rights acquired during the marriage are considered joint property of the spouses. Joint property is, for example, a jointly acquired home, furniture, but also a company registered during the marriage.

Obligations of the Parties
In addition to acquired items, obligations assumed during the marriage are also considered joint. This includes, for example, the loan obligation taken for the purchase of a joint home. The exception is obligations that are not taken in the interest of the family. For example, a leased motorcycle, which one of the spouses uses exclusively, is unlikely to be considered a financial obligation undertaken in the interest of the family, i.e. the spouse who made the obligation is solely responsible for it.

Other types of property
In the case of joint property, the items acquired during the joint property and other property rights of the spouses, including investment accounts, money in a bank account, etc., become joint property of the spouses.

Does taking care of the children give me more rights to the joint property?
In the case of a joint property relationship, the joint property is divided between the spouses in equal parts according to the provisions on the termination of co-ownership, unless otherwise agreed.

I earn a higher/lower salary than my husband, does he have the right to claim half of the joint property?
In the case of joint property, the items acquired during the joint property and other property rights of the spouses become joint property of the spouses. In the case of a joint property relationship, the joint property is divided between the spouses in equal parts according to the provisions on the termination of co-ownership, unless otherwise agreed. The fact that one spouse's salary has been higher than the other's does not affect the ownership of the property.

I alone pay the loan payments of the property acquired during the marriage, my husband does not contribute financially, does he have the right to the property?
In the case of joint property, the items acquired during the joint property and other property rights of the spouses, including purchased real estate and received wages, become joint property of the spouses. In the case of a joint property relationship, the joint property is divided between the spouses in equal parts according to the provisions on the termination of co-ownership, unless otherwise agreed. The fact that the loan payments are paid through the bank account of one spouse does not affect the ownership of the property.

In the case of joint property, joint property does not include the separate property of either spouse, which is:

• personal consumables;
• property owned by either spouse before marriage;
• property acquired through free disposal (e.g. gift or inheritance) during marriage;
• property acquired at the expense of separate property (e.g. property purchased with the money received from the sale of property belonging to one spouse before the marriage);
• units of a mandatory pension fund.

Information about joint property, especially real estate or other property entered in state registers, can be found, for example:

• in the marital property register (valid property relationship or marital property agreement);
• in the land register (for real estate and related mortgages);
• in the traffic register (for owned vehicles);
• in the commercial register (for related companies).

In terms of finding out the composition of the joint property, you can also ask a notary for advice, who, among other things, also helps with making inquiries to various registers.

Joint property is divided similarly to co-ownership in three different ways:

• by dividing a thing into real parts,
• by leaving the thing to one spouse, making him/her obliged to pay compensation for the loss of property to the other spouse, or
• by selling the thing and divide the income between the spouses in equal parts.

The choice of the way to divide the joint property depends on many circumstances – for example, is it possible to divide the property into real parts and what is the economic capacity of the spouses to take over the loan obligation on the joint home alone and to pay the other spouse compensation equal to half of the joint property. If these methods are not possible, then the joint property must be sold, the loan obligation must be paid and the remaining sales proceeds must be divided equally between the spouses.

Generally, if joint property has been created during the marriage, it must be divided upon divorce. This is especially so in situations where the asset includes real estate or other assets entered in state registers. It is not necessary to divide the property, for example, if the property is sold and it is agreed to divide the proceeds from the sale.

What happens if the property is not divided?
If joint property is not divided upon divorce, then this property remains the joint property of the divorced spouses and transactions can only be made with it jointly. Divorced spouses can enter into an agreement on the division of joint property even after the divorce.
In addition, if, for example, one of the parties wants to acquire their own property before the divorce is registered, and does not want it to be considered part of the joint property, it is appropriate to conclude a marital property agreement in advance. The same situation also applies if the spouses separate, but the marriage is not dissolved. Even then, you should review your valid marital property relationship and, if necessary, change it with a marital property agreement. In order to conclude a marital property agreement, you must contact a notary public.

No. However, this is only if the property does not include real estate or other property entered in state registers, and the spouses have reached a mutual agreement regarding the division of other property. In such a case, it is sufficient to divorce the marriage at the vital statistics office or at a notary public.
It is wise for spouses to conclude an agreement on the division of joint property in the event of a divorce, since the divorce itself does not turn the joint property into separate property. The law stipulates that the agreement on the division of joint property must be notarized only if the spouses wish to divide their jointly owned immovable property (for example, real estate, apartment ownership) or other property for which a notarized form is prescribed for the transfer of ownership (for example, a part of a private company, membership in a building association).

Yes, it is also necessary for the spouses to reach a mutual agreement regarding the dividing of domestic animals.

At the end of the set-off of assets increment property relationship, the added part of each spouse's property is offset and the added property is divided equally between the spouses. This means that the spouse who earned less during the marriage can claim from the other spouse half of the value of the property by which the other has become more enriched in money (not in objects).

For example, if during the marriage 100,000 euros have been added to the husband's property and 75,000 euros to the wife's property, the growth of the husband's property at the time of divorce is 25,000 euros more than the wife's property. Therefore, the wife has the right to claim half of 25,000 euros, i.e. 12,500 euros.

The offsetting of the added part ensures greater guarantees for the economically weaker spouse at the end of the property relationship, while the spouses are guaranteed their financial independence, because the property belongs to the spouse who acquired the property.

At the notary
The act of dividing property at a notary is fee-based. The fee for the operation depends on the transaction value, and its determination is based on the value of the thing or right that is the object of the notarial operation at the time of the operation (the value of the property that is the object of the property division agreement). The notary's fee is determined in accordance with the Notary Fees Act, the state fee is determined for registry entries (for example, entries in the land register and commercial register) in accordance with the State Fee Act.

Additional information can be found on the website of the Chamber of Notaries.

In court
When applying to the court, a state fee of 350 euros must be paid for the statement of claim. In addition, the costs of legal assistance are also added.

Family Law Act

Law of Property Act

Marital Property Register Act

Code of Civil Procedure

Notary Fees Act

Family law (Ministry of Justice)

Property relations of spouses (Jurist Aitab)

Family law proceedings (Chamber of Notaries)

Divorce and legal separation (portal Your Europe)