These Divorce Documents are Required in Switzerland

In Switzerland, all divorce petitions—whether mutually agreed upon or filed unilaterally—are reviewed and decided by the court. Consequently, there are regulated procedures for divorce applications and various required documents that must be submitted when filing a divorce petition or lawsuit. The primary goal is to clearly explain the situation to a judge as a “third party” and how you and your spouse intend to handle the divorce.

For mutual consent divorces, you submit a divorce application with a divorce agreement. A unilateral divorce, however, can only be initiated through a divorce lawsuit.

Mutual Consent Divorce: Divorce Application

You can file for a divorce desired by both spouses at any time at the competent civil court at one partner's residence. This application represents a joint request from both partners—a fact that must be reflected in the application documents. Therefore, the court requires a written divorce petition and a comprehensive divorce agreement for mutual consent divorces.

The Divorce Petition

The court needs proof that both parties mutually agree to the divorce. For this purpose, you submit a divorce petition. In this document, you state your request for a divorce and indicate whether you will settle the divorce terms in an agreement between yourselves or if you want the court to decide.

A simple letter is sufficient for the divorce petition as long as it includes the required points and is signed by both of you. For convenience, you can also download and fill out a template from the respective court’s website. In this case, you do not need to provide a justification for the divorce petition.

The Divorce Agreement

In addition to the divorce petition, you must submit a divorce agreement with your application. This document includes a comprehensive (Article 111 CC) or partial (Article 112 CC) arrangement of the divorce terms. The divorce terms include the following aspects:

• Division of property (matrimonial property division)
• Custody of children
• Visitation rights
• Child support
• Possible post-marital maintenance
• Use of the family home
• Pension compensation
• Assumption of legal costs

The court must also clearly establish whether the proposals in the divorce agreement are fair and feasible for both partners. Therefore, you must attach documents proving the financial status and personal situation of both spouses to the divorce agreement as per Article 111 CC. These documents also assist in the accurate calculation of maintenance. While not all documents need to be available when filing the application, it is advisable to submit a complete application to expedite the divorce process. Required documents include:

• Family record book of at least one spouse
• Marriage contract, if applicable
• Pension statements during the marriage
• Tax returns for the last two years
• Rental agreements, including the last rent adjustment, or land registry extracts for property ownership
• Evidence for calculating disputed maintenance payments

If you couldn’t agree on the amount of possible maintenance payments, also include the following documents in your application:

• Wage slips or statements from the last six months
• Bank statements
• List of personal withdrawals
• Proof of any additional income or pension income
• Childcare cost receipts
• Health insurance statements
• Insurance premium receipts (e.g., household, life, or liability insurance)
• House cost invoices and receipts
• Billag and phone bills
• Proof of paid debts and interest
• Professional expenses

Unilateral Divorce: Divorce Lawsuit

For a divorce lawsuit, the required documents depend significantly on when you file it. According to Article 114 CC, a separation period of at least two years is generally required for a unilateral divorce petition. Even in this case, you do not need to justify your divorce petition (Article 290 CPC), but you must unequivocally prove that you have met this period. The decisive factor for determining the separation period is the start of the physical separation (dissolution of the economic, physical, and mental household) as decided by the spouses.

If you file for divorce due to intolerability under Article 115 CC, you must demonstrate why continuing the marriage is intolerable for you. It must also be clear to the court that this intolerability cannot be attributed to you as the claimant. In a divorce lawsuit, you must also specify in concrete terms which claims (e.g., spousal maintenance, child support, property shares) you wish to assert against your spouse. These claims must also be substantiated with relevant documents, similar to a divorce agreement, to enable the court to calculate maintenance payments and assess the divorce terms.

In most cases, you do not need to justify a mutual or unilateral divorce petition in court. Justification is typically required only in two specific cases: for divorces based on intolerability according to Article 115 CC or if a divorce lawsuit is rejected by the court.

Reasons for Intolerability of Continuing the Marriage

If you wish to divorce unilaterally before the two-year separation period, there must be a clear justification. The court accepts serious reasons in such cases that make it intolerable for the claimant to continue the marriage. Serious reasons include:

• Mental or physical abuse of the claimant or children
• Severe insult or personality violations
• Criminal behavior of the other spouse and/or failure to pay maintenance
• Stalking after separation
• Unilateral sham marriages
• Ongoing extramarital affairs of the other spouse
• Debauched behavior of the other spouse

According to Article 290 of the Civil Procedure Code (CPC), divorce lawsuits initially do not need to be justified in writing at the time of filing. Subsequently, both spouses are summoned to a conciliation hearing where the grounds for divorce under Articles 114 or 115 CC are examined, and the court attempts to reach mutual agreements on the divorce terms.

If the grounds for divorce cannot be clearly established, or there is no agreement on the ancillary terms, the court sets a deadline for the claimant to submit a written justification for the lawsuit under Article 291 CPC. If this justification period is not met, the lawsuit becomes void due to lack of subject matter.

The certificate you receive from the court upon pronouncement of the divorce should be kept for life. It serves as a legitimate proof of your marital status to various authorities, for instance, if you want to change your name after the divorce. You will also need the divorce certificate or judgment to register a new residence.

While in certain cases, especially with mutual consent divorces, it is entirely possible to get a divorce without a lawyer, it is advisable to at least seek legal consultation from a family law attorney before filing a petition. Consulting with a lawyer gives you insight into the specific details of your divorce request, informs you about the necessary steps, and allows you to have your petition or lawsuit reviewed for legal validity. The better prepared your divorce petition is, the faster and smoother the proceedings will be—saving you time, money, and stress.