Divorce in Finland

kutoja · Post by **kutoja** » Tue Nov 18, 2008 8:58 pm

Moi,

I understand about signing the papers at the Maistratti and so on but my question concerns the division of money and property.

Is there any legal service that I can get advice from for free? I have no money for expensive lawyers and so on but I do need to know what each party is entitled to by law.

TIA - Regards

**Sponsor:**

Pursuivant · Post by **Pursuivant** » Tue Nov 18, 2008 9:22 pm

in the county where you live is a kunnallinen oikeusaputoimisto where you get a county lawyer to help pro bono.

basically what was his is his and what was yours is yours. what was together is split even. if there is children then there is an agreement of support done. the split of property can be made with an agreement, usually very seldom it goes to court.
the law is in www.finlex.fi and I think they have the marriage act translated.

Duvessa · Post by **Duvessa** » Wed Nov 19, 2008 1:36 pm

Pursuivant pretty much said it all.

When I divorced we didn't get any lawyers or even wrote down on paper any agreement about what stuff goes to who but if you doubt that at some point you will have an argument or the other one might accuse of not getting what s/he deserved I suggest that you get some legal help for it. If you own house together it gets more difficult. With kids you need to make huolto-ja tapaamissopimus on paper and legalise it in city's Child Welfare Officer.

kutoja · Post by **kutoja** » Wed Nov 19, 2008 8:44 pm

Thanks so much for this. Do you know if the same applies to property inherited during the marriage? I mean, does that count as dual-ownership?

We have house in both names so that seems clear but the inheritance property is not.

rinso · Post by **rinso** » Thu Nov 20, 2008 8:09 am

if the same applies to property inherited during the marriage?

It depends on your marriage contract.
If the split up goes in good harmony, all can be discussed between the ex-partners.
If you're fighting like cat and dog, get a lawyer.

aktan · Post by **aktan** » Sun Nov 30, 2008 11:22 am

no woman no cry ))))

nicole2 · Post by **nicole2** » Tue Apr 21, 2009 9:31 am

Ok, here’s my question.
I am an American citizen living in Finland for about two years now. My husband has dual citizenship (American/Finnish) and has been living in Finland the same amount of time as I. we are looking into getting a divorce but how do we do this here in Finland? We married in California just in case this helps. We don’t want to fight over anything we just want to part ways fast and clean.. Are there any fees that go into doing this process and if so, how much are we looking at?
What’s our first step in this legal process?

Upphew · Post by **Upphew** » Tue Apr 21, 2009 5:41 pm

nicole2 wrote:What’s our first step in this legal process?

Contact a lawyer: http://www.asianajajaliitto.fi/english
http://www.om.fi/en/Etusivu/Julkaisut/E ... liittolaki

onkko · Post by **onkko** » Tue Apr 21, 2009 8:11 pm

Simplified way. Go to maistraatti and tell you want divorce, if you havent lived separately 2 years you have wait 6 months and do that again. Done.
That 6 months is "regret time" and if you after 6mo and under 12mo still think you want divorce they grant that.

camomila · Post by **camomila** » Sat May 16, 2009 9:39 am

The moment you plan to divorce I recommend you to get a lawyer as soon as you see a minimal problem. Being a foreigner, married with a finn can be quite problematic when divorcing. I speak, naturally from my own experience:
Trusting the man I was married with for almost 9 years, made me loose lots of money. He took advantage of my ignorance towards the way things work in this country, and towards the trust I had in him. I didnt have to get a lawyer because I trusted him. It was a mistake. The person I thought I knew cheated. He made me sign the divorce papers without really understanding them, he told me he would be fair and that it had to be like this if i didnt want to loose my girls. I signed and lost almost everything. The signed paper is valid, even though there are not the 2 witnesses signatures, as the law requires.
I had fought afterwards for my rights for about 3 years and the law did not see anything wrong in his behaviour. I had proof but I was not listened. That easy...
Get a lawyer. There are only a few partners who will be honest and think of their children making divorce friendly in all the ways. Most of them, will not.

camomila · Post by **camomila** » Sat May 16, 2009 10:10 am

Hi Cory,

yes, I have learnt the lesson. I have learnt the finnish language and I have learnt no to trust again. It is a lesson well learnt. All this process has made me understand how the law works in this kind of problems. I have learnt alot in the last two years. I hope no foreigner experiences what I experienced. That is why I am writing these words.

Regards,

Nataliag · Post by **Nataliag** » Fri Sep 02, 2011 10:49 pm

Hi my name is Natalia, im argentinian, im married in Finland and i need to get the divorce as soon as possible, but im in Argentina, how can I do it from my country?
My ex has put the divorcement pappers before i left Finland, so i thought there wont be problems with it, but six months after the "thinking time" he decided he wouldnt give me divorce never ever. I dont want to be married to a sick person, so i need information, please!
Thank you very much and greetings from south america

Upphew · Post by **Upphew** » Fri Sep 02, 2011 11:38 pm

Nataliag wrote:Hi my name is Natalia, im argentinian, im married in Finland and i need to get the divorce as soon as possible, but im in Argentina, how can I do it from my country?
My ex has put the divorcement pappers before i left Finland, so i thought there wont be problems with it, but six months after the "thinking time" he decided he wouldnt give me divorce never ever. I dont want to be married to a sick person, so i need information, please!

Send in the papers ( http://www.suomi.fi/suomifi/suomi/asioi ... index.html ) to the court that handled the case?

Clentb · Post by **Clentb** » Wed Jan 27, 2016 12:53 am

Hello,

My wife and I have lived in the United States for the last three years and we want a divorce. What is the process since we are both from Finland and were married in Finland? Do we have to move back to Finland to complete the divorce process? I would hate to do this since our careers are in the United States and children are in school.

betelgeuse · Post by **betelgeuse** » Wed Jan 27, 2016 1:28 pm

Clentb wrote: My wife and I have lived in the United States for the last three years and we want a divorce. What is the process since we are both from Finland and were married in Finland? Do we have to move back to Finland to complete the divorce process? I would hate to do this since our careers are in the United States and children are in school.

Finland will recognize a divorce done at your current place of residence.

http://www.finlex.fi/fi/laki/ajantasa/1 ... 234#L3P121

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