Separation
When a marriage breaks down and matrimonial life is no longer possible spouses may choose to part ways and proceed with a personal separation. This process may take place by way of an amicable settlement reflected in a public deed which requires court authorization or via judicial proceedings in the Family Court. The primary aspects covered in a deed of separation or a separation judgment relate to the care and custody, access and maintenance towards minor children, if any, maintenance towards the spouse where such payment is due, and the liquidation of the community of acquests existing between the parties and the division of the assets and liabilities contained therein.
Our services are focused towards achieving the best possible outcome, in an otherwise unfortunate scenario, while ensuring that the rights of the spouse and those of any minor children are safeguarded at all times.
Divorce
As opposed to a personal separation, divorce enables spouses to remarry civilly. An application for divorce may be filed in the Civil Court (Family Section) either by one of the spouses or by the spouses jointly. Three criteria must be satisfied for Court to proceed to grant a divorce, these being the following: -
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On the date of commencement of the divorce proceedings, the spouses shall have lived apart for a period of, or periods that amount to, at least four years out of the immediately preceding five years, or at least four years have lapsed from the date of legal separation; and
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There is no reasonable prospect of reconciliation between the spouses;
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The spouses and children are receiving maintenance, where this is due.
Spouses must not be necessarily living apart in order to apply for divorce. Spouses may well be living under the same roof but still be separated de facto thus still qualifying to apply for divorce provided the above criteria are satisfied.
Annulment
An annulment declares a marriage void, such that the marriage between the spouses is deemed to have never existed and was never valid. There are various grounds for annulment which relate to the consent of the parties at the time of celebration of their marriage. Spouses who wish to apply for an annulment may do so either in the Civil Court (Family Section) or in the Church Tribunal. While the former procedure allows spouses to remarry civilly, the latter procedure in the Church Tribunal enables the parties to remarry in Church.
Our firm is able to assist clients with both civil and church annulments and in both cases we strive to achieve a positive outcome within reasonable time-frames.
Marriage Contracts
Under Maltese Law the Community of Acquests is the matrimonial regime which automatically applies to assets acquired by couples during marriage. In essence, this means that all the assets acquired by the spouses during marriage, save for those acquired before marriage, or otherwise received by donation or by way of inheritance, belong to both parties jointly and in equal shares. However, it is possible for couples to opt out of this regime. This may be done by means of a pre-nuptual agreement signed by the parties prior to the celebration of their marriage whereby they exclude the community of acquests and instead choose to adopt an alternative matrimonial regime, the most common being the separation of estates. The latter enables the parties to remain financially independent from each other such that all their acquisitions, whether done before or during marriage, shall belong and shall be administered solely by the spouse who acquired them. It is also possible for spouses to exclude the Community of Acquests following the celebration of their marriage. This would require a public deed authorised by the Civil Court (Voluntary Jurisdiction) whereby the spouses regulate any assets they may have in common, while stipulating that from the day of signing of the deed they are excluding the Community of Acquests and instead adopting the system of Separation of Estates.
Mediation & Litigation
Mediation is a process aimed at assisting parties in resolving their family disputes. This process is not only available to married couples but also to unmarried couples who wish to regulate matters in relation to their minor children. Parties wishing to vary a deed of separation or a deed regulating care, custody and other ancillary matters relating to their minor children may also resort to mediation proceedings.
Prior to initiating court proceedings, the parties must go through mediation which is thus an obligatory process whereby a mediator is appointed to assist the parties with the hope of reaching an amicable settlement. Mediation proceedings are confidential and what is said during such process may not be produced in Court.
Where the parties fail to reach an agreement during mediation and wish to pursue matters further, they may then obtain authorisation from Court to initiate judicial proceedings. During Court proceedings the parties are given the opportunity to produce their evidence to sustain their respective claims. Proceedings in relation to family disputes take place in the Civil Court (Family Section).
Our services are aimed at providing clients with sound professional advice and assistance both throughout the mediation process as well as during contentious proceedings.
Adoptions
To date professional legal services have been provided to our clients both in relation to the recognition of foreign adoptions in Malta and also in connection with local adoptions. Our clients are guaranteed to receive all the required support throughout the whole process ensuring that this takes place smoothly and without undue delays.