Divorce lawyer in Alicante

01What a divorce lawyer in Alicante does for you

A divorce lawyer in Alicante does much more than file a petition. I listen to your situation, tell you honestly what to expect and design the strategy with you. Then I draft the convenio regulador (the divorce settlement agreement) or the petition, negotiate with the other side, represent you at the hearing in the family courts of Alicante and make sure the judgment is actually complied with.

I have practised family law since 2002 from my office at calle Isabel La Católica 9, in the centre of Alicante, and I handle divorces from across the province: San Juan, El Campello, Elche, Santa Pola, Torrevieja and Benidorm. Consultations are held in Spanish; if you need an interpreter, say so when you write on WhatsApp and we will arrange one. See also the family lawyer in Alicante guide.

What I review in the first consultation

• Which route: mutual consent, contested or notary divorce, depending on how much you agree on and whether there are minor children.
• Children: custody (custodia), contact, child maintenance (pensión de alimentos) and extraordinary expenses.
• Home and assets: use of the family home, the mortgage, your property regime and the division of joint assets.
• Spousal maintenance: the pensión compensatoria for the spouse left in a clearly worse position.
• Urgent matters: provisional measures when living together is no longer possible.

02Mutual consent or contested divorce: which one suits you

Spain has a no-fault divorce system. It is enough that three months have passed since the wedding (article 86 of the Civil Code), and even that period is waived when there is a risk to the life, integrity or freedom of a spouse or the children. The real question is not whether you can divorce, but how.

Divorce by mutual consent (divorcio de mutuo acuerdo)

Both spouses agree to divorce and on all the terms, set out in the convenio regulador. One lawyer and one procurador (court agent) can act for both of you, and the court only checks that the agreement does not harm the children or either spouse. It is the fastest, cheapest and least stressful route.

Contested divorce (divorcio contencioso)

One spouse does not want to divorce or, far more often, you cannot agree on the children, the home or the money. Each spouse has their own lawyer and procurador, there is a hearing with evidence, and the judge decides. It takes longer and costs more. Even so, sometimes it is the only reasonable option: when the other side refuses to negotiate, hides income or offers terms that would harm your children.

In practice, many divorces start contested and end in agreement before the hearing, so I keep the negotiation open until the last day. My article on mutual consent versus contested divorce (in Spanish) goes into more detail.

03Divorce before a notary in Alicante

Since 2015, a mutual consent divorce can be formalised before a notary (notario) or the letrado de la Administración de Justicia (court clerk) without a judge, provided there are no minor children or dependent adult children with judicially modified capacity (article 87 of the Civil Code). This is what many people call an express divorce, although the speed really comes from the agreement.

How it works

1. I draft the convenio regulador with you: home, joint debts, spousal maintenance if applicable and, where relevant, the division of property.
2. Both spouses appear before the notary of your choice in Alicante, assisted by a lawyer, which the law requires in this route too.
3. The notary executes the divorce deed (escritura) and notifies the Civil Registry. From that moment you are divorced.

As a rough guide, two to four weeks can pass between the first meeting and the signing if you have the paperwork ready. Notary fees are added to the lawyer's fees, but you save the procurador. My article on express divorce in Alicante (in Spanish) covers it in depth.

If you have minor children, the divorce must go through the court, but it remains a mutual consent procedure: the public prosecutor (Ministerio Fiscal) reports on the agreement and the judge approves it in a judgment.

04The convenio regulador: what your settlement must cover

The convenio regulador governs your life after the divorce. Article 90 of the Civil Code sets its minimum content, and a well-drafted agreement is the best guarantee that you will not be back in court in two years. These are the points I work on with particular care:

An incomplete or unbalanced agreement, or one that goes against the interests of the children, can be rejected by the prosecutor or the judge. I draft every clause thinking about how it will work day to day, not just about getting it approved. If your assets or income are in another country, the agreement must say so clearly.

05How long a divorce takes in Alicante and what it costs

No lawyer controls the court calendar, so be wary of anyone promising exact dates. These references are indicative and depend on the workload of each family court in Alicante:

• Notary divorce: two to four weeks once we have the agreement and the documents.
• Court divorce by mutual consent: roughly one to three months from filing to judgment, somewhat longer with minor children because the prosecutor is involved.
• Contested divorce: six to twelve months to a first-instance judgment, and longer if there is an appeal to the Audiencia Provincial of Alicante or expert evidence.

Indicative cost

Lawyer's fees in Spain are not fixed by law and depend on the actual work involved. As a general reference, a mutual consent divorce costs considerably less than a contested one, because both spouses can share a lawyer and procurador and there is no evidentiary hearing. In a contested divorce each party pays their own professionals. Add the procurador (compulsory in court proceedings), the notary if you choose that route and sworn translations of foreign documents. Individuals do not pay court fees in family proceedings.

I always work with a hoja de encargo (a written engagement letter): you know from the start what the quote includes and what it does not. If your income is below the thresholds of Law 1/1996, you may apply for legal aid through the ICALI bar association. Message me on WhatsApp for a quote tailored to your case.

06Divorce with children: custody, contact and maintenance

When there are minor children, the court will not approve anything that harms them. The best interests of the child govern every decision (article 92 of the Civil Code), and children with sufficient maturity, and in any case those over twelve, are heard before custody is decided.

Shared or sole custody

In Alicante, as in the rest of Spain, the Civil Code applies: the 2011 Valencian shared custody law was struck down by the Constitutional Court in 2016. Shared custody (custodia compartida) is now a common outcome when both parents are involved, live close to each other and can coordinate, but it is not automatic: the court looks at the age of the children, the distance between homes, work schedules and the relationship between the parents. For international families, a parent wishing to return to their home country with the children is a critical issue that must be addressed from the outset. See the child custody lawyer in Alicante guide.

Child maintenance

The pensión de alimentos covers food, housing, clothing, education and healthcare (articles 142 and following of the Civil Code). It depends on the needs of the children and the income of each parent, and can exist even under shared custody when the parents' finances differ greatly. Failure to pay for two consecutive months or four non-consecutive months can amount to the offence of family abandonment (article 227 of the Criminal Code). More in the child support lawyer in Alicante guide.

07The family home, spousal maintenance and matrimonial property

After the children, money and the house are the biggest worries of anyone divorcing in Alicante, and foreign residents often have property in two countries. Three separate questions:

Use of the family home

Article 96 of the Civil Code assigns the use of the home, absent agreement, to the children and the parent they live with. Under shared custody the judge decides on the circumstances, often for a limited time. Use does not change ownership: the house stays in the names it is in, and the mortgage is owed by whoever signed it.

Spousal maintenance (pensión compensatoria)

This is for the spouse left in a clear economic disadvantage compared with their situation during the marriage (article 97 of the Civil Code). It is common when one spouse gave up work to move to Spain or to raise the family. It can be temporary, indefinite or replaced by a lump sum, and it must be requested within the divorce proceedings.

Matrimonial property regime

If you married in Spain without a prenuptial agreement (capitulaciones), your regime is normally gananciales: everything acquired during the marriage is joint. If you married abroad, the applicable regime depends on your circumstances at the time of marriage and needs to be checked. The divorce dissolves the community but does not divide it: the division can be agreed in the convenio or handled later in separate proceedings. A villa in Playa de San Juan bought during the marriage, bank accounts and loans all go into that division. More in my article on dividing gananciales in Alicante (in Spanish).

08Divorce for foreign residents and mixed couples in Alicante

Many of the divorces I handle involve marriages celebrated abroad or spouses of different nationalities. As a general rule, the Alicante courts can deal with your divorce if at least one of you is habitually resident here, and EU rules often allow the spouses to choose which law applies. I check jurisdiction and applicable law before taking a single step.

What you will usually need

• Your foreign marriage certificate, apostilled or legalised and translated by a sworn translator (traductor jurado).
• Birth certificates of the children and proof of residence (NIE, padrón registration).
• If the marriage is not registered in the Spanish Civil Registry, an assessment of whether it should be, or which route is appropriate.
• An interpreter at the hearing if one of the spouses does not speak Spanish.

A divorce judgment issued in Alicante will usually need an apostille and a translation to be effective in your home country, and some countries require a recognition procedure. I plan for this from the outset. You can book an appointment directly; consultations are in Spanish and an interpreter can be arranged if you tell me when you get in touch.

09How I handle divorces in my practice

A divorce is a stage of your life, not paperwork. These are the rules I have worked by for more than twenty years:

• Honesty: I tell you what is realistic and what is not. Promising results would be misleading you.
• Negotiation first: I seek agreement whenever it does not harm you or your children. When it is not possible, I litigate with every available means.
• Communication: I answer on WhatsApp when something important comes up and explain each step before taking it.
• Written quote: a clear engagement letter from day one.
• After the judgment: enforcement of unpaid maintenance, modification of measures and division of assets.

Read more on the about me page. The office is at calle Isabel La Católica 9, entresuelo izquierda, Alicante, by appointment Monday to Friday.

How a divorce in Alicante works, step by step

1. 1
   First consultation

   We go through your family and financial situation, what you want to achieve and which route is realistic: mutual consent, notary or contested.

2. 2
   Documents

   We gather certificates, deeds, payslips and bank statements, with sworn translations where needed, and I prepare a draft agreement or the petition.

3. 3
   Negotiation

   If there is room for agreement, I negotiate with the other spouse or their lawyer until we close a balanced convenio regulador.

4. 4
   Filing

   The mutual consent or contested petition is filed with the family courts of Alicante, or the deed is signed before a notary.

5. 5
   Ratification or hearing

   In a mutual consent divorce, both of you ratify the agreement before the court. In a contested divorce there is a hearing with evidence and questioning.

6. 6
   Judgment and registration

   The court issues the judgment and it is entered in the Civil Registry. With minor children, the prosecutor reports on the agreement first.

7. 7
   Compliance

   I monitor compliance: payments, contact, division of assets. If circumstances change, a modification of measures can be requested.

Frequently asked questions