Divorce lawyer in
Belgrade

When can a lawyer help?

Prior to the commencement of the divorce proceedings, it is necessary to contact the other spouse to determine whether there are elements for the uncontested divorce or whether a lawsuit must be filed. It is useful for the party to hire a lawyer in cases of difficult family relations when there is no possibility of reconciliation. Sometimes the parties can easily agree on the terms of the divorce, but their property becomes the problem, that is when a lawyer can help with his knowledge and advice by proposing a model of a compromise solution and shaping it into a legal form.

A good divorce lawyer

In the divorce procedure, expertise in the circumstance of the suitability of exercising parental rights and entrusting children can be especially problematic, in that case professional knowledge and many legal skills are required. The City Center for Social Work can often be biased and not always able to perform a proper evaluation, so it is necessary to hire a team of experts who will perform the expertise. A lawyer can help you find expert witnesses and state your opinion on the expertise as well. A good divorce lawyer can reverse the dispute in those cases when both parents are eligible to exercise parental rights, so the nuances decide.

A lawyer’s knowledge is important in severe violations of parental rights, when one spouse denies the other to see children or does not pay the alimony, in that case a good lawyer must fight for a temporary measure to force the person who denies the rights to normal behavior or sanction. When writing complaints, if they have to happen, you need the knowledge of a lawyer as well. It is necessary to find weak points in the court’s verdict and point them out clearly and correctly to the second-instance court. Here, the lawyer should avoid extensiveness and ambiguity, and concentrate on the key items and fight them.

Learn more about legal services

Consultative meetings and counseling on the issue of divorce

It is recommended for every client to come to the law office for consultations before initiating divorce proceedings. Brief information can be obtained over the phone, but a face-to-face conversation with a lawyer is the most useful thing that people can afford in a situation of potential marital problems and future disputes.

In the conversation, it will be assessed very quickly whether it is better file a lawsuit, what can be obtained by lawsuit, or is it better to go for divorce settlement agreement and an uncontested divorce. The best lawyer will always recommend a settlement rather than a lawsuit, which is generally good advice. The exceptions are situations when the spouses are very exclusive with each other and when more can be obtained in court than provided by a bad settlement. All people must be aware that an uncontested divorce is a significantly faster and cheaper solution than a divorce based on a lawsuit.

At the consultative meetings, the main topic of discussion is what can be obtained in court, court practice related to entrusting the exercise of parental rights, property division, alimony and parental plan. After the discussion, a recommendation is given to the parties in which direction to go.

Drafting lawsuits and proposals for uncontested divorce

The next step is to draft a proposal for an uncontested divorce or lawsuit. It is normal for lawyers to cover both solutions. The price of the draft of a proposal for an uncontested divorce or a lawsuit is the same. The work of a lawyer in terms of the difficulty in preparing both acts is similar.

Sometimes it is good, even before the preparation of one of the above acts, to come to joint consultations with the other party and (or) with its attorney. It is often easier for just lawyers to make a deal because the degree of subjectivity in decision-making is less pronounced, which can be useful.

A lawsuit is a unilateral act signed by one party, while a proposal for an uncontested divorce is a document that must be signed by both parties. The biggest difference between these two documents is that a lawsuit does not contain a proposal for property division.

Representing in court in uncontested divorce proceedings

The Velickovic Law Office from Belgrade provides services in representing in court and in uncontested divorce proceedings. Most people need a lawyer when drafting a divorce settlement agreement that requires legal skill and expertise.

Concerning representing in court in uncontested divorces, in most cases, the parties can go to court alone and stick to the initial proposal. It is certainly recommended that the parties have their own lawyer in the divorce proceedings if they know that the other party will have one.

Usually, people who are abroad and cannot physically attend the trial for an uncontested divorce contact our law office. In that case, we go to the hearing instead of the client.

Representing in divorce lawsuits

Certainly, it is recommended that clients hire an experienced law firm after the divorce lawsuit. There are good attorneys you can find with a little effort. Because of requiring great responsibility, divorces after a lawsuit are stressful for all participants in the dispute, including attorneys.

Of all the cases that lawyers deal with, from personal experience we say that divorce lawsuits are one of the most unpleasant experiences. It is always nicer and easier to represent a client in other proceedings (e.g. in damages proceedings) than in a divorce lawsuit. The reward and satisfaction of succeeding in such disputes is great if the lawyer is on the right side. Especially in these cases, lawyers can make a difference in court in favor of clients.

Drafting agreements on the division of joint property acquired in marriage

Unlike the above cases, joint property sharing agreements are generally a nice and interesting experience and quite useful. These agreements, due to their complexity, fall within the scope of the law firm’s services and are especially needed when clients own real property.

Most often, in these agreements, one spouse is entitled to a certain real property, and the other spouse is paid for his share in the acquisition of that real property. In cases where there is not enough money to pay, real property is sold and the money is divided, in a certain pre-agreed amount.

Property division agreements are of greater importance when it comes to the acquisition of motor vehicles during the marriage, due to their great value and the possibility of entering into an agreement because written records are kept about them. Other movables, besides bank accounts are less important, and are often not suitable for entry, because they are not recorded with the competent authorities, so they are often not entered in the agreement (e.g. furniture etc.).

Drafting marriage contracts and prenuptial agreements

We usually provide marital and prenuptial services to wealthier clients who marry less wealthy, and as a rule, younger and more attractive partners. The marriage contracts and prenuptial agreements can clearly define what the property of each person is and what will belong to whom in the event of divorce. Marriage contracts are useful for resolving property relations and for avoiding long-running property disputes.

Marriage contracts are mostly proof to wealthier spouses that the other side is not with them because of their property, but because of themselves, but in Serbia, they are still somehow avoided and not highly appreciated. Often in marriage, both parties invest their separate property, which appreciates in the future by working together, so it is useful to regulate the status of these assets as well. In Serbia, prenuptial agreements and marriage contracts are still rare.

Representing in alimony disputes for child or spouse support

The issue of alimony over children is inseparably linked with the issue of divorce, because alimony must also be decided in a divorce lawsuit. The law provides a wide range for determining alimony, ranging from 15% to 50% of the salary of the person who is paying it. Of course, as soon as something has such a wide range, the role of the court that decides on it, as well as the lawyer of both parties, increases, which would be different if the law gave less alimony range.

The service of our law office is to minimize alimony when representing the client who pays it, and on the other hand, to maximize it when representing the client who receives it, and this should not be a secret. The methods by which this is achieved are allowed and extensive knowledge and experience is required.

Less important than child support is spouse support, which can be debated in a divorce lawsuit, but also separately. The terms for child support are that the spouse is unemployed and he/she is not able to work. The obligation of spouse support can last for a maximum of 5 years, and it is far less important than child support in practice.

Representing in disputes regarding the division of joint property acquired in marriage

If the divorce is by lawsuit, the issue of property division is resolved mostly after the divorce, we also provide legal assistance in this area, which is closely related to divorce. All the details about property division you can find on the page Property division after divorce.

As for the property division, the best advice that a good divorce lawyer can give is to reach a settlement because disputes over the property division are both difficult and expensive. Disputes over the property division can be conducted before the divorce procedure, but I do not recommend this to anyone because it is better to resolve the divorce first and then deal with the property division.

Representing in disputes regarding the exercise of parental rights in common law marriage

Many people do not like to get married because they do not believe in the institution of marriage. Unmarried people, on the other hand, often have illegitimate children. When a common law marriage ends, it is necessary to regulate the issue of child custody. A lawsuit for the regulation of the exercise of parental rights is being filed, which we can draft for you and provide further legal assistance. For these disputes, the rules of representing are the same for the ones stated for marital disputes related to the exercise of parental rights, because they are practically identical.

Marriage annulment

Lawyer services for marriage annulment are quite rare in practice because the reasons for annulment are rare, but we also provide these services. Most marriage annulments occur because the marriage was contracted for reasons other than community life. Misconceptions about the characteristics of the spouse are also the reason for the marriage annulment. You can find out more about the marriage annulment and the reasons for one on the Legal portal. There are some 20-30 cases of marriage annulments in Serbia every year, unlike thousands of cases of divorce.

Drafting ordinary and extraordinary legal remedies in divorce proceedings

In the divorce procedure, when the first-instance procedure is completed, we have situations where the court’s verdict is not decent and must be challenged. The services of our office also apply to this procedure, when it is necessary to write an appeal against a verdict or a certain legal remedy. An appeal is the most difficult to write and it requires the most experience and legal knowledge.

We write appeals, both in proceedings where we have represented clients and in proceedings where some other divorce lawyers have represented them, more or less successfully. The appeal is submitted to the court that passed the verdict, and the Court of Appeal decides on it. For various reasons, when writing an appeal, it is definitely recommended to hire a lawyer, if he has not already been hired.

Whom to contact?

If you have any additional questions about divorce or you need additional information, you can contact the law office via email or via the contact form on our website. You can also contact us by phone stated on our website. Additional information about lawyers can be obtained through the directory of the Belgrade Bar Association.

See more

Our prices

Divorce on Serbian language