Payment of Damages and Division of Property Because of Divorce
Divorce and payment of damages- When spouses undergo a divorce, a spouse may bring a claim for payment of damages against the spouse who is at fault for the breakdown of the marriage. Payment of damages includes those for both monetary and emotional injuries (Articles 806 and 843 of the Civil Act).
※ Judicial precedent holds that fault for the breakdown of marriage should be evaluated based on facts that led to the breakdown of the marriage and not the events that took place after the full breakdown of the marriage (Supreme Court Judgment 2003Meu1890 announced on February 27, 2004).
- In particular, the amount to pay in damages for emotional distress, that is, consolation money, is calculated in consideration of the causes and degree of fault for the breakdown of the marriage, disposition of property, duration of the marriage, and standard of living, personal status such as educational attainment, profession, and age, and matters such as child fostering arrangements (Supreme Court Judgment 80Meu100 announced on October 13, 1981). If both spouses are at fault for the breakdown of the marriage, the amount of consolation money is determined based on the amount of emotional distress suffered by both spouses, that is, the proportion of tort liability (Supreme Court Judgment 93Meu1273, 1280 announced on April 26, 1994).
※ Details on claims for consolation money are found in the <Property Issues-Consolation Money> section of this article.
Divorce and division of property- On divorce, the spouses divide the property they jointly amassed during marriage. A spouse may claim the division of property for co-owned property regardless of whose name it is in (Articles 830(2) and 839-2 of the Civil Act). Property jointly amassed by the spouses includes real estate acquired by the spouses’ joint efforts, bank deposits made for the spouses’ joint married life, household items purchased for the spouses’ joint married life, etc.
- The spouses may decide the property division ratio by agreement; if no agreement is reached, a court calculates the ratio based on contribution to the amassment of property, the causes and degree of fault for the breakdown of the marriage, the duration of the marriage and standard of living, personal status such as educational attainment, profession, and age, and matters such as child fostering arrangements, consolation money, etc. (e.g., Supreme Court Judgment 96Meu1434 announced on April 10, 1998; Supreme Court Judgment 97Meu1486,1493 announced on February 13, 1998; Supreme Court Judgment 92Meu501 announced on May 25, 1993).
※ Details on claims for division of property are found in the <Property Issues-Division of Property> section of this article.