Divorce by agreement and property issues
Claim for consolation money- If the marriage came to a divorce by a cause attributable to a spouse, payment of damages for the emotional distress suffered as a result, that is, consolation money, may be sought from the spouse at fault (Articles 806 and 843 of the Civil Act).
- The courts are not required to confirm whether spouses divorcing by agreement are agreed on property matters, meaning, divorce by agreement may be obtained without an agreement on consolation money. The consolation money issue may be contested by bringing a claim in court after the divorce [Article 2(1)1(c)(ii) of the Family Litigation Act]. If there are issues in addition to consolation money that were not agreed upon at the time of divorce, such as the division of property, fostering of children, etc., it would be economic from a litigation standpoint to bring such claims together (Article 14(1) of the Family Litigation Act).
- This consolation money claim is extinguished by statute of limitations if not exercised within 3 years of the date the injury or the person at fault is known (generally from the date of divorce) (Article 766(1) of the Civil Act).
※ Details on claims for consolation money are found in the <Property Issues-Consolation Money> section of this article.
Claim for division of property- Upon the dissolution of joint married life by divorce, a spouse may seek division of property jointly amassed by the spouses during the marriage (Article 839-2 of the Civil Act).
- The courts are not required to confirm whether spouses divorcing by agreement agree on property matters, meaning, a divorce by agreement may be obtained without an agreement on division of property. The division of property issue may be contested by bringing a claim in court after the divorce [Article 2(1)2(b)(iv) of the Family Litigation Act]. If there are issues in addition to the division of property that were not agreed upon at the time of divorce, such as consolation money, fostering of children, etc., it would be economic from a litigation standpoint to bring such claims together (Article 14(1) of the Family Litigation Act).
- The claim for division of property is extinguished 2 years after the date of divorce (Article 839-2(3) of the Civil Act).
※ Details on claims for division of property are found in the <Property Issues-Division of Property> section of this article.