Divorce proceedings, in principle, always involve high emotions and often also mutual resentments that the quarreling spouses formulate towards each other. The result of these tense relations is a demand by either party, or sometimes only one of them, for the dissolution of the marriage with a ruling that the spouse is solely to blame.
When deciding to ask for a divorce with an adjudication of guilt, we must be prepared for the fact that our spouse's guilt will have to be proven. This, in turn, will prolong the entire process. Witnesses, documents, sometimes even a private investigator - all these means of evidence can prove useful in proving our case. If the reason for which we demand an adjudication of guilt is, for example, infidelity, remember that then the court, in order to verify the veracity of our claims, will also have to learn intimate details of the relationship, which we would not always want to talk about. However, if we are ready for this too, we should also try to anticipate the arguments of the other side - we can be basically sure that the spouse will not leave our claims unanswered and it will be us who will try to attribute sole fault in the breakdown of the marriage. Consequently, it is worth informing your attorney, already at one of the first meetings, about all situations, events, words that can be used against us. This will help build a litigation strategy and ensure that our attorney will not be surprised by anything in the courtroom and will be able to look after our interests in the best possible way.
The pronouncement of divorce through the sole fault of the other spouse, in addition to a certain hint of usually bitter satisfaction, which in most cases is still the main reason for demanding such a decision, also has other consequences, related to the right to demand alimony pension. According to the content of Article 60 § 1 of the Family and Guardianship Code, a divorced spouse who has not been found solely guilty of the decay of marriage and who is in want, may demand that the other divorced spouse provide maintenance to the extent corresponding to the justified needs of the entitled person and the earning and property capacity of the obligor.
And according to the wording of § 2, which applies to the case in question, if one of the spouses has been found solely guilty of the decay of marriage, and the divorce involves a significant worsening of the material situation of the innocent spouse, the court, at the request of the innocent spouse, may rule that the spouse solely guilty is obliged to contribute to an appropriate extent to satisfying the justified needs of the innocent spouse, even if the latter is not in want. The obligation to provide for the maintenance of a divorced spouse shall cease when that spouse enters into a new marriage. However, when the obligor is a divorced spouse who has not been found guilty of marital dissolution, this obligation also expires with the lapse of five years from the divorce decree, unless due to exceptional circumstances the court, at the request of the entitled party, extends the said five-year period.
