Divorce and relationship breakdown
- Learn aboutWhat divorce and relationship breakdown are
- Learn aboutHow much it costs to get divorced
- Learn aboutWhat is required to be able to get divorced
- Learn aboutThe difference for cohabitants and married couples
- Learn aboutHow you work out who owns what
- Learn aboutWhat happens during the separation
- Learn aboutUseful links and tips
Help with relationship breakdown
Going through a divorce or relationship breakdown can be one of the most stressful experiences in life. In addition to emotional challenges, there can be many financial questions to navigate. How should assets be divided? Who should keep the home? How will this affect the children financially?
Even though it can feel overwhelming, it is important to remember that you are not alone. You can get support from friends, family and various support groups, as well as help from financial advisers and lawyers at DNB.
What does it mean
Can I afford to get divorced?
Assessing your financial situation is an important step in the divorce process. You should get an overview of your income, expenses, assets and debts. This can help you understand how you can manage financially on your own and what options you have. You must consider, among other things, the division of assets, the sale and purchase of property, as well as any children and child maintenance.
Division of assets
When you need to examine your options for whether you can afford to get divorced, the division of assets is an important factor.
- Have you agreed on separate property?
- Do you mostly agree on who owns what?
- Or will there be problems leading to the sale and division of money?
Here it is wise to get help from financial advisers and solicitors who can help you with the correct valuation. Draw up a budget and see if you can afford to live alone.
Sale of property
A source of uncertainty for many who separate is what happens if you have to move. For example, it may be that neither party has the means to buy out the other from the property, and that the property therefore has to be put up for sale. In that case, you may be unlucky; perhaps the property has fallen in value, or the housing market is slow.
How much you are left with after a property sale, and whether you can buy a new home for this amount or must find other housing solutions, is something you need to think through. It may be wise to involve an estate agent.
Children and child maintenance
If you have children, it can make the divorce and the process more complex. Securing the children's financial future is important, and you should consider how your own finances will handle sole responsibility for the child – if you have it.
Will you be able to afford and have the means to pay child maintenance? The amount can vary depending on a number of factors, including income, number of children and the child's needs.
Whether child maintenance is an income or expense for you depends on the division of responsibility for the children.
What is required to be able to divorce
There are several steps in a divorce, including applying for separation and divorce, completing separation papers and agreeing on a division of assets agreement. No divorce is the same and what has worked for others may not work for you. It is therefore important to seek legal and financial advisory services to understand your rights and options.
Applying for divorce and separation
The first step when you wish to divorce is to apply for separation with the County Governor. You must be separated for one year before you can apply for divorce. If you have already lived apart for at least two years whilst married, you can apply for divorce immediately. During the year you are separated, you are still considered married to each other.
Separation papers and division of assets agreement
Applying for separation can be done either digitally through the County Governor's website, or by submitting documents. These are legal documents that may contain important information that can affect the divorce and rights to assets and parental rights. Only one party needs to apply for divorce or separation without a signature from the other party, but the process will be faster if the documents are correctly completed and both parties agree.
There is a difference in settlement between cohabitants and married couples
There is a significant difference between cohabitants and spouses when it comes to the legal aspects of a relationship breakdown. A married couple is one legal entity and divorce settlements are regulated by the Marriage Act. Cohabitants are two legal persons and there is no law that specifically regulates the settlement.
Division of assets between spouses and cohabitants
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Divorce between spouses
The Marriage Act states that everything you have built up together whilst you were married is joint property and must be divided. At the same time, it is important to be aware that this does not apply to what you owned on the day you got married. If you had assets or property in your name before you got married, or have received personal gifts or inheritance along the way, this must be excluded from the division (Marriage Act §59). It therefore becomes important to find documentation for this.
With the customer programme at DNB, you have access to discounts and forms from Ally Advokater that will assist in the legal process.
Divorce calculator from Ally Advokater
It can be challenging to know how assets should be divided and what one is entitled to in the distribution of assets in a divorce. Especially when it must be determined whether everything should be shared based on joint property, or whether there are also assets in unequal division and separate property. The financial settlement between the spouses is what we call a division of an estate. The vast majority of spouses manage to agree on a distribution of funds and assets, but if no agreement is reached, a public division of an estate can be requested.
If you have an overview of your own assets, you can use the divorce calculator from Ally Advokater. The divorce calculator is only intended as a guide so that you receive an estimate for calculating the financial settlement in a divorce.
Termination of cohabitation
Cohabitants are regarded as two independent economic and legal individuals. This means that each cohabitant retains their own assets and their own debt. Everything you can document in terms of ownership is an advantage for a clear settlement. Such documentation can be a cohabitation agreement, land registry document for ownership of property, tax returns, purchase contracts, bank statements and more. What cannot be documented should be divided 50/50.
With a customer programme at DNB, you have access to discounts and forms from Ally Advokater that will assist in the legal process.
How to determine who owns what?
The unequal division rule in the Marriage Act §59 means that assets you owned at the time of entering into the marriage are still yours when the marriage ends. Joint property applies to what you have saved, purchased in property or expensive items whilst you were married. Joint property must be divided in two.
To determine what is separate and what is joint, you should obtain the following documentation:
- Tax returns, from the year you married up to and including the present date.
- Annual statements from the bank, on savings accounts, funds, shares and debt, from before you married and what you have now.
- Registration documents or any private agreements that regulate ownership interest in property and cabin or similar.
- Purchase contracts for property or valuable items bought before entering into marriage.
- Deed of gift or inheritance documents that show what you have received personally whilst you were married.
The parties can in principle agree themselves how unequal division shall take place, but both can demand it when a decree for separation or divorce has been granted. The parties can also demand division if they have agreed in a marriage settlement that the division shall take place, and how.
A small reminder: If you have children, avoiding conflict can have far greater value than the last penny.
How to divide the property value?
The vast majority of people in Norway own joint property, and it is often regarding the division here that disagreements arise. If you have a joint home equity credit line (HELOC), you must request to have the facility blocked so that the co-borrower cannot draw from the credit line, which would increase the debt on the property. This can affect the division process.
If you agree to sell, it is easiest; the market will determine the value and you divide the profit according to ownership share. If one party wishes to buy out the other, however, you must agree on the value. The simplest way is to have an estate agent carry out a valuation, or obtain two different valuations and use the average.
Once the value is established, the new ownership arrangement must be registered with the Norwegian Mapping Authority. In the case of separation, you are exempt from paying stamp duty. Regarding the mortgage, you must contact an adviser at the bank to transfer it to the correct person.
If you cannot agree on who is to take over the property, either of you can demand that the property be sold. You can contact The Enforcement Authority and demand a sale under the rules on forced sale.
What happens during the separation
The separation and divorce can be a difficult process to go through. You must first be separated for one year, after which, if you have not changed your minds during that year, you are allowed to proceed to apply for divorce. There is much to consider here to ensure the divorce is legally valid.
Can you live together?
During the separation, for a minimum of one year, you cannot live together. There are quite strict rules on what is considered living separately. Therefore, it is wise to have the documents in place so that you have decided what will happen to the property and who will potentially live there.
You can either rent, stay with friends and family, or apply for a mortgage to find a new home.
Divide the finances and start saving
During the separation, you should preferably have separate finances, where you have divided up the value of the assets. If one of the spouses has consumer debt, the main rule is that this should not affect the other, provided the spouse has not been party to the agreement. Ordinary assets are divided equally (assets – debt) and the spouses can here deduct the debt that falls to themselves.
If you are alone, it will be wise to start saving for the future, build a buffer and equity.
Which insurance policies do you have and might you need?
It may be that you were included under or had joint insurance policies with your spouse, which you may no longer have. It is therefore wise to review your insurance policies and take out the insurance you need. Both life insurance and non-life insurance are among the important policies to familiarise yourself with.