The seven most common reasons for legal dispute after divorce

Recent data on divorce in Spain have surprised us by its downward trend for the first time in the last seventeen years. The 21,000 divorces registered in 2018 represent a record at the minimum since 2001, but we should not rush to celebrate love. The data would correspond, according to the General Council of the Judiciary, with the parallel decrease in the number of marriages.

A fewer weddings, fewer divorces, but, eye, no less claims post divorce sentence. Couples who get to say goodbye through a judge They return to the law firms and to the courts with the aim of modifying measures included in the judgment, or in order to enforce them. They or they, explains the lawyer of family and director of Garea Lawyers, Alejandra García, go in like manner, have or not the custody of the children. Among the reasons, these are the most common:

one. Not paying alimony, an issue that is mandatory, regardless of the circumstances that seek to justify it: neither the lack of economic resources, nor that the non-payment is raised as compensation for debts between both parents. Much less, that occurs in retaliation for preventing visits to children. You should never stop paying the pension, since, in the best of cases, this breach will result in a judgment execution, increasing the debt with the interest and costs that are generated. In the worst case scenario, warns the lawyer, may lead to criminal proceedings for non-payment of pensions, with the resulting conviction and criminal record.

2. Also in economic key, a source of legal problems is the failure to update the pension with the IPC or with the updating system included in the judgment. The IPC is a public index, which can be known by anyone. Therefore, the update is mandatory due to the fact that the necessary data are available to the party. What happens if it is not carried out? The same as in the previous section, from the increase in debt and interest to criminal conviction.

3. Stop paying the mortgage, a bad decision that affects both parties, as the non-payment of this charge can result in the bank executing the mortgage and start a process in which it will not claim unpaid installments, but the entire mortgage, plus interest and costs. So, it is preferable to try to reach agreements between the parties and even with the bank in order to avoid greater damages.

4. Also in relation to housing, and after the Supreme Court ruling on the use of the family home for the divorced with children, from Garea Abogados remember that who lives in the conjugal home with the children can not put in it his new sentimental partner. If you do, you can stay on the street, in case the assets of the couple are in the regime of acquisitions.

5. Another important error: make decisions that affect parental authority unilaterally. It is very common for the custodian parent, taking refuge in that custody, to make decisions about the minors without counting the other, for example, choosing the daycare center or the school, moving the minor residence, enrolling him in catechesis ... These are relevant issues to treat in the bosom of the couple. In case of disagreement, the Judge will determine who grants the power to decide.

6 Prevent visiting regime: The fundamental thing in the processes that regulate the rupture is the protection of the minors and the parents should not ignore that the right of visits is of the children, not of the parents. Therefore, a repeated breach of the visitation regime caused by the custodial parent can even lead to a change of custody.

7 Not to inform the obliged parent to pay the pension that the children of legal age are working. This circumstance implies that they no longer have to contribute financially, so, according to recent judgments can be understood as an unjust enrichment and even as an abuse of law, and result in the refund of the amount unduly received, plus interest and costs corresponding.

They are not the only reasons for conflict, but they are the most common and those that end up affecting the children and the coexistence they have with their parents, whether or not they have custody. To avoid irreversible situations, it is best to go to the experts in family law and also to a new figure, that of the mediator. It is an impartial and neutral professional to which the parties can go to improve communication between them and reach consensual agreements. There are numerous organizations and associations throughout Spain that have this service, according to Garea Abogados.