Cross-border cases
BGH · Az. XII ZB 276/25 · decision of 20.05.2026
Full text (official database, German) ↗
Divorce proceedings already pending abroad – can I still file in Germany?
The wife had commenced divorce proceedings in Switzerland; the husband subsequently filed his own divorce petition (Scheidungsantrag) in Germany. The Bundesgerichtshof addresses the question of the conditions under which the German petition is admissible despite the earlier foreign proceedings – and how international jurisdiction under the EU Regulation and the pending status of proceedings in a non-EU state affect the German case. In the case decided, the German petition remained inadmissible because of the Swiss proceedings commenced earlier.
Practical note: For couples with a cross-border element, procedural strategy often determines the place, the duration and the applicable law. Couples who are in agreement should not let this ‘race to file’ arise in the first place – a coordinated petition saves time and costs.
Inheritance law & divorce
BGH · Az. IV ZB 7/25 · decision of 13.05.2026
Full text (official database, German) ↗
Divorce petition filed, proceedings stayed – is the spouse’s right of inheritance lost anyway?
If a spouse dies after having petitioned for divorce, the surviving partner may lose their statutory right of inheritance where the requirements for the divorce were met. The Bundesgerichtshof examines what applies if the divorce proceedings have been stayed in the meantime – does the exclusion of the right of inheritance remain, or does that right revive?
Practical note: A divorce petition has far-reaching side effects under inheritance law – in both directions. Anyone filing for divorce should at the same time adjust their will, powers of attorney (Vollmachten) and beneficiary designations (life insurance!). We point this out expressly to our clients when the petition is filed.
Procedure
BGH · Az. XII ZB 647/24 · decision of 01.04.2026
Full text (official database, German) ↗
Divorce despite court-appointed guardianship: who files the petition and who approves it?
Where a court-appointed legal guardian (Betreuer) has been appointed for a spouse, the question arises how a divorce petition is validly filed and whether any approval required for it may also be given tacitly. The Bundesgerichtshof sets out in more detail the requirements for representation by a guardian in divorce proceedings.
Practical note: A divorce is possible even in cases of illness or court-appointed guardianship – what matters is procedurally sound representation from the outset. Such situations call for legal representation, but they are no obstacle to uncontested proceedings.
Maintenance
OLG Bamberg · Az. 2 UF 231/25 e · decision of 02.07.2026
Full text (official database, German) ↗
When the pension rights adjustment reduces the pension: is maintenance payable?
The pension rights adjustment reduces the pension of the spouse who has to transfer entitlements. The OLG Bamberg deals with a case in which precisely this gives rise to financial need after the divorce – and clarifies the interplay between old-age maintenance, hardship clauses and the options for adjustment provided by the law on pension rights adjustment.
Practical note: Pension rights adjustment and maintenance mesh like cogwheels. Before an uncontested divorce it is worth doing the overall calculation: sometimes an agreement on the pension rights adjustment, recorded in the form prescribed by German law, is more favourable for both spouses than the statutory division.
Separation & the home
OLG Karlsruhe · Az. 5 UF 181/25 · decision of 17.03.2026
Full text (official database, German) ↗
One spouse stays in the matrimonial home: do they have to pay the other ‘rent’?
If one spouse moves out after the separation and the other remains alone in the shared flat or in the shared house, the spouse who has moved out may claim a payment for use (Nutzungsvergütung). The OLG Karlsruhe sets out in more detail the requirements for this claim during the period of separation and its relationship to maintenance claims.
Practical note: The home, the mortgage and the payment for use are classic sources of later dispute – and can be settled in a few sentences in an agreed arrangement. That is why our form asks expressly about the housing situation.
Household contents
OLG Nürnberg · Az. 11 UF 940/25 · decision of 14.04.2026
Full text (official database, German) ↗
Who owns the car after the separation?
The OLG Nürnberg deals with two perennial questions: when is a car a ‘household item’ that is allocated under special rules on separation – and when has ownership of a vehicle actually been validly transferred between spouses? The classification determines who may keep the car and who has to hand over what.
Practical note: Family cars are a bone of contention more often than bank accounts. In an uncontested divorce, the allocation of the vehicles (ownership, finance, insurance) belongs expressly in the agreement – one sentence is enough.
Legal aid for court costs
OLG Karlsruhe · Az. 2 UF 8/23 · decision of 17.04.2026
Full text (official database, German) ↗
Legal aid for court costs: is the child expected to contribute to the housing costs?
When assessing whether someone is in need within the meaning of legal aid for court costs (Verfahrenskostenhilfe), housing costs count among the deductible outgoings. The OLG Karlsruhe holds that a child living in the household who receives maintenance of their own may, in certain circumstances, have to bear a proportionate share of the housing costs – with direct consequences for the legal aid calculation (VKH).
Practical note: Whether legal aid for court costs is granted turns on exactly such items of the calculation. Anyone on a low income should have the application prepared professionally – in our online form, a single tick is enough.
Pension rights adjustment
OLG Hamm · Az. II-13 UF 149/25 · decision of 24.03.2026
Full text (official database, German) ↗
Small pension entitlements: when does the court dispense with the adjustment?
Not every pension entitlement is adjusted on divorce: where the values to be transferred are small and the entitlements are of the same kind, the court may refrain from making the adjustment (de minimis review, Bagatellprüfung). The OLG Hamm specifies when this de minimis rule is available and how pension providers are protected in procedural terms.
Practical note: The de minimis threshold can noticeably streamline the proceedings. In every divorce we examine which entitlements are relevant to the adjustment at all – this also affects the case value (Verfahrenswert) and the costs.
Procedure
OLG Karlsruhe · Az. 18 WF 9/26 · decision of 12.03.2026
Consolidated divorce proceedings: what does the court decide at the same time?
If certain ancillary matters are brought before the court in good time, they are consolidated with the divorce case by operation of law (Verbund) – no separate application for ‘inclusion’ is required. The OLG Karlsruhe follows the line taken by the Bundesgerichtshof and provides clarity as to which matters the family court decides together with the divorce.
Practical note: Consolidation bundles everything into one hearing and one decision (Beschluss). In an uncontested divorce it remains pleasantly slim: as a rule, only the pension rights adjustment runs alongside the divorce itself.
Separation
OLG Stuttgart · Az. 17 UF 120/25 · decision of 06.05.2026
Full text (official database, German) ↗
Harsh allegations during proceedings: can you silence your ex-partner?
If a separated spouse makes damaging statements about the other in court proceedings or in a criminal complaint, then according to the OLG Stuttgart there is – apart from particular exceptional cases – no claim to an injunction: statements made in the context of proceedings are privileged, so that court proceedings are not blocked by parallel litigation about those statements.
Practical note: Mudslinging before the courts can hardly be ‘prohibited’ by legal means – it can only be avoided. That is precisely the point of an uncontested divorce: it denies the conflict a stage.
The summaries are simplified for editorial purposes and do not replace legal advice in an individual case. The full texts are published by the courts in German only.
