I cordially invite you to read on.
Divorce of spouses with property abroad
The most desirable situation is one in which the spouses themselves come to an agreement on how assets will be divided. However, as you can guess, divorces are governed by their own laws and people's emotions prevail over reason. The most common problem for spouses seeking divorce is a disagreement about the accumulated joint assets. In such a case, this issue should be decided by the court in the divorce judgment.
In cases with an international aspect, the division of assets may be further complicated. This is because there are no clear rules as to which jurisdiction (the law of which country) should apply in the case of the division of property of spouses (with Polish citizenship) that is located outside Poland.
Example
A married couple from Poland settled permanently in England, where they also bought a property together during their marriage. After several years of living together, a situation arose that is described in a similar way in almost every divorce petition: Although the marriage was going well from the very beginning, things started to go wrong over time. Quarrels and arguments began, which in turn led to the permanent and complete breakdown of the marriage.
This is how the divorce came about, in the course of which the accumulated joint property of the spouses had to be divided. This included property in the United Kingdom. A problem - or rather a doubt - arose in this connection: which country's law would be applicable to resolve this issue?
Division of property of spouses abroad - case law
The jurisprudence of Polish courts on many doubtful issues is invaluable for people who are "stuck" in a kind of no-win situation. It is precisely the same with the division of property between spouses when their joint property is located abroad.
It can be expected that the number of similar cases will increase. Therefore, it is already worth shaping a uniform jurisprudence and approach of the courts to this issue. It may be concluded that the Regional Court in Krakow was of a similar opinion. It doubted whether the Polish court had jurisdiction in the case described above. It therefore referred the following question to the Supreme Court:
In the current state of the law, in proceedings for the division of joint property between participants who are Polish nationals, do Polish courts have domestic jurisdiction to rule on property situated in the United Kingdom?
Unfortunately, to the detriment of the parties, the Supreme Court decided to refuse to reach a resolution on this issue.
Is there any solution that can speed up the division of the joint property of spouses located outside Poland?
A way out of the situation presented in the above example could be a partial division of the joint property of the spouses. However, this would require the willingness and agreement of the former spouses (and, above all, the working out of a solution acceptable to each of the parties). In case of any conflicts that may arise in this field, it is worth considering the use of the institution of mediation, which I have discussed in detail in this article: Mediation before divorce.
It is also worth mentioning at this point that neither EU law nor any agreement between Poland and the UK addresses the issue of division of assets of spouses located outside their home country. On the other hand, as regards the jurisprudence of the Polish courts - which is often invaluable in this type of cases - they present very divergent positions. With this in mind, another way out of such a situation can be identified. Namely, for the spouses to determine or choose the competent jurisdiction to distribute their joint property. Such a solution may prove to be crucial in order to adequately safeguard the interests of each spouse.
Attention!
The UK's exit from the European Union as part of the so-called Brexit does not affect the determination of the courts' jurisdiction (national jurisdiction) in cases of division of joint property. You can read more about this in this article: Brexit and family matters.
