divorce
noun · Scheidung
Scheidung translates divorce, but German divorce runs on one ground only, the Zerrüttung of § 1565 BGB, and it almost always demands a year of living apart first, the Trennungsjahr, after which breakdown is irrebuttably presumed, § 1566 BGB. There is no fault and no fast route, and the pension consequences are decided in the same proceeding.
Which translation, when
Why
English divorce since the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020 is a no-fault process that can conclude within months. German divorce reaches a similar no-fault position by a different route and on a slower clock. There is a single ground, the marriage must have broken down, § 1565 BGB, and breakdown is normally shown through separation, the court irrebuttably presumes it once the spouses have lived apart for a year and both want the divorce, or for three years if one resists, § 1566 BGB. Living apart can happen inside the shared flat, but the Trennungsjahr is rarely avoidable, only an unzumutbare Härte arising from the other spouse permits an earlier decree, § 1565 II BGB. And German divorce does not stand alone, the Scheidungsverbund ties the pension equalisation, and on request the property and maintenance, into the same proceeding, so a translated divorce carries more freight than the English decree that ends the marriage and leaves the money to a separate track.
Typical mistakes
- German divorce has one ground only, the Zerrüttung of § 1565 BGB, so an English pleading built on a specific fact or on fault does not translate, there is nothing to allege but breakdown.
- The Trennungsjahr is the norm, not a formality, § 1566 BGB presumes breakdown after a year apart, and an earlier decree needs an unzumutbare Härte in the other spouse, § 1565 II BGB, so promising a client a quick German divorce is usually wrong.
- German divorce is not a clean break on money, the Scheidungsverbund pulls the pension equalisation into the same decree, so treating Scheidung as the English decree that leaves finances to a later application understates what is being decided.
What matters
A cross-border couple asking how fast a German divorce can go, the English decree in mind: Scheidung is the right word, but the reader must see the Trennungsjahr of § 1566 BGB and the single Zerrüttung ground, § 1565 BGB, because the German court will not divorce on fault and will rarely divorce inside a year.
What the machine misses
Divorce is rendered Scheidung dependably, and the word fits, but the output cannot show that German law grants it on one ground only, the Zerrüttung of § 1565 BGB, and normally only after the Trennungsjahr of § 1566 BGB. The English reader assumes a fault-based or fast administrative divorce and misses that the German decree comes on a slower, separation-based clock and pulls the pension equalisation into the same proceeding.
Examples
| to file for divorce | die Scheidung einreichen |
| the divorce petition | der Scheidungsantrag |
| the final decree | der Scheidungsbeschluss |