Marriage and family

Who is this service for?

This service is for individuals who need to resolve matters of divorce, child custody, maintenance or property division, including matters with a foreign element.

• Spouses who wish to divorce but are unsure whether to proceed by mutual consent or at the request of one party, and at which court to file.
• People who wish to divorce where the other party does not agree, does not cooperate or has committed domestic violence.
• Parents who need to resolve direct custody of the children, maintenance and visitation, on divorce or when circumstances change after divorce.
• Spouses who need to identify joint property, separate property and joint debts and to divide property, on divorce or during the marriage.
• People about to marry who need advice on an agreement on the matrimonial property regime.
• People whose spouse is a foreign national or is living abroad, or who have documents or property abroad.
• People who already have a judgment or decision, but the other party does not carry out the parts concerning child custody, maintenance or property division.

What types of matters do we handle?

We advise you and protect your interests from the preparation of the case file, through mediation and trial, to the enforcement of the parts concerning child custody, maintenance and property. Common types of matters on which we provide advice and protect clients’ interests:

• Divorce by mutual consent, where the agreement on children, property and debts needs to be reviewed before the court is asked to recognise it.
• Divorce at the request of one party where the other party does not agree or does not cooperate, including where there is domestic violence.
• Disputes over direct custody of children, the amount of maintenance and visitation; requests to change the parent with direct custody or the amount of maintenance where there are grounds.
• Division of joint property and joint debts and identification of separate property, on divorce, during the marriage or in a separate case after divorce.
• Agreements dividing joint property during the marriage and agreements on the matrimonial property regime before marriage.
• Divorce with a foreign element, where one party is a foreign national, is living abroad or has documents or property abroad.
• Judgments or decisions that have taken legal effect but where the other party does not voluntarily carry out the parts concerning child custody, maintenance or property.

The descriptions above are general types of matters intended to give you a sense of the scope of our support; they are not specific matters we have handled.

What stages does our work follow?

The work is divided into five stages; you can start with us at any stage, even after a judgment or decision has been issued.

1. Intake and assessmentChecking for conflicts of interest; hearing your account of the marriage, where each spouse lives, the children of the marriage, property, debts and what you are seeking; assessing from the outset the time limits to bear in mind; giving an initial opinion and a proposed approach (by mutual consent or at the request of one party), and a written quotation.
2. Preparing the case fileIdentifying the competent Regional People’s Court; preparing a schedule classifying property and joint debts; estimating court fees and charges; drafting the petition for recognition of a divorce by mutual consent or the statement of claim, and the draft agreement on children, property and debts; for matters with a foreign element, advising on the applicable law, Apostille certification or consular legalisation of documents issued abroad, and translations; working through interpreters when you or other persons involved do not use Vietnamese.
3. Filing and mediationExplaining how to file in person, by post or online; reminding you of the deadlines for paying court charges and the court fee advance; drafting personal statements and a settlement proposal, and preparing you to attend mediation or conciliation sessions and court sessions; drafting a request for the court to apply interim measures where there are grounds, for example where there are signs that joint property is being dissipated.
4. TrialAttending the hearing with you as the person protecting your lawful rights and interests; drafting written arguments; advising on appeal and on the appeal deadline once the judgment is issued.
5. After the judgment or decisionChecking the parts of the judgment or decision concerning children, maintenance and property; drafting the request for judgment enforcement; advising on choosing between a civil judgment enforcement agency and a civil judgment enforcement office; filing complaints concerning enforcement where necessary; advising on registration of changes and title transfers for property after division; returning original documents.

What documents should you prepare?

When you first contact us, a brief summary of your request is all we need. After checking for conflicts of interest, the Firm will let you know which documents to provide; copies are sufficient for a preliminary assessment. Documents commonly used to assess a matter include:

• The marriage certificate or an extract of the marriage record.
• Your identity card or passport; information on the current place of residence and workplace of both spouses.
• Your children’s birth certificates; information on who is currently caring for the children directly.
• Documents on your income, accommodation and ability to care for the children.
• Property documents showing the origin, the time of acquisition and the registered owner; loan and mortgage contracts; documents on property received individually as a gift or by inheritance.
• The agreement on children, property and debts, if the two of you have reached one; documents on domestic violence or on breaches of marital obligations, if any.
• For matters with a foreign element: passports, addresses abroad and documents issued abroad; the Firm will advise on Apostille certification or consular legalisation where needed.
• Judgments, decisions and enforcement documents, if any.

Who does the work?

• Lawyer in charge of this service group: Lawyer Nguyễn Duy Linh, Director. Criminal, civil and commercial litigation; debt recovery.
• Also involved: Nguyễn Đức Kiên, Deputy Director.

Related

• Marriage and family
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