What are rights of a woman in a divorce lawsuit in Turkey? How can a woman exercise her rights in a divorce case?

What are the Rights of a Woman in a Divorce Lawsuit?

A woman can claim the following rights in the divorce lawsuit:

  • Material and moral compensation
  • Alimony (precautionary alimony and poverty alimony)
  • Claims arising from property division
  • Family residence annotation
  • Free lawyer (legal aid rights)
  • Protection order
  • Custody of the child
  • Visitation times with the child
  • Continue living in the mutual house until the end of the lawsuit
  • Right to claim personal belongings and jewelry

Material Compensation in Divorce Lawsuits

Material compensation is one of the financial consequences of divorce (TCC 174). In a divorce lawsuit, the woman may assert her right to material compensation or may exercise this right after the divorce.

The woman seeking compensation must be free of fault or less faulted than her husband. Also, the man must be at fault, the woman must have suffered a damage, and there must be a relationship between the damage and the man’s fault.

Moral Compensation in Divorce Lawsuits

Pursuant to Article 174 of the TCC, women whose personal rights are attacked have the right to claim moral compensation. For this, the divorce should arise fr due to the fault of the husband.

The right to moral compensation is not a means of enrichment for one party and impoverishment for the other party. The main purpose of the moral compensation is to relieve the anger and sadness due to the events that caused the divorce.

Finally, the woman must have no fault or less fault than her husband, the man must be at fault, a damage must have occurred, there must be a causal link between the damage and the man’s faulty behavior.

Women’s Alimony Rights in Divorce Lawsuits

Women are entitled to precautionary alimony until the divorce is finalized. There is no need for the woman’s request to exercise her right to preventive alimony. The judge takes temporary measures ex officio. Here, fault in the divorce is not relevant for temporary injunction alimony.

Precautionary alimony may continue after the divorce if requested as poverty alimony. For this, a request must be made with the court at the beginning of the proceedings. Poverty alimony is granted indefinitely. The right to poverty alimony is determined according to the fault rate of the parties.

Women’s Rights from Division of Marriage Assets

The assets acquired by each spouse during the marriage is divided between the spouses at the end of the marriage. Therefore women are entitled to receive half of the property acquired during the marriage.

Right to Register a Family Residence Annotation

Family residence may be under one spouse’s name. It may also be a rental house where the rental contract is signed by only one of the spouses. In these cases, women have the right to request a family residence annotation to be registered in the title deed. With this annotation, the lease agreement cannot be terminated and the transfer the ownership of the family residence is not allowed without the singature of both spouses.

Right to Request a Protection Order (Law No. 6284)

Women may ask for protective measures in the Law No. 6284 on the Protection of the Family and Prevention of Violence against Women. Protective measures include suspension of the husband from the family residence, not engaging in insulting words and behaviors, restaining order for the woman’s workplace, school, etc.

Women’s Right to Custody

While deciding for custody, the court seeks the best interest of the child. The judge examines;

  • economic situation,
  • lifestyles,
  • habits,
  • healths,
  • criminal records,
  • attitudes and behaviors in the marriage,
  • the demands of the children provided that they have sufficient cognitive power, etc.

The age of the child is important when deciding on custody. The court tends to give the custody to the mother unless there is an important reason not to do so.

Custody is given to the father where;

  • the mother is mentally ill,
  • the parties agree on custody,
  • the mother prevents the child from having a personal relationship with the father,
  • or if the child is above 8 years old and declares his wish to continue living with the father.

Women’s Child Visitation Rights

Articles 323-324 of the TCC regulates personal relationship with the child. Accordingly, the parent who does not have the custody has the right to request visitation to be scheduled with the child.

The judge considers the child’s education, upbringing, child’s peace of mind, child care, etc while setting the schedule. The visitation times would normally be every 2 weeks on the weekends.

Right to Stay in the Family Residence While the Divorce Proceedings are Pending

The wife has the right to request the court to allocate the common residence to her during the divorce proceedings. Judge allows this regardless of the ownership of the house or fault of the parties.

Women’s Right to her Personal Belongings

If the woman leaves the house without taking her personal belongings, the court sets a date for the woman to take these items from the house.

Women’s Right to Gold and Jewelry in Divorce Cases

In principle, the gold and jewelry gifted in the wedding belong to the woman. Therefore, the husband cannot claim any rights on these goods.

How Can Women Exercise Their Rights in a Divorce Case?

It is very important for the woman to claim her rights in the divorce case. The judge cannot ex officio grant most of the rights without the demand of the parties. It is necessary to demand all rights and ensure to support with appropriate evidences.