Separation and divorce in Italy: procedures and timescales

“How long will it take?” is almost always the first question. The answer depends above all on one thing: whether the spouses can reach an agreement.

In Italy, divorce is normally preceded by a legal separation. Here is how the two steps work.

Separation by agreement or contested

A separation by agreement (consensuale) requires agreement on all terms: custody and residence of the children, maintenance, use of the family home. The court checks that the agreement protects the children and approves it. It is the fastest and least expensive route.

A contested separation (giudiziale) begins when there is no agreement. The judge decides the disputed issues after hearing the parties and, if necessary, ordering enquiries. It takes longer and the outcome is less predictable.

An agreement can be reached at any point during contested proceedings, and many end that way.

Alternatives to court

In some cases you can separate, and later divorce, without going before a judge:

• through assisted negotiation (negoziazione assistita, Article 6 of Decree-Law 132/2014): each spouse has their own lawyer, and the agreement is sent to the public prosecutor for approval and then to the civil registrar;
• through an agreement before the mayor (Article 12 of the same decree), only where there are no minor, dependent or disabled children and no transfers of property.

When you can divorce

Divorce is not automatic: it must be applied for. Since Law No 55 of 2015 (the “quick divorce” law), it requires:

• six months from the spouses’ first appearance before the court, if the separation was by agreement;
• twelve months if the separation was contested.

The Cartabia reform: separation and divorce together

Since 2023, the civil procedure reform (Legislative Decree 149/2022) has introduced a single procedure for family cases and allows the separation and divorce petitions to be filed in the same application. Divorce can only be granted once the statutory periods have passed, but there is no need to start a second case from scratch.

Children come first

Whatever route you take, decisions about children follow their best interests:

• shared custody is the rule; sole custody is a reasoned exception;
• the judge sets the children’s residence and the time spent with each parent;
• child maintenance reflects the children’s needs, their standard of living and both parents’ resources.

Spousal maintenance and post-divorce support

These are two different things. Maintenance during separation tends to rebalance the spouses’ positions. Post-divorce support (assegno divorzile), according to the Italian Supreme Court’s Joint Chambers (judgment No 18287/2018), has a welfare function but also a compensatory one: it takes account of each spouse’s contribution to family life and to building up joint assets.

When one spouse is foreign or lives abroad

If the family has ties with more than one country, the first step is to establish which court has jurisdiction and which law applies. Within the EU, common rules apply, such as Regulation (EU) 2019/1111. Checking this at the outset avoids starting in the wrong place.

Read more: family law, including proceedings in Florence and for families living in Brussels or Munich.

Avv. Ada Alia

A member of the Pistoia Bar since 2020, she handles criminal, family, immigration and personal injury matters. She meets clients in Italian, English and Albanian.

Read the profile