KÜHEYLAN HUKUK
Contested Divorce Lawsuit: Process, Grounds for Divorce and Duration Analysis Comprehensive Guide within the Framework of Articles 161-166 of the Turkish Civil Code and the Code of Civil Procedure. This guide has been updated as of 2026 based on the Turkish Civil Code and the established jurisprudence of the Court of Cassation.
Summary A contested divorce lawsuit is a type of lawsuit where spouses cannot agree on the decision to end the marriage or on secondary issues such as custody, alimony, and division of property, and the court independently investigates the claims. For a divorce decision to be rendered, at least one of the grounds listed in the law must be proven with concrete evidence. The lawsuit proceeds through five procedural stages: exchange of petitions, preliminary examination, investigation, oral hearing, and decision; the first instance process takes an average of 18-36 months, and finalization, including appeal and cassation, can take 4-5 years.
Almost all individuals initiating a contested divorce lawsuit first ask about the duration. However, the court's caseload is not the only factor determining the duration; the grounds for divorce, the nature of the evidence, and the attention paid to procedural rules also directly affect the course of the process. A single request omitted in a petition can lead to an irretrievable loss of rights months later.
This guide addresses the legal basis of contested divorce, the grounds for divorce listed in the law, the five stages of the lawsuit, factors that prolong the duration, and the most common procedural errors encountered in practice.
What is a Contested Divorce Lawsuit?
A contested divorce lawsuit is filed when spouses cannot agree on the decision to end the marriage or on financial and legal consequences dependent on divorce, such as custody, alimony, and property division. Unlike an uncontested divorce, there is a conflict of interest between the parties here, and the court independently investigates the veracity of the claims.
The court's duty is not limited to deciding whether the marriage will end. Custody arrangements, ensuring the best interests of the children, determining the amount of alimony according to the social and economic status of the parties, and fairly distributing fault in the breakdown of the marital union are also decided within the same proceedings.
Grounds for Divorce: What Conditions Are Sought?
The Turkish Civil Code divides grounds for divorce into general and specific grounds. These grounds are also classified as absolute and relative grounds. In absolute grounds, proving the action alone is sufficient for a divorce decision; in relative grounds, in addition to the action, it is also investigated whether common life has become unbearable for the other spouse.
General Grounds for Divorce The first and second paragraphs of Article 166 of the Turkish Civil Code regulate the breakdown of the marital union. This is the article with the broadest application area in the law: the collapse of the intellectual, spiritual, and physical foundations of the marital relationship, and the disappearance of the minimum bond of respect and affection between the parties. Persistent insults, tendencies to physical violence, serious injustices against the spouse's family, intentionally causing economic hardship to the family, and actions that undermine trust are the main elements of this article.
The fourth paragraph of the same article regulates a separate possibility: if a divorce lawsuit filed for any reason is rejected and three years pass from the finalization of the decision, and common life has not been re-established, the marital union is deemed to have broken down fundamentally, and divorce is directly decreed upon the request of one of the spouses. This is an absolute ground.
Specific Grounds for Divorce Adultery (Turkish Civil Code art.161): One of the spouses engaging in sexual intercourse with a third person with consent while the marriage persists. This is an absolute ground; it is subject to forfeiture periods of 6 months from discovery and 5 years from the act. Hotel records, bank statements, photographs, and messages are the most common means of proof. Attempted murder, severe ill-treatment, or disgraceful conduct (art.162): Attacks on the spouse's right to life, acts of torture and severe beating, or serious attacks targeting a person's honor and dignity are evaluated within this scope. Committing a crime and leading a dishonorable life (art.163): Committing a humiliating crime that damages the other spouse's position in society or persistently leading a dishonorable lifestyle such as gambling addiction or prostitution. Desertion (art.164): Filed against a spouse who leaves the common residence or does not return without a justifiable reason to avoid fulfilling marital obligations. The separation must have lasted at least 6 months, and a proper warning to return must have been issued through the court or notary. Mental illness (art.165): One of the spouses suffering from a mental illness, confirmed by an official health board report as incurable, and this condition making common life unbearable for the other spouse. This is a relative ground; the condition of unbearableness is absolutely required.
In accordance with the Code of Civil Procedure, contested divorce proceedings consist of five consecutive stages. A procedural error or a missed deadline in these stages can completely change the course of the lawsuit.
1. Pleadings From the notification of the petition to the defendant, a 2-week response period begins. The plaintiff submits a reply (rejoinder), and the defendant submits a second reply (surrejoinder) petition. Evidence not submitted at this stage cannot be added to the file later.
2. Preliminary Examination The judge rules on the conditions of the lawsuit and initial objections, and records the subjects of dispute. The parties are given a final period of 2 weeks to submit their evidence.
3. Investigation This is the longest stage, where the merits of the case are entered. Witnesses are heard, the social and economic status of the parties is investigated through law enforcement, and expert reports from pedagogues and psychologists are obtained if custody is involved.
4. Oral Hearing After the investigation is completed, the parties are asked for their final statements on the merits; lawyers summarize the evidence in the file.
5. Judgment and Decision After the brief decision, a reasoned decision is written within 1 month. An appeal to the Regional Court of Justice can be filed within 2 weeks from the notification.
The process can be evaluated in three stages. The first instance stage, meaning the process in the family court, takes an average of 18 to 36 months; in courthouses in metropolitan areas, this period approaches the upper limit due to workload. The intensity of appointments for experts such as pedagogues, psychologists, and social workers, and the report preparation times, can cause hearing intervals to extend up to 4-6 months; witnesses not being present on the hearing day is another factor that prolongs the process.
If an appeal is filed against the family court's decision, the file is sent to the Regional Court of Justice, and the review takes an average of 12-18 months. If the cassation route is open against the decision of the Regional Court of Justice, the Supreme Court's review requires approximately another 10-14 months. In total, the finalization period can take 4-5 years.
Case Summary Plaintiff Ms. Canan and defendant Mr. Murat have been married for 8 years and have two children aged 5 and 7 from this marriage. The marital union has broken down due to Mr. Murat's use of derogatory expressions towards his wife during the marriage, his refusal to cover the expenses of the common residence, and his constant communication with another woman. Ms. Canan has filed a contested divorce lawsuit demanding custody of the children, alimony, and material and non-material damages.
Trial and Proof Process After the preliminary examination stage, the court proceeded to investigation; Mr. Murat's wrongful actions were proven with hotel accommodation records, GSM call detail reports, and witness statements presented by Ms. Canan. The social and economic status report determined that Mr. Murat was in a high-income group, while Ms. Canan did not have a regular income.
Legal Judgment At the end of the 26-month trial, the court ruled for the divorce of the parties in accordance with the first paragraph of Article 166 of the Turkish Civil Code, granted custody of the children to the mother, awarded child support for the children and poverty alimony for Ms. Canan; and ordered Mr. Murat to pay 400,000 TL in material and non-material damages due to his full culpability.
Can a contested lawsuit later turn into an uncontested one? Yes. At any stage of the proceedings, even before a judgment is rendered and the file goes to appeal, the parties can come together and sign an uncontested divorce protocol. In this case, the court can bring forward the hearing date, hear the parties, and conclude the case in a single session; this saves significant time.
When do temporary alimony and custody measures come into play? Pursuant to Article 169 of the Turkish Civil Code, upon the filing of a lawsuit, the judge automatically takes necessary temporary measures regarding the housing, subsistence, management of property, and care of children of the spouses during the continuation of the lawsuit. In this context, provisional custody and provisional alimony are decided at the beginning of the lawsuit and applied until the case is concluded.
How are wedding gifts (jewelry) evaluated in a contested case? According to the established jurisprudence of the General Assembly of the Court of Cassation, wedding jewelry, regardless of its type and who it was given to, is considered the personal property of the woman unless there is a contrary custom or written agreement. If the male spouse claims that the jewelry should remain with him, he is obliged to prove this.
Prohibition of expanding the claim: It is procedurally prohibited to rely on a fact not explicitly stated during the exchange of petitions stage, even if new evidence is found during the investigation stage. Use of illegal evidence: Hidden cameras placed without the spouse's consent or phone records obtained with spyware are not accepted as evidence by the court; there is a risk of a criminal case being filed against the party submitting such evidence for violating privacy.
Contested divorce lawsuits are subject to strict rules in terms of both substantive law and procedural law. The correct choice of divorce grounds, the complete assertion of all claims at the petition stage, and the legal collection of evidence directly determine the duration and outcome of the process.
Important Legal Notice: The legal explanations and example scenarios contained in this guide have been prepared by Küheylan Law Firm for general informational purposes and do not constitute legal advice. Every family structure and legal dispute is subject to its own unique procedural rules; it is recommended that the process be conducted with the support of a lawyer to prevent possible loss of rights. © 2026 Küheylan Law Firm. All Rights Reserved.
Author: Atty. Mert Deniz Küheylan Küheylan Law Firm — Burhaniye Mh. Neşetbey Sk. No:12/5 Kat:5 Daire:3 Üsküdar/İstanbul — info@kuheylan.av.tr — kuheylanhukuk.com
KÜHEYLAN HUKUK