Top 3 reasons to Divorce in Monaco

The Principality of Monaco is the second smallest country worldwide (after Vatican City) and its population is around 37,900 people. Even if Monaco does not have the typical wedding tourism, its location provides exclusivity for the precious moment. Yet, Principality of Monaco also offers a very unique approach for married couples when it comes to the question of divorce.

Statistically speaking there are three times more marriage ceremonies than divorces in Monaco; however, the Principality has approximately 60-90 divorce cases each year. Due to the wealth of the residents, some of those divorces are truly high-profile cases with world-wide media attention.

In the past years Monaco Wealth Management, which brings transparency to the residents and business actors of the Principality of Monaco, had been approached countless time regarding this topic. Major media outlets such as BBC and Daily Mail quoted us and we also published two books detailing this subject, the “Living in Monaco” and the “Monaco: The Essential Relocation Guide”.

We approached Monaco Wealth Management founder, Zsolt Szemerszky to share the Top 3 reason why people choose Monaco as their jurisdiction for divorce. Zsolt has a vast experience in Monaco and he is the author of multiple Monaco related books.

"Anti Gold-digger law" / Shared marital property

One of the greatest benefits of a divorce in Monaco that the Principlaity does not offer the European comfort of separation. In the Principality of Monaco, there is no legal concept of shared marital property.

In most of the countries a divorce process can be extremely painful. Especially without marriage contracts (prenuptial agreements).

For example according to the Anglo-Saxon Laws, the judge can give a percentage of your wealth to your husband/wife. In many European countries, the wife would be entitled to at least half of the assets and wealth, especially if there are children involved.

In the Monegasque system, the key word is the level of life and the duration of the marriage. For very wealthy people, this difference is fundamental, because it can have extreme financial implications for them.

In many cases, and especially when there is no settlement between the parties the applied law can be crucial.

"It is important to understand that the Principlaity of Monaco does not offer the European comfort of separation, which can be extremely beneficial in financial terms." - explains Zsolt Szemerszky, founder of Monaco Wealth Management

In Monaco, the base of compensation for the spouse is never based on the actual wealth. Based on the law, what you brought into the marriage stays yours after the divorce. Therefore, if you had a house before the marriage you can keep the house and your spouse has no right to it. The separation is based only on the commonly-built wealth.

In case your spouse had no income during the marriage, the court is entitled to create a basic calculation of her monthly living cost, which is an indicator of maintaining the same level of lifestyle that the spouse had during the marriage.

Based on the ruling, you could be directed to ensure this living cost to your spouse for a maximum period of five years.

This is an exceptional benefit for the ultra-rich residents, since by applying the Monégasque law they can save multimillions on a divorce. For example, if you are a wealthy guy 

having 100 million Euro and you live with your wife with a monthly living cost of 5,000 Euro, then based on the standard law practice in Monaco, the maximum you pay to your ex-wife is 300,000 Euro, which is the monthly living cost for five years. This means you will still keep the 99.7% of your wealth.

In the Principality of Monaco, the person who built up the wealth enjoys the protection. It could be also considered a protection of true love and relationship against the gold diggers who go into a marriage because of the wealth and lifestyle.

Immediate start on the first day of residency

It is interesting to know that you can divorce under the legislation of the Principality of Monaco in the very first days that you have received your residence permit.

The question of competency is among the very first things you have to identify in a divorce case.

The process of divorce in the Principality is often difficult because of the country of origin of the foreign residents. For example, if a Swiss man marries a German woman and they both reside in the Principality of Monaco, they need to take into consideration three different legislations (Swiss, German, Monégasque).

"Divorce can be very tricky in the Principality. Sometimes you need to check whether the local laws apply or you have to use the law of your country of origin." - reminds us Zsolt Szemerszky, founder of Monaco Wealth Management

In many cases, the decision depends on the judge who decides on his/her ruling based on one of the nationalities. Of course, parties also have the possibility to request the ruling based on their country of origin.

Once the divorce is done, the Certificate of Transcription of Divorce applies to all divorce judgments by the Court of First Instance in Monaco. The Registry Office of the Mairie de Monaco (Town Hall) will issue the certificate immediately on presentation of your proof of identity.

How-to save 99,9% of your wealth

One of the recent examples for competency and jurisdiction is the divorce case of the Swiss businessman Maurice Alain Amon and Tracey Hejailan. Mr Amon had a truly unusual legal claim, arguing the question of residency which was at the Le Mirabeau building in Monaco.

His lawyer claimed that Manhattan, New York cannot be the right jurisdiction for the divorce, arguing that his socialite wife’s extensive shoe collection sits in their Monte-Carlo closet and not in their Manhattan pad. He claimed that the vast shoe collection showed that the Monaco apartment was her primary residence, and thus the Principality was the proper court venue.

This move aimed to save tens of millions for Mr Amon, because there’s no legal concept of shared marital property in Monaco. To be more precise, Ms Hejailan-Amon expected to get as much as $70 million in a US court, but only received $1.26 million by the Monaco court. (Mr Amon is worth a rumoured $1.4billion.)

By choosing the Principlaity of Monaco for his divorce Mr Amon successfully saved 99,9% of his wealth.

If you have any questions regarding divorce or any other Monaco related topics, feel free to contact us at [email protected].