International Family Law
Paloma Zabalgo Law Firm specializes in private international law and has an excellent team of professionals and experts in the field.
We collaborate with law firms specialized in family relations in the United Kingdom, France, Belgium, Switzerland, Italy and also with law firms in Argentina, Chile, United States, Brazil, Uruguay, Dominican Republic, Colombia, among others.
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The procedures in which we are specialized are the following:
- International divorce, jurisdiction, applicable law, marital contracts. Recognition in Spain of divorces pronounced abroad.
- International child abduction, international cooperation procedure for the return of minors, enforcement of judgments ordering the return of a minor.
- Recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments.
- Filiation actions or paternity contestation.
- International successions.
Specialization in International Family Law
Our work consists of advising the increasing number of workers who are hired by companies in other countries.
The phenomenon is growing and its complexity is increasing: not only have the job offers for Spanish professionals outside our country increased, but it is more and more frequent that in families, both spouses work and neither wants to leave their position and their professional career to “follow” the other.
How to regulate, for example, the return of children to Spain with one of their parents in case of separation or divorce? What to do to guarantee the return of your children when they have the opportunity to go to study in the country where your ex-spouse lives and works? These are aspects in which we advise you so that no unforeseen event surprises you.
If this is your case, think that it is not necessary to wait for a conflict situation to regulate the departure of your children abroad.
- It is a labor issue, but with important family consequences.
- If the residence of the children is established in another country, their return to Spain requires the consent of your spouse.
- International cases require working alongside lawyers in other jurisdictions, and we collaborate with law firms abroad whenever a case calls for it.
- The expatriation of workers modifies the judicial competence in the field of the rights of minors.
- Sometimes, a simple document such as a notarial deed avoids conflicts when repatriating minors.
We protect what matters most to you
We guide and support you through divorce, custody arrangements, financial support, and international family matters, helping you make decisions with confidence, clarity, and peace of mind.
The three questions every cross-border case begins with
International family law is not a separate branch of family law. It is the set of rules that decide, before anything else can be discussed, three questions that determine the entire outcome of a case.
Which country’s courts can hear the case. For divorce and parental responsibility within the European Union, the answer lies in Regulation (EU) 2019/1111, Brussels II ter, applicable since 1 August 2022, which replaced the former Brussels II bis. For maintenance, in Regulation (EC) 4/2009. For succession, in Regulation (EU) 650/2012.
Which country’s law they will apply. This is a distinct question, and the answer is frequently different. A Spanish court may apply German law to a divorce, or English law to a succession. Regulation (EU) 1259/2010, Rome III governs the law applicable to divorce; Regulation (EU) 2016/1103 governs matrimonial property regimes.
Whether the resulting decision will be effective in the other country. A judgment that cannot be enforced where the assets or the children are is of limited practical value.
Where the European instruments stop
A widespread assumption is that these regulations apply throughout the European Union. Several of them do not, and the exceptions matter.
The Succession Regulation does not apply in Denmark or Ireland, and it never applied in the United Kingdom, which had an opt-out long before Brexit. The Matrimonial Property Regulation is an enhanced cooperation binding only eighteen Member States: Ireland, Denmark, Poland, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia and the Baltic States are outside it.
Where no European instrument applies, the answer comes from Spanish private international law, from the 1996 and 1980 Hague Conventions, or from a bilateral treaty. Establishing which framework governs a case is the first piece of work, and getting it wrong at the outset is expensive to correct later.
The United Kingdom after Brexit
Since 1 January 2021 the European regulations no longer apply between Spain and the United Kingdom. Divorce, parental responsibility and enforcement between the two countries are now governed by the 1970, 1980 and 1996 Hague Conventions and by Spanish domestic rules, and a British judgment generally requires the exequatur procedure to take effect in Spain.
Given the size of the British community resident in Spain, this is one of the areas where the change has been felt most acutely, particularly in inheritance and in the enforcement of maintenance orders.
How we work on cross-border cases
Cases of this kind cannot be run from a single jurisdiction. Where a case is connected with another country, we work alongside lawyers qualified there, so that decisions taken in Spain are workable abroad and vice versa. Documents from abroad generally require the Hague Apostille and a sworn translation, and coordinating that documentation is usually what determines the timescale of the case.