Family Law in Spain: Divorce, Custody, Support and Protection Orders (2026)

Spanish family law runs two systems side by side: an agreed divorce can go through a Notario without ever reaching a judge, while custody, support and a contested property split need a family court. Protection orders sit apart again, inside the criminal process, with their own short deadlines. This section maps every piece and links to the page covering each one.

Information last verified on 23 July 2026. This page provides general legal information about Spanish law and does not constitute legal advice in an individual case.

Divorce: the notarial route and the judicial one

Two spouses who agree on everything do not need a judge. Absent minor non-emancipated children, or an adult child under a court-ordered support measure, the spouses can formalize their separation or divorce with a convenio regulador before a Notario or a letrado de la Administracion de Justicia (art. 82 CC and art. 87 CC). This route opens three months after the wedding, except where there is a documented risk to the life, physical integrity, liberty, moral integrity or sexual freedom of the spouse or the children (art. 81 CC, applied to divorce by art. 86 CC).

With those children, the case goes before a judge instead, who still reviews the convenio unless it harms the children or seriously prejudices one spouse (art. 90 CC). The fast-track divorce page covers the notarial route, and the uncontested divorce page covers mutual agreement as a whole.

Custody and visitation

Custody decisions center on the interes superior del menor, stated in a reasoned resolution (art. 92 CC). Shared custody follows when both parents ask for it, or exceptionally at one parent's request with a favorable Ministerio Fiscal report; it is barred where a parent faces a criminal process for an offense against the other spouse or the children, or where the judge finds indicios of domestic or gender violence. Visitation carries the same bar, with only a narrow judicially-reasoned exception (art. 94 CC). The shared custody page and the visitation rights page go through each rule.

Child support

Alimentos cover everything indispensable for sustenance, housing, clothing and medical care, plus a minor's education, continuing past majority when training is unfinished through no fault of the child (art. 142 CC). The amount is proportional to the paying parent's caudal and the child's needs (art. 146 CC), applied case by case rather than by formula. The CGPJ publishes orientative tablas for this purpose, but its online calculator is currently under revision with no information available, so there is no live tool to reference. The child support page covers the proportionality rule in full.

Matrimonial property regimes

Absent capitulaciones matrimoniales, the Código Civil defaults every marriage into sociedad de gananciales, where gains earned by either spouse become common property split in half on dissolution (art. 1316 CC, art. 1344 CC). Spouses can instead choose separación de bienes by signing capitulaciones before a Notario, before or after the wedding (arts. 1325 to 1327 CC).

Cataluña and Baleares flip the default entirely: absent capitols, separación de bienes applies there instead (art. 231-10 CCCat, art. 3 Compilación de Dret Civil de les Illes Balears). The community of property page and the separation of property page cover each regime, and the inheritance section covers how a marital regime interacts with an estate.

Protection orders

A protection order runs through the criminal process, not the family one. A judge can impose a cautelar alejamiento during an investigation (art. 544 bis LECrim), and a domestic violence victim covered by art. 173.2 CP can request a full orden de proteccion, with a hearing within 72 hours and civil measures like custody and use of the family home (art. 544 ter LECrim). Breaching an alejamiento against a protected victim carries a mandatory prison term, not just a fine (art. 468.2 CP). The restraining order page covers the process, and the criminal law section covers the wider process these measures sit inside.

This page is general legal information about Spanish law and does not constitute legal advice in an individual case. The controlling texts are the current versions in the BOE.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I get divorced in Spain without going to a courtroom?

Yes, when both spouses agree and there are no minor non-emancipated children and no adult child under a court-ordered support measure. In that situation the divorce can be formalized before a Notario or a letrado de la Administracion de Justicia with a convenio regulador, rather than in front of a judge (art. 87 CC).

Does Spain automatically split marital property in half?

Only under the default regime. Absent a marriage contract, the Código Civil defaults couples into sociedad de gananciales, where gains during the marriage are split evenly on dissolution (art. 1344 CC). Cataluña and Baleares default the other way, into separación de bienes, unless the spouses agree otherwise.

Is the CGPJ's online child support calculator working right now?

No. The tablas orientadoras section of the CGPJ site currently states it is under revision and updating, with no information available. Judges continue to set pension alimenticia case by case under the proportionality rule in art. 146 CC without a live tool to reference.

Who can request a protection order in a Spanish family situation?

The victim, certain family members, or the Ministerio Fiscal can request it, and a judge can order it directly. The request can go to a judge, the Ministerio Fiscal, police, or victim assistance and social services offices, and the hearing must be held within 72 hours (art. 544 ter LECrim).