Spouses have certain responsibilities and obligations towards each other from the day the marriage begins until the marriage begins. Each spouse must remain faithful to their spouse and act faithfully towards their spouse throughout the marriage. Fidelity is one of the most important obligations of a marriage. The obligation of fidelity ends only with the dissolution of the marriage. A marriage ends in two ways: upon death or through a formal divorce.
SUBSEQUENT RELATIONSHIP AFTER FILED DIVORCE CASE
Until the divorce case is finalized, spouses must fulfill their marital obligations towards each other. This is because, until the decision is finalized, the spouses are still married, and the obligations of the marriage continue. Not only obligations but also rights continue. For example, if a spouse dies before the divorce case is concluded, their right to inherit will be lost. (Only if the heirs meet the necessary conditions may be met.)
Even if the spouses request a divorce during the divorce process, their marital obligations will continue until the divorce is finalized. Once the divorce decision becomes final, the spouses’ obligation of fidelity will also be terminated. According to Article 185 of the Turkish Civil Code, “spouses are obligated to live together, support each other, and remain faithful.” The provision, “The existence of an ongoing divorce case between spouses does not mean that the parties’ obligations of fidelity to each other have ended,” states that the parties must remain faithful to each other while the divorce case is ongoing. The divorce decision becomes final if the parties do not appeal or file an appeal, or if the case is returned to the higher court and all procedural procedures are completed. If infidelity occurs between spouses while the divorce case is ongoing or if they act inconsistent with the obligations of fidelity, their liability will arise. By filing a separate lawsuit and combining it, the issue of infidelity will be taken into account when determining the degree of fault in the divorce case.
WHAT HAPPENS IF THE DIVORCE CASE OCCURS AFTER THE DIVORCE CASE IS FILED?
According to procedural rules, the case is adjudicated on the subject matter of the case filed. Subsequently arising grounds cannot be the subject of the ongoing case. Article 141/1 of the Civil Procedure Code (HMK) states that “parties may freely expand or amend their claims or defenses by filing a response and a second response petition; during the preliminary examination phase, only with the express consent of the other party.” If a party fails to appear at the preliminary hearing without an excuse, the party may expand or amend its claim or defense without seeking its consent. A claim or defense cannot be expanded or amended after the completion of the preliminary hearing. It is clearly stipulated in which litigation process the claim in question can and cannot be expanded upon.
WHAT SHOULD BE DONE IN CASE OF INHERENCE AFTER THE DIVORCE CASE IS FILED?
As a rule, only the events stated in the petition define the boundaries of the case, and the court can only review and evaluate these events. It is not possible to evaluate a material fact that occurred after the date of the lawsuit and use them as the basis for a verdict. If a response petition is filed, it can be presented in the response petition. New facts can be presented in the defendant’s absence or with their consent at the preliminary hearing.
According to this rule, if the aforementioned stages have passed, the plaintiff or defendant cannot add a new event or evidence that has occurred during the ongoing case, or present it as additional evidence. New events can only be the subject of a new lawsuit after this stage. If the parties filed a lawsuit for a divorce ground other than infidelity, and the infidelity occurred while the case was ongoing, this situation does not affect the ongoing divorce case and cannot be added as evidence. In this case, if the parties learn that infidelity occurred during the divorce process, they can file a new divorce case and request a consolidation of the cases. Only then can new facts, grounds for action, and evidence be presented during the divorce process. Therefore, there is no need to wait for the ongoing case to conclude or become final before filing for divorce on the grounds of infidelity and requesting consolidation.