What is a Counterclaim in Divorce?
The concept of counterclaim in divorce is a lawsuit that allows individuals to defend themselves based on their own arguments while a divorce case is ongoing. The situation where the other party files a lawsuit that includes his/her own reasons for divorce, different from the divorce reason based on the other party, after a divorce case has been filed against him/her, is called a counterclaim in a divorce case. For example, a person who has been sued for divorce due to abandonment can file a counterclaim for violence in order to defend himself/herself by saying that his/her spouse used violence against him/her and therefore left the house. In divorce cases, the faulty party may lose rights in matters such as alimony, custody and compensation. Therefore, it is absolutely beneficial to file a countersuit in divorce in order to show that the other party is at fault in the events that led to the divorce.
How to File a Countersuit in Divorce?
In order to file a counterclaim in divorce cases, certain conditions must be met according to Article 132 of the Code of Civil Procedure No. 6100. If the conditions in the said article are not met, a countersuit cannot be filed while the divorce case is ongoing. In cases where these conditions do not exist, the lawsuit to be filed will not be a countersuit but will be seen as a different lawsuit. However, in divorce cases, the counterclaim is continued according to the procedure of combining the two cases and hearing them together.
Conditions for Filing a Counterclaim in Divorce
In order for the defendant of the divorce case to be able to file a countersuit, the main divorce case must not be concluded. After the divorce case is finalized, a countersuit cannot be filed.
The demands that may be requested in the counterclaim in the divorce case must be in a clearing or offset relationship with the demands in the main divorce case. Or there must be a connection between the counterclaim and the main lawsuit. If this is not the case, a countersuit cannot be filed in the divorce.
The Code of Civil Procedure has ruled that these two conditions must be met in order to file a countersuit in a divorce case. If a countersuit is filed in an ongoing divorce case and it is determined that these conditions are not met, the case is conducted as two different divorce cases. It is not possible to combine these two cases. If the court deems necessary, it may order that the second case filed as a counterclaim be sent to the competent court.
How to File a Counterclaim in a Divorce Case?
While the divorce case is ongoing, the counterclaim can be filed together with the response petition for the main divorce case, or it can be filed as a different divorce case while the response period to the merits continues. In cases that will be filed after the required period for filing a countersuit has expired, the judge distinguishes between the main divorce case and the divorce case filed as a counterclaim.