What Is The Waiting Period?
WHAT IS THE WAITING PERIOD?
Waiting period; After the divorce, the woman must wait for the woman to remarry. The period of delay is important in terms of the balance of lineage. Since there is a possibility that the woman may become pregnant in case of sexual intercourse within the marriage union, a time restriction has been imposed by the legislator for the woman to remarry after the finalisation of the divorce decision in order to prevent genealogical confusion. The period of delay, also known as the waiting period among the people, is a restriction imposed only for the woman to wait, not the divorced man. You can also learn the details about our divorce case article here.
HOW LONG IS THE WAITING PERIOD?
According to Article 132/1 of the TCC, the duration of the waiting period that the woman must wait starting from the end of the marriage is 300 days. The date of dissolution of the marriage is the date of finalisation of the divorce decision. In order for the divorce decision to be finalised by the court, the reasoned decision must be prepared and notified to the parties and the parties must not have applied for legal remedy within the time limit as of the date of notification.
When the parties do not apply for legal remedy or waive their rights, the divorce decision will be finalised. Apart from this, if the parties apply for legal remedy against the decision, the decision will become final if the appeal is rejected by the superior court. The divorced woman must wait for 300 days of waiting period in order to remarry after the finalisation of the decision.
CAN A WOMAN GET MARRIED BEFORE THE WAITING PERIOD ENDS?
It is possible for a woman whose marriage union has ended to remarry without waiting for the delay period. This is because the period of iddah is one of the obstacles to marriage. For this reason, the divorced woman can make a new marriage. If the woman marries without waiting for this period, the marriage will not be cancelled or terminated. The marriage will continue to have all the consequences of a normal marriage and will not lose its validity.
HOW DOES THE WAITING PERIOD END?
The waiting period ends automatically with the end of the 300-day period starting from the finalisation of the divorce decision. It is also possible to end the waiting period before the specified period expires. For this, the divorced woman can request the court to lift the waiting period. However, the woman must not be pregnant in order for the court to decide to end the period of iddah. In addition, the law regulates that the period of iddah will end when the woman gives birth. Since the period of waitingwill end when the woman gives birth, the woman will be able to remarry.
WHAT ARE THE SITUATIONS WHERE THE WAITING PERIOD CAN BE LIFTED?
A court decision is absolutely necessary for the lifting of the waiting period. The abolition of the waiting period is regulated in two ways in the law.
Understanding that the woman is not pregnant:
If it is understood that the woman is not pregnant, she can request the court to lift the waiting period. If the woman who requests the court proves that she is not pregnant, the period of delay ends. In order to prove this situation, it must be documented with a doctor’s report signed by a gynaecologist.
Remarriage of the spouses:
Spouses whose marriage union has ended can request the court to lift the period of delay if they want to remarry.
WHAT HAPPENS IN CASE OF BIRTH OR PREGNANCY DURING THE WAITING PERIOD?
If the woman gives birth within the 300-day period starting after the divorce decision is finalised, the divorced husband will be considered as the father of the child in accordance with the presumption of paternity. This presumption is considered valid unless proven otherwise.
If the woman gets pregnant from another person during the waiting period, she must wait for the waiting period in order to marry that person. In order for the woman to remarry during the waiting period, she must obtain a decision from the court by submitting a doctor’s report proving that she is not pregnant. As a matter of fact, when the woman is pregnant, the court will not be able to decide to lift the period of delay . In this case, when the woman gives birth during the period of delay, it is accepted that the father of the child born in accordance with the presumption of paternity is the divorced spouse. In such a case, in order to prevent confusion of lineage, the divorced spouse should file a lawsuit for denial of paternity.
HOW AND WHERE TO FILE A LAWSUIT FOR THE LIFTING OF THE DURATION OF THE DIVORCE?
The lawsuit for the cancellation of the period of divorce is filed with a petition to be submitted to the Family Court. The plaintiff woman will submit a doctor’s report showing that she is not pregnant to the court and request the lifting of the period of delay. Since the lawsuit for the lifting of the period of abstinence is a non-adversarial type of lawsuit, it is not filed against anyone and a decision is made only upon the request of the plaintiff. In addition, since this case is in the nature of non-contentious judgement, simple trial procedure will be applied. The competent court is the Family Court in the woman’s place of residence. In places where there is no Family Court, the Civil Court of First Instance will hear these cases as the Family Court.
WHAT SHOULD BE WRITTEN IN THE PETITION FOR ABOLITION OF THE WAITING PERIOD?
The plaintiff woman who wants to file a lawsuit for the abolition of the duration of the divorce period should prepare a petition stating the court of the divorce case, the basis and decision number, the date of finalisation, that she and her husband are divorced, but that she cannot marry someone else due to the 300-day, and that she requests the abolition of this period. In addition, the doctor’s report must be submitted as evidence in the petition.
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