Family lawyer for all of Walloon Brabant (Braine-l'Alleud, Waterloo, Nivelles, Wavre and the other municipalities)
Mrs. Sarah Satti exclusively practises family law: divorce, separation, children, maintenance, liquidation of the couple's assets. The office acts throughout the province of Walloon Brabant and pleads before the Family Court of Walloon Brabant, as well as before those of Brussels, and can plead before the family courts throughout the country.
Your first appointment
- The price of the first appointment: 100€ excl. VAT for 30 minutes. Fees for the case are set out in detail on the Fees page.
- You choose how it takes place: by phone or at the office, or by videoconference on request.
- You book online quickly, without having to call or wait for a call back.
Your situation
You do not yet know which route to take
Both routes to divorce start from the same point: if your last marital residence as a couple was in Walloon Brabant, the case will in principle be brought before the Family Court of Walloon Brabant. Each route then has its own rule, and an agreement between you can still designate another court.
Divorce by mutual consent
If your last marital residence was in Walloon Brabant, the joint petition is filed there, even if one of you now lives in Brussels. You can also agree together to bring the case before the court of the current domicile of either of you. The law lays down this rule without prejudice to article 629bis of the Judicial Code: if you have minor children, the court of their domicile may have jurisdiction.
Divorce for irretrievable breakdown
The application is brought before the court of the last marital residence or before that of your spouse's domicile. If you have left Walloon Brabant for Brussels and your spouse has stayed in Walloon Brabant, the Family Court of Walloon Brabant remains in principle competent in both cases: it is both the place of your last marital residence and your spouse's domicile. The law lays down this rule without prejudice to article 629bis of the Judicial Code: if you have minor children, the court of their domicile may have jurisdiction.
De facto separation and urgent measures
Before any divorce, the home, the children and money can be dealt with through provisional measures. If you are all domiciled in Walloon Brabant, these applications are in principle brought before the Family Court of Walloon Brabant. If a case between you is already pending before a family court, that court remains competent.
The children: parental authority and residence arrangements
What is commonly called child custody is known in Belgian law as residence arrangements for the child; the same goes for what is commonly called shared custody (equal residence arrangements). It is the child's domicile that decides, not that of the parents. If the children are domiciled in Walloon Brabant and one parent moves to Brussels, the case falls under the Family Court of Walloon Brabant.
Maintenance contribution for minor children
It follows the same court as the residence arrangements: that of the child's domicile. A parent who moves to Brussels therefore does not take the case to Brussels if the minor children remain domiciled in Walloon Brabant.
Grandparents' visiting rights
What is commonly called grandparents' visiting rights is known in Belgian law as the right to personal contact with the child. If a family court has already received an application between the child's parents, the grandparents bring their application before that court. Otherwise, if the parents and the child are domiciled in Walloon Brabant, the application is in principle brought before the Family Court of Walloon Brabant, even if the grandparents live in Brussels.
Parentage: establishing or contesting it
To have parentage established or contested in court, it is the child's domicile that decides, or failing that the child's habitual residence, not that of the parents. If the child is domiciled in Walloon Brabant, the action is in principle brought before the Family Court of Walloon Brabant, even if one of the parents lives in Brussels.
Maintenance between spouses or former spouses
For this type of application, the law also allows you to bring the case before the court of your own domicile: if you live in Walloon Brabant and your former spouse lives in Brussels, you can bring the application before the Family Court of Walloon Brabant. This option does not apply to applications seeking to reduce or terminate the maintenance.
The house, the loan and the division
If the Family Court of Walloon Brabant has already received an application concerning your couple, subsequent applications between you are brought there too, even if one of you moves to Brussels in the meantime. This is what decides where the house, the loan and the matrimonial property regime will be settled.
Correcting a civil status record
A simple clerical error can be corrected by the civil registrar. Where the correction has to go through the family court, what matters is not your domicile but the place where the record was drawn up. If your birth or marriage certificate was drawn up in a municipality in Walloon Brabant, the application is filed with the Family Court of Walloon Brabant, even if you now live in Brussels.
The Family Court of Walloon Brabant: what changes for your case
One court for the whole province. The territory of Walloon Brabant corresponds to a single administrative and judicial district. The question “which court do I come under?” therefore has the same answer for all 27 municipalities of the province, whether Braine-l'Alleud, Waterloo, Nivelles, Wavre, Ottignies-Louvain-la-Neuve, Tubize, Rixensart or any other: the family court. Together with the youth court, it forms a section of the Court of First Instance of Walloon Brabant, which sits in Nivelles. Its registry is located at rue de Soignies 8, 1400 Nivelles, telephone 067 87 51 51, open Monday to Friday from 8:30 AM to 12:30 PM and from 1:30 PM to 4:00 PM.
If you live in Wavre, the provincial capital, your family case is handled by this same court.
A lawyer registered with the Brussels Bar can plead before all family courts in the country. You therefore do not need to change lawyer because your case is handled in Walloon Brabant. Mrs. Sarah Satti is registered with the Brussels Bar and can plead before the family courts throughout the country: see the Your lawyer page.
One parent in Brussels, the other in Walloon Brabant. This is the situation that raises the most questions. Suppose one parent stays in Waterloo and the other moves to Brussels: for parental authority, residence arrangements and the maintenance contribution for minor children, the competent court is that of the child's domicile or, failing that, of the child's habitual residence. If the children remain domiciled in Walloon Brabant, the case falls in principle under the Family Court of Walloon Brabant, even if one parent lives in Brussels. Where a single case combines several applications, at least one of which concerns parental authority, residence arrangements or the maintenance contribution for a minor child, that same court hears all of them, unless a case between you is already pending before a family court.
Do you need to attend the hearing? Depending on your situation, your presence at the hearing may or may not be necessary; Mrs. Satti will tell you from the first appointment.
Coming to Uccle, or following your case remotely
The office receives you at Avenue Brugmann 375, 1180 Uccle, in the south of Brussels, a convenient address if you work in Brussels or go there regularly.
Would you rather not travel? The first appointment and the follow-up of your case can take place entirely remotely, by phone, by email, or by videoconference on request. You do not have to come to the office to open a case, nor to follow it. When you book online, you choose between the phone and the office, and you can change your mind along the way.
Telephone contact: a single number, +32 495 19 34 77, Monday to Friday from 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM and Saturday from 8:00 AM to 1:00 PM. The phone is answered during those hours.
Being seen in person is another matter: appointments take place Monday to Friday, and on Saturday on request. The office sees people only by appointment made in advance.
The first appointment can take place in French, Dutch or English.
Depending on availability, an appointment can be booked the same day, until noon. After noon, slots for that day are no longer offered: the booking is then made for a later day.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to travel to the court for the hearings?
Depending on your situation, your presence at the hearing may or may not be necessary. Some applications require you to be there, others do not. Mrs. Satti will tell you from the first appointment, once your situation is known.
Can I follow my case without coming to the office?
Yes. Both the first appointment and the rest of the case can take place by phone, by email, or by videoconference on request. Coming to the office remains possible at any time, if you prefer.
Do I need a lawyer from Walloon Brabant to divorce in Nivelles?
No. A lawyer registered with the Brussels Bar can plead before all family courts in the country. You therefore do not need to change lawyer because your case is handled in Walloon Brabant.
I live in Walloon Brabant, my ex-partner lives in Brussels. Which court?
It depends on the application. For minor children, it is the court of the child's domicile. For a divorce by mutual consent, that of the last marital residence, unless you both agree to choose the current domicile of one of you. For a divorce for irretrievable breakdown, that of the last marital residence or that of the domicile of the party against whom the application is brought. In both cases, with minor children, the court of their domicile may have jurisdiction (Judicial Code, art. 628, 1°, and 629bis). For maintenance between spouses or former spouses, you can also bring the case before the court of your own domicile, unless the aim is to reduce or terminate it. And if a case between you is already pending before a family court, that court remains competent.
We left Walloon Brabant during the proceedings: does the case change court?
In principle, no. Applications between spouses, between former spouses or relating to common children are brought before the family court where a case is already pending. Moving house during the proceedings therefore does not move the case by itself.
How much does a first appointment cost?
100€ excl. VAT for thirty minutes. The amount is shown before booking: you know what you will pay before you book, without having to call to ask. What the rest costs depends on the route taken and on what your case requires; details of the fees are on the Fees page. If you have legal expenses insurance, it may cover part of the costs: check your policy.
Does the firm have an office in Walloon Brabant?
No. The firm has a single address, Avenue Brugmann 375, 1180 Uccle. That is why the first appointment and the follow-up of your case can take place entirely by phone, by email, or by videoconference on request.