Divorce Cost in Bangladesh 2026: Fees, Certificates, Separation, Settlement and Property

Divorce cost Bangladesh law imposes: the 2026 picture for every community

The divorce cost Bangladesh families actually pay is rarely the official fee. Registering a talaq with the Nikah Registrar costs Tk 1,000, and a plaint in the family court carries a flat Tk 200 court fee.[4] [2] The real money sits elsewhere: in unpaid dower that falls due when the divorce takes effect, in maintenance, in lawyers' time across months of hearings, and in property disputes that leave the family court altogether. For Hindu and Christian spouses, the cost is shaped by a different question entirely: whether the law offers a divorce at all.

This guide brings those costs together for Muslim, Hindu and Christian families in 2026. It covers the fees step by step, how lawyers charge, how to obtain a divorce certificate that will be accepted for remarriage and immigration, what legal separation means for each community, how to draft a settlement agreement that can be enforced, how property is divided when there is no community property regime, and what happens when a divorce is pronounced during pregnancy. The procedural detail of talaq, khula, dower suits and custody is covered in companion TRW guides, linked where relevant.

Summary: Official fees for a Muslim divorce in Bangladesh are low: no fee is prescribed for the section 7 notice to the Chairman, divorce registration costs Tk 1,000, and a family court plaint costs Tk 200. The large costs are dower, maintenance and legal fees, and for Christians the two-court procedure under the Divorce Act 1869. Bangladesh has no community property regime, so each spouse keeps what is in their own name, the wife keeps her dower, gifts and personal property, and jointly titled assets are divided by agreement or partition.

Key point: A talaq does not take effect until ninety days after the Chairman receives written notice, and if the wife is pregnant, not until the pregnancy ends if that is later. Until then the marriage subsists, maintenance runs and deferred dower is not yet due. Every cost calculation, every settlement and every divorce certificate depends on getting that effective date right.

At a glance

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Table of Contents

What divorce cost Bangladesh families face in 2026

Bangladesh has no single divorce law. Each community is governed by its own personal law, and the cost of ending a marriage follows from the route that law allows. For Muslims, a marriage ends by talaq, by delegated divorce, by khula or mubara'at, or by a family court decree under the Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Act 1939, and in every case the procedure in section 7 of the Muslim Family Laws Ordinance 1961 controls when the divorce takes effect.[1] [7] For Christians, only a court can dissolve a marriage, under the Divorce Act 1869, and a District Judge's decree needs confirmation by the High Court Division.[6] For Hindus there is no legal mechanism for divorce at all.[12]

Four layers of cost

It helps to separate the divorce cost Bangladesh law imposes into four layers. The first is official fees: registration, court fees and the cost of serving summons. The second is process cost: certified copies, travel, time off work and, for families abroad, notarisation and attestation. The third is professional fees, which depend on whether the matter is agreed or contested and how many courts it touches. The fourth, and usually the largest, is the money the law transfers between spouses: dower, maintenance, child support and the return of property.

The first three layers are within a family's control. The fourth is fixed by the kabinnama, by statute and by the court. A husband who budgets only for the Kazi's fee, and a wife who signs away her dower to speed things up, make the same mistake: treating the paperwork as the cost and the entitlements as extras.

Where companion guides take over

For the step-by-step talaq procedure, see our guide to Muslim divorce procedure in Bangladesh; for consensual khula and mubara'at, see mutual divorce in Bangladesh; and for the stages of a family suit, see family court procedure in Bangladesh.

Divorce cost Bangladesh fees step by step: Chairman, Kazi and family court

An uncontested Muslim divorce passes through two offices: the Chairman or Mayor who receives the section 7 notice, and the Nikah Registrar who records the divorce. A contested claim adds the family court and, in many districts, the legal aid office before it. Each fee is modest; the number of stages is what adds up.

Step 1: notice to the Chairman

A husband who pronounces talaq must, as soon as may be, give written notice to the Chairman and send a copy to his wife. Within thirty days of receiving it, the Chairman must constitute an Arbitration Council to attempt reconciliation, and the talaq takes effect ninety days after the notice was delivered unless it is revoked first.[1] Section 7 itself prescribes no filing fee. Failing to give notice is an offence punishable with simple imprisonment of up to one year, a fine of up to Tk 10,000, or both.[1] The same procedure applies, with necessary changes, where a wife exercises a delegated right of divorce or the parties dissolve the marriage otherwise than by talaq.[1]

Step 2: registration with the Nikah Registrar

The Muslim Marriages and Divorces (Registration) Act 1974 allows the Nikah Registrar to register a divorce effected under Muslim law within his area, on an oral application by the person or persons who effected it. A talaq-e-tafweez can be registered only on production of the deed or kabinnama entry that delegated the right.[3] Fees are fixed by rules under section 14.[3] A Law and Justice Division notification of 21 December 2022 doubled the divorce registration fee from Tk 500 to Tk 1,000.[4] Once the divorce is registered, the Registrar must give the parties an attested copy of the entry free of charge.[3]

The amended registration rules reported in December 2025 keep a fixed divorce fee, allow marriages and divorces to be registered online as well as manually, and permit fees to be paid digitally.[5] In practice, families are often asked for more. The US State Department's civil documents schedule for Bangladesh lists a fee of BDT 3,500 for a Muslim talaknama.[12] Ask for a receipt that states the official fee, and refuse to pay for the first attested copy.

Step 3: mediation at the legal aid office

Under section 21B of the Legal Aid Services Act 2000, inserted by the Legal Aid Services (Amendment) Act 2026 (Act No. 45 of 2026), a party with a dispute listed in the Act's Schedule must first apply to the legal aid office for mediation, and may file suit only if mediation fails. The provision took effect on 31 July 2026 in the districts notified by the government.[8] The Schedule includes matters under section 5 of the Family Courts Act 2023, which is the provision listing dissolution, dower, maintenance, conjugal rights and custody claims.[9] [2] Time spent in mediation is excluded from limitation.[8]

Legal aid mediation is a government service, so in covered districts the cheapest route to a binding settlement is also the compulsory first step.

Step 4: the family court suit

Section 25 of the Family Courts Act 2023 fixes the court fee on a plaint at Tk 200.[2] The plaintiff must also pay the cost of serving summons and the registered-post notice at filing, and a plaint is liable to be rejected if those costs or the court fee are not paid.[2] Because one suit can join dower, maintenance and related claims, the court fee is almost never the issue. The cost lies in the hearings: a pre-trial hearing at which the court attempts a compromise, evidence, a second reconciliation attempt after evidence, and judgment.[2]

Two features of the Act reduce the risk of open-ended cost. No appeal lies against a decree for dissolution of marriage, other than one granted on the ground in section 2(viii)(d) of the 1939 Act, or against a dower decree of Tk 50,000 or less, and an appeal must otherwise be filed within thirty days.[2] A money decree that is not paid on time must be put into execution within one year after the payment period expires.[2]

Christian and Hindu routes

A Christian divorce costs more because it is structurally longer. A petition is filed before the District Judge or the High Court Division; it must state that there is no collusion; and a District Judge's decree for dissolution must be confirmed by a bench of the High Court Division, not earlier than six months after it was pronounced.[6]

Where the petition alleges adultery, the alleged adulterer is joined, and the court can order that person to pay costs.[6] During the case a wife may apply for alimony pending the suit, which cannot exceed one-fifth of the husband's average net income over the three preceding years.[6] For Hindu wives, the cost question is usually a maintenance and separate residence claim, discussed below, rather than a divorce or judicial separation.

Lawyer fees: the divorce cost Bangladesh clients can control

There is no official scale for advocates' fees in family matters, and figures quoted online vary too widely to be useful. What can be said with confidence is what drives the fee. An agreed divorce needs drafting and attendance: the section 7 notice, a written settlement, attendance at the Arbitration Council and registration. A contested family suit needs a plaint, evidence, at least two reconciliation hearings and often interim applications. A Christian divorce adds a second court and a confirmation hearing. Each additional court, and each interim fight, multiplies the cost.

Fixed fees and staged fees

For agreed matters, insist on a fixed fee that covers the notice, the settlement agreement, the Arbitration Council and registration. For contested suits, agree a staged fee in writing: filing, pre-trial hearing, evidence, judgment, and separately execution and any appeal. Ask whether the fee includes interim applications for maintenance or custody, where contested cases are often won or lost.

Costs that are not fees

Budget separately for certified copies, travel, and notarisation and attestation if documents must be used abroad; a spouse overseas can save repeated travel with a correctly attested power of attorney. Delay is a cost too: maintenance arrears accumulate while a suit is pending, and the party who drags out the case often pays more at the end.

Free legal aid

Spouses who cannot afford a lawyer can apply to the district legal aid office for representation, and in districts where section 21B is in force every family dispute starts there anyway.[8] Wealthier spouses should use mediation seriously too: a certified settlement is enforceable as a decree and avoids the cost of trial.[10]

The divorce certificate in Bangladesh: proving the marriage has ended

A divorce certificate proves to a registrar, an embassy or a court that a marriage has ended. Many families learn too late that the paper they hold is not enough. A copy of a talaq notice proves only that notice was sent. A talaqnama signed at home proves only that words were said. What third parties need is evidence that the statutory procedure was completed and that the divorce became effective on a stated date. A defective divorce certificate is a hidden divorce cost Bangladesh families often pay years later, when a visa, a remarriage or an inheritance is refused.

Documents that evidence a Muslim divorce

Three documents matter. The first is the Chairman's or Mayor's record that notice was received and the ninety days have run without reconciliation; in practice the Chairman's office issues a letter or certificate to that effect on request. The second is the Nikah Registrar's register entry and the free attested copy of it.[3] The third, introduced by the 2025 amendments to the registration rules, is a divorce certificate in Form ছ১ that the Nikah Registrar may issue on request, showing the parties' photographs, personal details and registration particulars.[5] Further copies of any register entry can be obtained by anyone on payment of the prescribed fee.[3]

The US State Department describes the talaknama as usually printed on a government blue form, Form 1605, stating the type of divorce, the date proceedings began and the date of registration.[12] Use that as a checklist: a certificate without those dates will be queried abroad.

Divorce by court decree

Where a family court dissolves a Muslim marriage, the court must send a certified copy of the decree by registered post to the Chairman within seven days, and the Chairman proceeds as if he had received a talaq notice. The decree takes effect ninety days after the Chairman receives it, and has no effect if the parties are reconciled within that period.[2] The divorce certificate in this case is therefore the certified copy of the decree, together with evidence that the ninety days have run, and, ideally, registration with the Nikah Registrar.

For a Christian divorce, the relevant documents are the District Judge's decree and the High Court Division's confirmation order, or a decree of the High Court Division made absolute. The Divorce Act permits remarriage only once the statutory periods have run and no appeal is pending, as if the earlier marriage had been dissolved by death.[6] A decree that has not been confirmed is not a divorce for any purpose.

Why the certificate matters: remarriage, visas and immigration

A divorced woman who remarries without an effective divorce risks a void or irregular second marriage, and a man who remarries without a properly concluded divorce risks the polygamy provisions of the 1961 Ordinance.[1] Visa and immigration authorities apply the same logic: they want proof that the earlier marriage has legally ended. The US State Department lists divorce certificates as available for Muslims and Christians, and states that there is no legal mechanism for Hindus or Buddhists to divorce in Bangladesh.[12] Recognition of Bangladeshi divorces abroad, and of foreign decrees at home, is covered in our mutual divorce guide.

Records are moving online. On 3 October 2026, Law Minister Md Asaduzzaman said marriage and divorce registration would move online, linked to National ID and passport records in a central database, so that marital history could be verified, including by foreign authorities.[14] No launch date was given.[14] Until the system is live, keep the original documents, certified copies and scans in separate places.

Legal separation in Bangladesh: what exists and what does not

Legal separation, in the sense of a court order that keeps a marriage alive but releases the spouses from living together, exists in Bangladesh only for Christians. Muslim law has no equivalent procedure. Hindu law offers a statutory right to separate residence and maintenance for wives, which is a separation in substance but not in name. Choosing between separation and divorce is therefore a choice about what the personal law allows, not only about what the couple wants, and separation does not avoid the divorce cost Bangladesh law attaches to maintenance.

Muslims: no judicial separation

Neither the Muslim Family Laws Ordinance 1961 nor the Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Act 1939 provides for a decree of judicial separation.[1] [7] A Muslim marriage either subsists or is dissolved. Spouses who live apart remain married, with all the consequences: the husband's duty of maintenance continues, the wife can apply to the Chairman for a maintenance certificate or sue in the family court, and the husband cannot remarry without Arbitration Council permission.[1] [2] Long separation can itself become a ground for dissolution: a wife may obtain a decree if the husband has failed to maintain her for two years or, without reasonable cause, has failed to perform his marital obligations for three years.[7]

Couples sometimes sign a private separation agreement setting out residence, maintenance and children. That can be useful evidence and can be converted into a compromise decree if a suit is filed.[2] It does not change marital status, and any clause purporting to release the husband from maintenance while the marriage subsists should be treated with caution.

Christians: judicial separation under section 22

Section 22 of the Divorce Act 1869 abolished the old divorce a mensa et toro and replaced it with judicial separation, available to husband or wife on the ground of adultery, cruelty, or desertion without reasonable excuse for two years or more.[6] The petition is filed before the District Court or the High Court Division under section 23.[6]

From the date of the decree, a separated wife is treated as unmarried with respect to property she later acquires, and the court may make orders on the custody, maintenance and education of the children.[6] A decree obtained in the absence of the other spouse can later be reversed on proper grounds.[6] Because judicial separation does not require the aggravated grounds a wife needs for dissolution, it is sometimes a Christian wife's only realistic remedy.

Hindus: separate residence and maintenance

The Hindu Married Women's Right to Separate Residence and Maintenance Act 1946 entitles a Hindu wife to live separately and claim maintenance if her husband has a loathsome disease not contracted from her, is cruel to her, deserts her, remarries, converts, keeps a concubine, or for any other justifiable cause.[13] The right is lost if she is unchaste, converts, or fails without sufficient cause to comply with a decree for restitution of conjugal rights.[13] The marriage continues. For a Hindu wife the practical cost questions are maintenance and the return of her property, both covered below.

Separation or divorce: the practical comparison

• Status: separation leaves the marriage in place; divorce ends it, permitting remarriage once effective.
• Money: separation keeps maintenance running; a Muslim divorce triggers the whole deferred dower but ends ordinary maintenance after iddat.
• Availability: Christians can choose divorce or judicial separation; Hindus have only separate residence; Muslims have only divorce, or living apart informally.
• Reversibility: a Christian judicial separation can end by resumed cohabitation; an effective talaq can be undone only by a new marriage, and after the third effective talaq not without an intervening marriage.[1]

Drafting a divorce settlement agreement that can be enforced

Most divorces in Bangladesh end on terms agreed between the families, not imposed by a judge. A settlement agreement is the most effective way to contain the divorce cost Bangladesh families face, but only if it is complete, properly recorded and enforceable. A vague settlement agreement that says the wife has "received everything" invites litigation; a precise one closes it.

What the settlement agreement should cover

• The form of divorce and who will give the section 7 notice, with the date it will be delivered to the Chairman.[1]
• Dower: the prompt and deferred amounts in the kabinnama, what has been paid, and the date and method of payment of the balance. Where the kabinnama does not specify the mode of payment, the whole dower is payable on demand.[1] Our dower recovery guide explains how the figures are proved.
• Maintenance: arrears to the effective date, iddat maintenance, and how payments will be evidenced.
• Children: residence, contact, schooling, travel and the father's maintenance obligation, with a figure and an annual review.
• Property: return of ornaments, gifts and personal belongings, and the treatment of any jointly titled asset.
• Pending cases: withdrawal of criminal complaints and civil suits, and the stage at which each will be withdrawn.
• Costs: who pays registration and other fees, and the consequence of default.

Three levels of enforceability

A private settlement agreement is a contract. It is evidence of what was agreed, but a party who defaults must be sued. A settlement reached through the legal aid office is stronger: an agreement signed by the parties and the mediator and certified by the Chief Legal Aid Officer is final, enforceable and binding, and is executed as a court decree.[10] The strongest option, where a suit is already pending, is a compromise decree: the family court attempts a settlement at the pre-trial hearing and again after evidence, and if the suit is settled, passes a decree in the terms of the agreement.[2]

A decree for money can be executed as a civil money decree or recovered as if it were a fine under the Code of Criminal Procedure, and the court may allow payment by instalments.[2] That instalment power is worth using in drafting: a schedule of payments recorded in a decree is easier to enforce than a promise to pay "within a reasonable time".

Terms that will not hold

Arrangements for children are always subject to the court's assessment of the child's welfare, so a custody clause is a starting point rather than a guarantee; see our guide to child custody and guardianship in Bangladesh. An agreement cannot dispense with the section 7 notice or shorten the ninety days.[1] For Christians, an agreement to divorce is no substitute for a petition, and every petition must state that there is no collusion between the spouses.[6] Finally, waivers of dower obtained under pressure are open to challenge, and an unwilling waiver is a poor foundation for a settlement meant to last.

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Property division in divorce: there is no community property

Bangladesh has no community property or marital property regime. None of the personal laws, and no statute, pools the assets acquired during marriage and divides them on divorce. The rule is ownership by title: what is registered in the husband's name is his, what is in the wife's name is hers, and jointly titled property belongs to both in their shares. The divorce cost Bangladesh wives most often underestimate is the consequence of this rule, because years of contribution to a home in the husband's name create no claim to it.

Dower and gifts

For a Muslim wife, dower is the main financial protection the law gives her, and it is a debt, not a share of assets. Unpaid deferred dower becomes payable when the divorce takes effect, and the Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Act 1939 expressly preserves the wife's dower rights on dissolution.[7]

Gifts made to the wife, including ornaments at the wedding, are her property. A husband who disposes of his wife's property or prevents her from exercising her legal rights over it commits cruelty under section 2(viii)(d) of the 1939 Act, which is a ground for dissolution and the one ground on which a dissolution decree remains appealable.[7] [2] For the full set of post-divorce entitlements, see wife rights after divorce in Bangladesh.

Stridhan and a Hindu wife's property

A Hindu wife's stridhan, the property she receives as gifts from her family and others in connection with her marriage, is her own and does not pass to the husband because the couple separate. Because there is no Hindu divorce, the issue usually arises when a wife leaves the matrimonial home and her ornaments and belongings stay behind. Her claim to separate residence and maintenance is statutory, and arises on the grounds the 1946 Act lists;[13] her claim to her stridhan is a claim to her own property, and is pursued in the same way as any other claim to recover belongings.

Jointly titled property and partition

Many couples buy a flat or land in joint names. On divorce, each spouse keeps their share, and the options are to agree a sale and divide the proceeds, to transfer one share to the other by registered deed, or to sue for partition in the civil court. The family court cannot divide immovable property; its jurisdiction is limited to dissolution, conjugal rights, dower, maintenance and children.[2]

A partition suit carries a court fee calculated by reference to the market value of the plaintiff's share under the Court-fees Act 1870, which is far higher than the Tk 200 family court fee.[11] [2] Agreeing the division in the divorce settlement agreement and executing the transfer at the same time is usually the most economical route.

Christian spouses

The Divorce Act 1869 gives the court limited property powers. After a decree absolute or a confirmed decree, it may inquire into ante-nuptial and post-nuptial settlements and make orders on the property settled, but not for the benefit of the parents at the expense of the children.[6] Where a divorce or judicial separation is granted for the wife's adultery, the court may order a settlement of her property for the husband or the children.[6] Permanent alimony may be ordered as a gross sum or as periodic payments, having regard to the wife's own fortune, the husband's ability and the parties' conduct.[6]

Recovering belongings

Ornaments and belongings held by the husband's family are best recovered by agreement, recorded with a list and a handover date. Otherwise a claim for her own movables is a civil claim, not one of the five matters the family court hears.[2] Photographs, receipts and the kabinnama's record of ornaments given in lieu of dower decide these claims.

Divorce during pregnancy: the talaq waits for the birth

Pregnancy changes the timing, and therefore the divorce cost Bangladesh law imposes on a husband. Section 7(5) of the Muslim Family Laws Ordinance 1961 provides that if the wife is pregnant when talaq is pronounced, the talaq does not take effect until the ninety-day period or the pregnancy ends, whichever is later.[1] A husband cannot shorten the marriage by pronouncing talaq in the early months; the divorce becomes effective only after delivery or the end of the pregnancy, if that is later than the ninety days.

Which divorces are affected

The rule applies to talaq by the husband. Because section 8 applies section 7 to a wife's delegated divorce and to dissolution otherwise than by talaq, the same timing governs a tafweez divorce and a khula or mubara'at, so far as applicable.[1] A family court dissolution is also routed through the Chairman, who treats the decree as a talaq notice, so the ninety days run from his receipt of it.[2] Where the wife is pregnant, raise the pregnancy with the Chairman expressly so that the record shows when the divorce can take effect.

Maintenance during pregnancy

Until the talaq takes effect the marriage subsists, so the husband's duty to maintain his wife continues throughout the pregnancy. If he fails to maintain her, she can apply to the Chairman for an Arbitration Council certificate fixing the amount, which is recoverable as arrears of land revenue, or claim maintenance in the family court.[1] [2] Plead pregnancy-related medical costs as part of the maintenance claim, with receipts. After the birth, the father's duty to maintain the child is separate and continues regardless of the divorce; our maintenance case guide covers how it is quantified and enforced.

Dower and registration after delivery

Because the divorce is not effective until the pregnancy ends, deferred dower does not fall due until then either, and any settlement should fix payment by reference to that date. Registration with the Nikah Registrar, and any divorce certificate, should follow the effective date, not the pronouncement. For Christians and Hindus there is no equivalent statutory rule, but in a Christian suit the court can make interim orders for the wife's alimony and the children's maintenance while the case is pending.[6]

Mistakes that raise the divorce cost Bangladesh families pay

• Skipping the section 7 notice: an unnotified talaq is an offence and leaves the divorce date open to dispute.[1]
• Registering before the divorce is effective: a divorce certificate that predates the ninety days, or the end of a pregnancy, will be challenged.[1]
• Under-recording dower in the kabinnama: the registered figure is the starting point for every later claim.
• Signing a blanket release: a settlement agreement that waives dower and maintenance in general words is the most expensive document many wives ever sign.
• Ignoring mediation: in covered districts a suit cannot be filed until legal aid mediation has failed, and a certified settlement is enforceable as a decree.[8] [10]
• Letting a decree lapse: a money decree must be put into execution within one year after the payment deadline.[2]
• Assuming property follows contribution: without title or a written settlement agreement, contributions to a spouse's property create no claim on divorce.

Families who need advice on a contested divorce, a settlement or a cross-border case can explore TRW's Islamic family law practice and family mediation and settlement practice.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a divorce cost in Bangladesh?

Official fees are small: Tk 1,000 to register a Muslim divorce and Tk 200 on a family court plaint, plus service costs.[4] [2] The larger costs are lawyers' fees, unpaid dower and maintenance, and for Christians the two-stage court process.

What does the Kazi charge to register a divorce?

The official divorce registration fee is Tk 1,000, following the December 2022 notification, and the first attested copy of the entry must be given free.[4] [3]

How do I get a divorce certificate in Bangladesh?

After the ninety days have run, obtain the Chairman's confirmation and register the divorce with the Nikah Registrar, who gives a free attested copy and, under the 2025 rule amendments, may issue a divorce certificate in Form ছ১ on request.[3] [5]

Is there legal separation for Muslims in Bangladesh?

No. Muslim law in Bangladesh has no decree of judicial separation. Spouses who live apart remain married, and maintenance continues; long failure to maintain can become a ground for dissolution.[1] [7]

Can a Christian couple get a judicial separation?

Yes. Section 22 of the Divorce Act 1869 allows either spouse to seek judicial separation for adultery, cruelty or desertion for two years or more, by petition to the District Court or the High Court Division.[6]

Can a Hindu couple divorce in Bangladesh?

There is no legal mechanism for Hindu divorce in Bangladesh. A Hindu wife can claim separate residence and maintenance under the 1946 Act on the grounds it lists.[12] [13]

Is a divorce settlement agreement enforceable?

A private settlement agreement is a contract. A legal aid mediation agreement certified by the Chief Legal Aid Officer is enforceable as a decree, and a family court can pass a decree in the terms of a compromise.[10] [2]

Does a wife get half the property on divorce in Bangladesh?

No. There is no community property regime. Each spouse keeps property in their own name; the wife keeps her dower, gifts and personal property, and jointly titled property is divided by agreement or partition.[7] [11]

Can a husband divorce his wife while she is pregnant?

He can pronounce talaq, but it does not take effect until the ninety days or the pregnancy ends, whichever is later, and maintenance continues until then.[1]

Do I need to go to legal aid before filing a family case?

In districts where section 21B of the Legal Aid Services Act 2000 is in force, yes: family court matters must first go to legal aid mediation, and a suit can be filed only if mediation fails.[8] [9]