Subtopic 4 — Divorce in Exchange for Property (Khol`)
Article 156:
(1) Khol` (divorce in exchange for property) is dissolution of marriage contract in exchange for
property that wife pays husband.
(2) Khol` takes place with explicit words for it or with any other word that denotes the meaning of
Khol`.
Article 157:
Khol` shall be valid when husband holds the power to divorce and wife is still subject to it.
Article 158:
Any property that has been accepted as dowry may also be accepted as the exchange property for
Khol`.
Article 159:
Khol` of a wife who lacks capacity is permissible. But wife may not be forced to pay Khol` without the
agreement of her property guardian.
Article 160:
Khol` is the same as irreversible divorce in that it is not subject to court ruling.
Article 161:
Either of spouses may withdraw his/her offer before acceptance of the other party.
Article 162:
If Khol` takes place in exchange for a certain property other than the dowry, wife shall be obligated to
pay it. No other claim deriving from marriage rights, such as dowry or alimony of the past that owed
to each other at the time of Khol`, may not be made.
Article 163:
If Khol` has been in exchange for all of the dowry, in case all or part of the dowry has already been
delivered to wife, she shall be obligated to return the amount she received, otherwise, husband shall
not have the obligation to pay the dowry, whether or not Khol` has taken place before or after marriage
consummation.
Article 164:
If the exchanging is not determined at the time of Khol`, spouses shall be released from all marriage
rights. Husband may not demand the return of whatever he delivered to wife or wife may not
claim whatever husband owes her; whether or not Khol` has taken place before or after marriage
consummation.
Article 165:
If the exchanging is rejected at the time of Khol`, the divorce shall be irreversible and it shall not
extinguish marriage rights they hold against each other.
Article 166:
If husband receives un-rightfully the Khol` exchange, in case marriage has been invalid, Khol` shall not
be valid. Wife may also demand the return of the exchanged property.
Article 167:
If Khol` exchange gets destroyed or taken due to an entitlement, before delivery to husband, wife shall
be obligated to replace it or pay its price.
Article 168:
In Khol`, alimony of the waiting period after divorce shall not extinguish, unless spouses have explicitly
agreed on its extinguishment at the time of Khol.
Article 169:
If wife accepts fee of giving milk to or caring of and providing alimony to the child for a certain period
of time as the Khol` exchange, she shall be obligated to perform this commitment.
Article 170:
If wife cannot fulfill completely her obligations of giving milk to or caring of and providing alimony to
the child due to reasons such as marriage with another person, escape, her death or the child’s death,
husband may claim the remaining part of the fee for the period of giving milk and that of the alimony,
unless they have agreed on non-claim at the time of Khol` in case of death of child or wife.
Article 171:
If giving milk to the child is determined as the Khol` exchange before the child’s birth and thereafter
it is proven that there was no pregnancy or it was aborted or the child dies before completion of two
years of milk-feeding, husband may claim an amount equivalent to the fee of whole period of milkgiving or the remaining period thereof.
Article 172:
Wife may determine caring of child until the age of puberty as the Khol` exchange when the child is
female. If the wife marries another person during this period, father of the child may get custody of
the child and claim an amount equivalent to the fee of caring or the remaining period thereof, even if
they had already agreed on the child custody by the mother.
Article 173:
(1) If, at the time of Khol`, it is stipulated that the child stays with husband during the custodial period,
the Khol` contract shall be valid but the stipulation shall be void. Wife may keep with herself the
child until the end of custodial period, provided that this right has not been extinguished due to
another reason.
(2) In case the child is poor, father shall be responsible for the custodial fee and alimony of the child.
Article 174:
Husband may not offset wife’s debt to himself by his debt deriving from the child alimony. If alimony of
the child is determined as the Khol` exchange while wife is insolvent, husband shall be responsible for
the alimony of the child. In case wife becomes solvent, husband may claim the paid sums against her.
Article 175:
(1) If wife concludes Khol` contract with husband at the time of terminal illness, Khol` shall be valid
and result in irreversible divorce. If wife dies during the waiting period, husband shall be entitled
to the least of one of right of inheritance, the Khol property or one-third of the inheritance. In case
she dies after completion of the period of waiting, husband shall be entitled to the lesser of onethird of inheritance or the Khol1 exchange.
(2) If wife recovers, husband shall be entitled to all of the determined Khol` exchange.