Facts
A.A. (born 1969) and B.A. (born 1973) had married in Zofingen on November 12, 2004. On November 12, 2013, A.A. filed for divorce at the District Court of Zofingen. By decision of February 9, 2015, the District Court determined the procedural indigence of B.A. and obliged A.A. to pay his wife an advance on procedural costs of CHF 8,000 for the divorce proceedings.
On June 29, 2018, the District Court of Zofingen granted the divorce. A.A. appealed to the High Court of the Canton of Aargau. The High Court partially upheld the appeal and dismissed the remainder of the appeal.
A.A. (appellant) appeals to the Federal Supreme Court and requests, among other things, the reimbursement of the paid advance on procedural costs of CHF 8,000 from the respondent.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court notes that the advance on procedural costs (provisio ad litem) is a provisional payment by one spouse to the other. The spouse who has paid the advance can generally demand the reimbursement of the amount paid or its offsetting against counterclaims of the other party under the law of property or civil procedure.
However, a full reimbursement of the advance on procedural costs may appear inequitable (Art. 4 CC) in the specific case. The equity of exempting a party from reimbursement in…