Evolving Landscapes in Family Law

A new type of divorce: a simpler and more dignified process - more HERE

A fundamental innovation is the introduction of the so-called agreed divorce – i.e., divorce by agreement. If the spouses agree not only on the termination of the marriage itself, but also on the settlement of property, housing, child custody, and child support, they can file a joint petition and the court will decide without examining the causes of the breakdown. However, the marriage must have lasted for at least one year as of the date of commencement of the proceedings. The agreement on the arrangement of the child's affairs must be approved by the court, and agreements on property, housing, and any child support must be in writing with officially certified signatures. The court no longer determines the causes of the breakdown in other divorces either. An exception is a situation where the spouse who did not file the petition claims that the divorce would cause them particularly serious harm.

If the parents reach an agreement regarding the children during a so-called other court hearing (a less formal meeting at court), the court does not have to order a hearing to decide on the divorce and will interview the spouses directly during this meeting. The court may waive the interview of the spouses if their consent to the divorce and agreement on the breakdown of the marriage are clear from written submissions or identical statements and the court has no doubts about them. The goal is to create a more dignified atmosphere that contributes to an amicable process and eliminates unnecessary stress for the parties involved.

New court fee regime - more HERE

The amendment introduced new court fee amounts. A petition for an agreed divorce costs CZK 2,000, just as before, while for other divorces the fee has increased to CZK 5,000. However, the law simultaneously motivates the parties to reach an amicable solution – if the spouses reach an agreement during the proceedings and the court decides on an agreed divorce, it will refund the difference of CZK 3,000 to the petitioner.

At the same time, the previously required condition of six months of separation of the spouses, which was often difficult to prove in practice and unnecessarily formal, has been abolished. However, the condition that the marriage must have lasted for at least one year remains for agreed divorces.

Merger of divorce and child custody proceedings - more HERE

A significant change is the unification of divorce proceedings with proceedings regarding the arrangement of affairs of a minor child. What previously took place separately – often before different panels of judges and at different times – is now merged into a single proceeding. The court thus decides simultaneously on the divorce and on how the affairs of the minor child will be arranged after the divorce. The divorce judgment will become legally binding at the earliest together with the decision on the child's affairs.

At the same time, there has been a change in the position of the guardian ad litem (OSPOD - Child Protection Authority). Their participation in the proceedings is no longer automatically mandatory. If the parents initiate proceedings in mutual agreement on the content of the agreement regarding the child, they represent the child themselves. The court will appoint a guardian for the child if there could be a conflict of interest between a parent and the child or between siblings, or if the child requests it.

Parents in an equal position. The end of formal custody categories - more HERE

The amendment brought a fundamental change to the concept of child custody. The previous categorization into joint, sole, and alternating custody has been abolished under Czech legislation. If the parents agree, the court will decide that the child remains in the care of both parents and does not specify the scope of care. Otherwise, the court will determine the scope of care for each parent. In doing so, it proceeds from the premise that the child has a right to equal care from both parents. It is therefore no longer decided to whom the child will be "entrusted into custody", but rather how the care will be divided between the parents and how time with each of them will be organized.

If necessary in the interest of the child, the court may also determine the conditions of care – for example, the place where the parent may or may not care for the child, or the persons who may or may not be present during care. However, this is not a blanket assessment of who the parent lives with – the law allows such intervention only if it is necessary in the interest of the child. The regulation thus gives courts a tool to resolve extreme cases, but not to interfere in ordinary family life.

Child support: a new approach to enforcement and determination - more HERE

A significant innovation is the possibility of assigning a child support claim to a third party for consideration. This explicitly recognizes the existing practice where parents often resolved unpaid child support through collection agencies. Only a due child support claim determined by a court decision can be assigned. The consideration is paid only by cashless transfer, and the claim is transferred to the new creditor only upon its full payment. The parent who assigns the claim is not liable for the agency successfully recovering it.

In addition, the default interest rate has increased for overdue child support for a minor child: during the first 6 months of default, it amounts to 2.5 per mille of the outstanding amount for each day, after which it is calculated at the standard statutory rate – making non-payment of child support financially more severe for the liable parents.

Provisional decision: quick help in disputed beginnings

The amendment introduced a new procedural tool designed to bridge the period without a clear legal framework after the separation of parents – the so-called provisional decision. The court will issue it if the child's situation does not require immediate intervention by an interim injunction, but it is in the child's interest to provisionally arrange their affairs. It will decide on the proposal within 3 months at the latest, and the provisional decision can last for a maximum of 3 months from its enforceability; the court may extend it.

Based on this, the court can arrange the child's affairs, typically the scope of care, contact, or maintenance, until a final decision is made. A provisional decision can only be issued if all participants, including the child, have been given the opportunity to express their views. For urgent situations, the interim injunction remains, which the court orders upon the proposal of the child protection authority (in some cases even without a proposal). The goal is to prevent long-term stay in a provisional regime without a proper assessment of the matter.

Explicit ban on physical punishment - more HERE

Part of the amendment is also the explicit anchoring of the inadmissibility of physical punishment of children. The law now explicitly states that child care must take place without physical punishment, mental suffering, and other humiliating measures, and that these practices affect the human dignity of the child. The goal is not to criminalize parental upbringing, but to express a clear social stance that a child has the right to dignified treatment even within the family.

At the same time, the amendment explicitly allows the court to suspend the exercise of parental responsibility of a parent if its exercise would threaten the emotional or psychological development of the child and the threat cannot be averted otherwise.

Professional discussion and further development

Although some parts of the amendment sparked discussion – particularly the question of the interpretation of "equal care" – the Family Law Section of the Czech Bar Association, in its opinion from July 2025, unequivocally supported the adoption of the amendment and especially appreciated the administrative simplification of divorce proceedings. At the same time, however, it pointed out that equal care is not the same as symmetrical care – and court decisions must always take into account the specific needs of the child.

Final summary

The amendment to family law represents a modern and more practical approach to resolving sensitive life situations. It facilitates divorces where there is an agreement between the spouses and allows for a faster and more refined course of proceedings. Changes in the concept of child custody place parents in an equal position and support individual solutions instead of formal categorization. The new regulation of child support, the ban on physical punishment, and simpler decision-making regarding the child in the transitional period are steps that reflect contemporary values – dignity, responsibility, and the best interests of the child.

Are you dealing with a divorce, child custody arrangement, or child support under the new rules? Contact our Prague-based legal team at consultation@arws.cz.