Family law – divorce, maintenance, child custody and division of property in Kraków

Where there has been a complete and permanent breakdown of the marital relationship. A divorce is not permissible, however, among other cases where it would harm the welfare of the spouses’ joint minor children (Article 56 of the Family and Guardianship Code).

The court fee for the petition is PLN 600. Possible costs of a legal representative, translations and evidence are added.

The court decides on parental responsibility for the joint minor child, on contact between the parents and the child, and on the amount each spouse must bear towards the child’s maintenance and upbringing; it takes into account a written agreement between the spouses (Article 58 § 1 of the Code).

Parents are obliged to provide maintenance for a child who is not yet able to support himself or herself, unless the income from the child’s property is sufficient to cover the costs of the child’s maintenance and upbringing (Article 133 § 1 of the Code).

A party claiming maintenance is not obliged to pay court costs (Article 96(1)(2) of the Act on Court Costs in Civil Cases).

Yes. Irrespective of parental responsibility, parents and their child have the right and the duty to maintain contact with each other (Article 113 § 1 of the Code).

Both spouses in principle have equal shares in joint property, and for important reasons the shares may be determined taking into account the degree to which each contributed to its creation (Article 43 of the Code). Spouses may conclude a property agreement, e.g. establishing separation of property, in the form of a notarial deed (Article 47 § 1 of the Code).

This depends on the assessment of jurisdiction – the 1993 Polish–Ukrainian treaty points to a Ukrainian court, while the Brussels IIb Regulation supports the jurisdiction of the State of the spouses’ habitual residence. The case must be assessed individually before the petition is filed – we describe this in our article on the divorce of foreigners.