Family
Family law in Book Four of the Civil Code with registered partnership
Family law moved into Book Four of the 2013 Civil Code. Marriage is constitutionally limited to a man and a woman, but same-sex couples may enter a registered partnership with most, though not all, marital effects, notably excluding joint adoption.
Key rules
- Divorce is granted where marital life has irretrievably broken down.
- Uncontested divorce is possible where the parties agree on children, housing and maintenance.
- Marriage creates a community of property unless a notarial contract provides otherwise.
- Joint parental custody is the statutory default, subject to the child's best interests.
Governing law
- Act V of 2013 on the Civil Code (2013)Book Four on family law.
- Act XXIX of 2009 on registered partnership (2009)
- Act CXXX of 2016 on civil procedure (2016)Matrimonial actions.
In practice
An uncontested petition still requires a court hearing and an approved settlement, but it typically resolves in a single sitting where the children's arrangements are already documented.