A New Partner’s Income and Child Support Amounts in the Czech republic: What Do the Czech Courts and the Czech Constitutional Court Say?
Determining the amount of child support for a minor child is one of the most sensitive areas of family law. Although the Child Support Act clearly states that this obligation rests solely with the parents, judicial practice has long grappled with the question of to what extent the financial circumstances of the custodial parent’s new partner or spouse may be taken into account in calculating child support. Two rulings of the Constitutional Court, Case No. I. ÚS 527/06 dated March 7, 2007, and Case No. II. ÚS 756/16 dated June 14, 2016, have fundamentally established this issue and have become a binding part of case law that general courts must take into account when deciding on child support.
Czech Legal Framework: Factors Affecting Child Support
According to the provisions of Section 910 of the Civil Code, both parents have a maintenance obligation toward the child. The law further states in Section 913(1) of the Civil Code stipulates that the amount of child support is determined by the child’s justified needs and financial circumstances, as well as the obligated parent’s abilities, possibilities, and financial circumstances. However, it is not only the parent’s actual income that is decisive, Section 913(2) of the Civil Code requires the court to examine whether the obligated parent has, without good cause, given up a more advantageous job or financial benefit, or whether the parent is taking on unreasonable financial risks.
The key rule is Section 915(1) of the Civil Code, which stipulates that the child’s standard of living should, in principle, be consistent with that of the parents, with this consideration taking precedence over the child’s justified needs. In other words, if the standard of living of the obligated parent is above average, the child’s standard of living must correspond to this, even if, given the child’s age and specific needs, “less would suffice.”
The partner is not obligated to provide support, but still plays a role in the Czech republic
Key case law of the Czech Constitutional Court is also based on the legal framework described above. In the cited rulings, both courts proceeded from the same premise: although the partner, cohabitant, husband, or wife of a parent providing care is not a person obligated to pay child support, their financial contributions to the shared household will, in fact, always have an impact on the standard of living of both the parent and the child. The difference may lie only in the extent of this impact.
Judgment I. ÚS 527/06: A Landmark Decision on the Income of the Mother’s Partner
The case that led to the ruling of the First Chamber of the Czech Constitutional Court dated March 7, 2007 (Case No. I. ÚS 527/06, N 43/44 SbNU 549), concerned a father who sought a reduction in child support for two minor children entrusted to the mother’s care. The Czech Regional Court in Hradec Králové dismissed his motion, taking into account only the mother’s income from employment in the amount of CZK 6,000 per month when assessing her circumstances, and completely ignoring the finding of the court of first instance that the mother lives in a shared household with a steady boyfriend who contributes approximately CZK 9,000 per month to the household.
The Czech Constitutional Court characterized this error by the Regional Court as a violation of the complainant’s right to a fair trial. In its reasoning, it clearly stated that while a parent’s partner is not a person obligated to pay child support, his contributions to the shared household will in fact always have an impact on the standard of living of both the parent and the child. To disregard such a fact would be to construct a fiction that contradicts the actual state of affairs. If this fact was proven in the proceedings, the court was obligated to at least take it into account to a reasonable extent.
At the same time, the Czech Constitutional Court emphasized a more general principle that is often overlooked in practice. When deciding on child support, it is not sufficient to focus solely on the parent’s actual income. The court must comprehensively assess the total value of movable and immovable property and the parent’s lifestyle—that is, the overall standard of living of the parent obligated to pay support.
Decision II. ÚS 756/16: A Doctor’s Wife’s Income and a Restricted Joint Marital Property
The second of these landmark rulings was issued by the Second Chamber of the Czech Constitutional Court on June 14, 2016 (case no. II. ÚS 756/16, N 114/81 SbNU 785). The case concerned an increase in child support for a minor daughter, with the father, a physician, arguing, among other things, that he and his current wife, an attorney, had a restricted joint marital estate and that he did not maintain a joint household with her. The lower courts accepted these arguments and did not take the wife’s income into account at all.
However, the Czech Constitutional Court overturned their decision and stated unequivocally that the fact that the spouses have limited joint property does not mean that the courts cannot also take into account the income of the father’s wife if she lives with him in a shared household and contributes to meeting the family’s needs. The court need not take into account the maintenance of a household that is inconsistent with the actual situation; in this regard, the Czech Constitutional Court characterized the father’s statement that he “does not maintain a joint household” with his wife and “does not know her income” as self-serving.
The court also criticized the lower courts for failing to consider that the father had gifted his wife a co-ownership share in a property, which was subsequently sold for a price many times higher than its original valuation. Such a financial benefit undoubtedly affected the standard of living of both the wife and the father himself, and the courts should have included it in their deliberations.
What the Czech case law implies for practice
Together, these two rulings establish consistent conclusions that have a direct impact on every Czech child support proceeding:
- First, the Czech courts are required to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the obligor parent’s standard of living. It is not sufficient to determine the amount of their salary; it is necessary to evaluate their assets, lifestyle, and all factors that influence their standard of living.
- Second, the income and financial circumstances of the new partner or spouse of the custodial parent in the Czech republic are not legally irrelevant for determining child support. If this person lives with the parent in a shared household and contributes to meeting the family’s needs, these facts will have a tangible impact on the standard of living of both the parent and the child, and the court must at least take them into account appropriately.
- Third, the division of marital property does not preclude the court from considering the income of the other spouse in the Czech republic. This is an autonomous choice of the spouses that cannot have any impact on the parent’s maintenance obligation toward the child.
- Fourth, the obligated parent may not reduce their reported standard of living by gifting property to a partner, transferring income, or taking other steps leading to a deliberate reduction of funds. The Czech court also assesses property benefits that the parent relinquished in the past.
Important clarification: proportionality, not direct liability of the partner
It cannot be inferred from the Czech case law described above that the financial circumstances of the new partner of the custodial parent have a decisive or direct impact on the amount of child support ordered to be paid by the non-custodial parent. This is because the obligation to provide child support rests exclusively with the parents, not their partners.
The financial circumstances of the partner may therefore be taken into account only as one of the factors contributing to the overall picture of the family’s financial and living standards in which the child is growing up. This circumstance should not result in the obligated parent paying child support that is many times higher than what corresponds to their own abilities, means, and financial circumstances; such a consideration would be contrary to Section 913(1) of the Czech Civil Code, which serves as the starting point for calculating child support.
It is therefore a reasonable reflection of the actual reality, not an indirect imposition of a maintenance obligation on a third party to whom such an obligation does not legally apply.
The perspective of an equal standard of living and the ability to pay more in the Czech republic
Section 915 of the Czech Civil Code introduces another dimension into the calculation of child support that courts must actively take into account, namely the child’s right to a standard of living consistent with that of the parents, taking precedence over the consideration of the child’s specific, justified needs. In practice, this means that the amount of child support must not be limited solely to covering “necessities.” If the obligated parent is financially well-off, this must be reflected in the amount of child support, even if the child otherwise does not “demonstrate” increased needs corresponding to this standard.
The Czech courts are not bound by what the parent actually earns. Section 913(2) provides that if a parent has given up a more lucrative job, is not working to full capacity, or otherwise intentionally reduces their earnings, the court takes this into account and assesses what income the parent could have achieved. Similarly, significant assets, such as apartments, houses, securities, and shares in companies, are factors that objectively improve one’s standard of living and quality of life, regardless of whether they generate regular income.
Conclusion
The issue of a new partner’s income when determining child support illustrates how the Czech law and Czech case law approach child support as an institution that reflects actual living conditions, rather than merely formal legal relationships. The Czech courts must not mechanically add up the parents’ documented incomes; they are required to examine the actual standard of living, lifestyle, and all circumstances that influence it.
The Czech Constitutional Court’s rulings, case nos. I. ÚS 527/06 and II. ÚS 756/16, serve as binding guidance for the courts. A new partner’s contributions to the shared household and their economic situation are circumstances that must be appropriately taken into account during the substantive assessment of the case, regardless of whether the partner is a cohabitant, a spouse with a limited joint property regime, or anyone else who actually shares their life with the custodial parent and contributes to the family’s upkeep.
For more information, please contact us at:
ECOVIS ježek, advokátní kancelář s.r.o.
Betlémské nám. 6
110 00 Praha 1
e-mail: mojmir.jezek@ecovislegal.cz
www.ecovislegal.cz
About ECOVIS ježek, advokátní kancelář s.r.o.
The Czech law firm ECOVIS ježek focuses primarily on commercial law, real estate law, litigation, as well as financing and banking law, and provides comprehensive advice in all areas, thus offering an alternative to clients of international law firms. The international scope of the services provided is ensured by our existing experience and through cooperation with leading law firms in most European countries, the U.S., and other jurisdictions within the ECOVISnetwork, which operates in 75 countries worldwide. The members of the ECOVIS ježek law firm teamhave many years of experience from leading international law and tax firms in providing legal advice to multinational corporations, large Czech companies, as well as medium-sized firms and individual clients. For more information, visit www.ecovislegal.cz.
