Changes in Family Law 2025: Partnership, Divorce and Child Protection
Since the beginning of 2025, new legislation has brought significant changes in family law. Several amendments to the Civil Code and other related laws have come into effect. These changes in family law introduce major innovations particularly in partnership law, child protection, and divorce proceedings.
On 1.1.2025, an amendment (Act No. 123/2024 Coll.) took effect, which affects not only the Civil Code. This amendment fundamentally changes the institute of partnership (formerly registered partnership) and brings it legally closer to marriage. The changes in family law primarily concern property relations, inheritance law, and parenting by same-sex partners. Moreover, from mid-year, another amendment focused on domestic violence came into effect.
These changes in family law affect not only the Civil Code, but also laws on child protection and special court proceedings.
We must not overlook the groundbreaking decision of the Constitutional Court (Constitutional Court judgment ref. no. Pl. ÚS 52/23 of 24.4.2024). This decision removed the requirement to prevent reproduction for gender change, although this happened in 2024. Through this step, the Czech Republic joined modern states recognizing bodily integrity and human dignity.
Additional Planned Changes in Family Law from 2026
In family law, we can expect further changes soon. In June this year, the Chamber of Deputies approved an extensive amendment to the Civil Code and other laws, which now only awaits approval by the Senate and the President's signature. It is expected to take effect on 1. 1. 2026, as the bill proposes. The amendment focuses on divorce, parental responsibility (including prohibition of physical punishment), and care for minors. It also brings changes concerning child support enforcement, which may significantly impact practice.
Change of Partnership Name
The regulation of same-sex partnership underwent numerous significant changes through the amendment (Act No. 123/2024 Coll.). This union is now simply called "partnership," not registered partnership, as was previously common. From 1. 1. 2025, these terms must be legally distinguished. These changes in family law represent a significant step forward in equal rights.
Application of Marriage Law to Partnership
The most important change of this amendment can be considered the extension of § 655 of the Civil Code by paragraph 2. This defines partnership as "a permanent union of two people of the same sex, which is concluded in the same way as marriage". The second sentence further states: "Unless the law or other legal regulation provides otherwise, provisions on marriage, rights and obligations of spouses, widows and widowers apply to partnership and rights and obligations of partners accordingly". This includes rights and obligations of spouses, widows and widowers, which now also apply to partners. From the beginning of 2025, maintenance obligations and parental responsibility also apply to partnerships. Similarly, protection of the weaker partner during separation applies, similar to divorce in marriage.
Adoption and Substitute Care
Another benefit of the amendment is the regulation of adoption and substitute care. Now, one partner can adopt a child whose parent is the other partner at that time. It does not matter whether the first partner is a biological parent or previously adopted the child themselves. This institute is sometimes also called step-adoption. Its effect is that the second partner as adopter enters into the full role of the second parent and acquires corresponding rights and obligations as a biological parent. This significantly strengthens the legal position of children of same-sex couples. Children are protected even in case of partner's death or their separation, and they do not face the risk of being separated from the second parent.
Uncertainties Regarding § 800 of the Civil Code
The above-mentioned amendment to § 655 of the Civil Code raised questions about how § 800 of the Civil Code (on adoption by spouses) should be interpreted and applied. Courts approach this matter differently in their practice. The provision of § 800 para. 2 of the Civil Code allows spouses so-called joint adoption. This means that spouses jointly adopt a completely unknown child within a single court proceeding. Some courts, as before, do not allow same-sex couples joint adoption and believe that para. 2 still applies only to married couples. Other courts, conversely, after the amendment's effectiveness, interpret the provision of § 800 para. 2 of the Civil Code so that partners can also be joint adopters.
Recommendations for Couples Considering Adoption
This uncertainty in interpreting the relevant provision may paradoxically lead to prolonged court proceedings, even for years. All partners who intend to proceed with adoption should therefore carefully consider their options. They can take the path of individual adoption and subsequent step-adoption, or the path of joint adoption. We will closely monitor the development of jurisprudence on this topic. We would recommend the same to all for whom the application of this regulation will be crucial in practice.
Within the framework of applying marriage law to partnership, it can be inferred that partners will now be able to become joint foster parents.
Joint Property of Spouses and Other Property Rights of Partners
Partners are now subject to the statutory property regime of CPP (community property of partners), which corresponds to CPS (community property of spouses). This moves away from the previous regulation of share co-ownership. Partners also have the option to choose whether to regulate their property rights differently through a (pre)marital agreement.
Maintenance obligations similar to those of spouses now also arise between partners. The surviving partner is now an heir in the first inheritance class alongside the deceased's children, and therefore by extension also in the second class if the partner were to inherit alone.
Surname Change
The amendment also significantly affects the Registry Act (Act No. 301/2000 Coll., on Registries). It is now possible to adopt the partner's surname upon entering partnership without further requirements. There has also been an expansion of possibilities to enter partnership. Same-sex couples no longer need to turn to specialized registry offices and can enter into partnership at any registry office or outside it.
Registered Partnerships Concluded Before the Amendment
Registered partnerships do not automatically transform into partnerships. The reason is the principle of legal predictability and prohibition of retroactivity, since the rights and obligations arising from the new partnership are much broader.
All registered partners who wish to change their union to partnership must first enter into partnership. However, they do not need to dissolve their registered partnership beforehand. One can enter partnership "directly" from registered partnership. In § 33 para. 2 of the Registry Act, it is stated: "Fiancés who have entered registered partnership together are not obliged to attach a final court decision on dissolution of their partnership". Registered partners, conversely, have no obligation to enter the partnership regime.
Termination of the Registered Partnership Institute
The new legal regulation abolishes the possibility of entering registered partnerships, however, previously concluded partnerships remain valid. From 1. 1. 2025, however, it is no longer possible to enter new registered partnerships. Persons living in registered partnerships will be able to choose whether they want to convert their union to the new partnership institute. This step will bring a change in property regime. Registered partners did not have community property until now, while partners in the new legal regime do.
Combating Domestic Violence
In mid-2025, an amendment (Act No. 78/2025 Coll.) to several laws took effect. It concerns the Civil Code, the Act on Social and Legal Protection of Children and the Act on Special Court Proceedings. It aims to contribute to more effective combating of domestic violence, which remains a pressing problem. Its solution is often complicated due to the close relationship between the aggressor and victim and their dependence on them.
New Definition of Domestic Violence
The legislator changed the wording of § 3021 of the Civil Code and approached the much-needed unified definition of domestic violence. This established for the public what domestic violence consists of and what forms it can take. Above all, however, it provided clear guidance to public authorities. Their interpretation previously often differed due to the vague nature of the concept, which negatively affected mainly victims.
The new and comprehensive definition aims to capture all forms of domestic violence that appear in practice. These include psychological, physical, sexual, economic violence, and so-called controlling behavior.
Expansion of the Circle of Protected Persons
A broader circle of persons who can become victims of domestic violence is also newly defined. This definition reflects the actual groups of people who realistically become victims. The victim can be a person who lives or lived with the person committing domestic violence in a common household, or a person whose household the person committing domestic violence repeatedly and long-term visits, a close person or one who was formerly such, or a parent of a common child or one who exercises parental responsibility with the person committing domestic violence. The amendment thus intentionally deviates from the concept of violence "within four walls." It responds to violence committed by persons who no longer live in a common household, typically former spouses, partners, or caregivers.
Changes in Proceedings Concerning Domestic Violence Aggressors (CCP, SCP, Misdemeanour Act)
The mentioned procedural regulations respond to changes in the Civil Code and simultaneously strengthen victim protection. The goal is to ensure that victims do not have to meet aggressors during proceedings at all. This aims to prevent further violence and secondary victimization that mere contact with the aggressor can cause.
According to the new wording of the Civil Procedure Code, it is no longer possible to order the first meeting with a mediator if criminal or misdemeanour proceedings are ongoing for conduct showing signs of domestic violence or if a preliminary injunction in matters of protection against domestic violence is in effect.
In the Act on Special Court Proceedings, the wording of § 493 was changed. It was expanded by a new paragraph 2. This is to ensure that it is possible to execute a decision in matters of protection against domestic violence even against a person who does not live with the victim but still commits violence against them.
Gender Change
For the last change that took effect in 2025, we owe thanks to the above-cited decision of the Constitutional Court. This decision annulled the first sentence of § 29 para. 1 of the Civil Code. The paragraph now reads: "It is presumed that the day of gender change is the day stated in the certificate issued by the healthcare provider". A surgical procedure leading to the prevention of reproductive function, i.e., castration, is no longer required for gender change. The Constitutional Court stated that the legal requirements for surgical transformation and prevention of reproduction are in conflict with the right to protection of bodily integrity and human dignity.
How the legislator will change the provision of § 29 of the Civil Code together with § 21 para. 1 first sentence of the Act on Specific Health Services in the future is not yet certain. However, it can be assumed with high probability that it will join other modern countries of the Western world and will no longer require surgical intervention for gender change.
Strengthening Child Rights Protection
Physical Punishment
The planned amendment aims to clarify the provision of § 858 of the Civil Code on parental responsibility. Its content is divided into points, some of which are more broadly developed. To the provision "Parental responsibility includes duties and rights of parents, which consist in caring for the child..." is added the clause "without physical punishment, mental suffering and other degrading measures". This provision thus already expressly, and not only based on interpretation of § 884 of the Civil Code, establishes an explicit prohibition of physical punishment. The consequences of this change in practice are not yet clear. However, it can be stated that this is a positive step towards healthy child rearing.
New Concept of Contact with Child
The amendment also aims to develop the content of parental responsibility in § 858 of the Civil Code in the area of maintaining contact with the child. Instead of mere "maintaining personal contact with the child," the provision newly provides a broader definition. This includes personal contact, indirect contact through communication means, and mutual provision of all essential information about the child between parents and vice versa. This change responds to the factual state. Prevention of communication through any of these means will be considered a violation of parental responsibility.
This change again attempts to respond to the factual state. Children today communicate with parents through many communication means including remote communication. Prevention of communication through each of such means will in the future be considered a disruption of the right to exercise parental responsibility, respectively a violation of the duty to properly exercise parental responsibility.
The provision of § 884 of the Civil Code is also to be supplemented. At the end of paragraph 2, the sentence is added: "It applies that human dignity of the child is affected by physical punishment, causing mental suffering and other degrading measures". This regulation follows the above-mentioned changes and aims to prevent violence against children in the form of physical punishment.
Child Care
The Civil Code amendment aims to remove the division of care into exclusive, alternating, and joint from the legal system. The legislator believes that negative prejudices and impacts are associated with this division, leading to dysfunctional care arrangements. However, the new regulation should better reflect the child's best interests. The provisions of § 888 - § 891 of the Civil Code are therefore to undergo fundamental change.
The provision of § 888 newly establishes the right of both child and parents to equal care by both parents and correspondingly the right of parents to equal care for their child. If parents do not live together, they have the obligation to prepare the child for the other parent's care, enable it, and cooperate. Similarly, § 889 is supplemented, which requires parents to refrain from everything that disrupts the child's relationship with the other parent. If a parent permanently or repeatedly prevents the other from caring, this is grounds for a new court decision.
The provision of § 891 further regulates the relations of parents who do not live together. If one parent cares for the child, the other has the right to indirect contact and information about the child to a reasonable extent.
Priority of Parental Agreement over Court Decision
The Civil Code in § 907 newly gives parents the primary opportunity to agree on the scope of care. Only if parents do not reach agreement will the court determine the scope of each parent's care with regard to the child's interests.
Collectibility of Child Support Claims
The amendment also contains measures for easier child support enforcement. It adds new provision § 921a, which allows assignment of due child support claims to third parties. The law sets two conditions. Consideration for the assignment must be provided exclusively cashlessly, otherwise the assignment is invalid. It must also be a due claim decided by the court. The assignee acquires the claim only upon full provision of consideration and the assignor does not guarantee its collectibility. The goal is to help parents who lack means for enforcement and can thus obtain money immediately. The question remains whether third parties will have motivation to purchase such claims.
The amendment to the provision of § 1970 of the Civil Code increases default interest for child support payments. This should motivate debtors to pay and simultaneously increase potential profit for third parties who would purchase the claims.
Provisional Arrangement of Child's Circumstances
The amendment also brings innovation to the Act on Special Court Proceedings. This consists of introducing a new institute in the area of preliminary arrangement of child's circumstances. The amendment introduces the institute of "provisional arrangement of child's circumstances." This gives the court greater flexibility in resolving urgent situations, such as determining the child's residence or establishing contact. The court should use it if the situation does not require such an invasive intervention as a preliminary injunction, but it is in the child's interest to temporarily intervene in their circumstances.
Based on a provisional decision, it will not be possible to place a child outside the care of parents or close persons (with exceptions such as pre-foster care). The condition is that all participants including the child get the opportunity to comment on the matter.
Key Changes in Family Law: Simplification and Streamlining of Divorce Proceedings
The last area that these changes in family law regulate is divorce proceedings. The goal is to simplify and streamline the divorce process as much as possible. The complexity of divorce proceedings should not play a role as a factor in spouses', now also partners', decision about whether to divorce. Conversely, as a result of unnecessary length and complexity of divorce proceedings, damage occurs both to the psychological aspect of the family, especially children, and the material aspect, particularly in relation to property that is subject to settlement and in relation to the costs of divorce proceedings.
Abolition of the Six-Month Separation Requirement
The planned amendment newly names § 757 of the Civil Code as "agreed divorce." The condition that spouses must not have lived together for 6 months at the time of the divorce application is abolished. The court will no longer examine whether the spouses' identical claim about breakdown is true. A joint proposal or joining the other spouse's proposal establishes a legal fiction that the conditions for divorce are met.
Departure from Examining Causes of Breakdown in So-Called Uncontested Divorces
According to the amendment, the court will no longer examine the causes of marriage breakdown and will limit itself to examining its existence. It will investigate causes only when the other spouse claims that there is reason for rejecting the proposal according to § 755 para. 2 letter b) of the Civil Code. This applies when divorce would be contrary to the interests of the spouse who did not predominantly contribute to the breakdown and who would suffer particularly serious harm. The exception is a situation where spouses have not lived together for at least three years.
Support for Agreed Divorces
The legislator tries to motivate spouses toward agreed divorces also through court fees. The amendment changes the Act on Court Fees. For agreed divorces, the fee remains at 2,000 CZK, while for non-agreed divorces it increases to 5,000 CZK.
Merger of Divorce and Guardianship Proceedings
The last significant change in the area of divorce is the amendment to the Act on Special Court Proceedings. After years, divorce proceedings should be merged with proceedings on arranging the circumstances of minor children into one. If spouses have minor children, the court will resolve divorce, care, residence, and maintenance simultaneously.
This change should bring a comprehensive approach by the court to the family situation, thanks to which the court will be able to decide better and more appropriately to children's needs. This should prevent situations where one parent used the child as a tool to prolong the divorce process.
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