Family law is a set of legal rules and principles governing marriage, non-marital, parent-child relationship, adoption, foster care and guardianship. Lawyers at the Law Firm Križanec have been providing clients with comprehensive and professional advice and solutions in the area of family law for more than 50 years.
Our lawyers help clients with divorce in court, amicable divorce and the division of matrimonial property. We also provide legal services on child allocation proceedings, the property regime of cohabiting partners and the drafting of maintenance agreements. If the parents cannot agree on the exercise of contact at the time of separation (in particular if one parent prevents the other parent from having contact), it may be advisable to apply for an interim injunction, which we can prepare for you at our law firm. If necessary, we can also prepare an application for an increase or reduction of the maintenance obligation. At Križanec Law Firm we also have extensive experience in drafting actions to establish or contest paternity.
If the partners or ex-spouses have no minor children at the time of the desired divorce and are in agreement on the division of the community property, they can divorce before a notary. The procedure is quick and efficient.
Unfortunately, many spouses do not reach an agreement on divorce and the division of their joint property when they separate. In such cases, the court will dissolve the marriage. The court will also have jurisdiction to dissolve the marriage if the divorcing spouses have minor children living together. This is because the court must also decide on the custody, access and maintenance of the minor children when the divorce is granted. The court has a duty to look after the best interests of the child.
If the spouses (or cohabiting partners) have minor children at the time of the divorce, the court will decide on custody, contact and maintenance. The court can award custody of the children to either only one parent or to both parents together. The practice of the Slovenian courts in determining joint custody has changed significantly in recent years. In the past, it was held that joint parenting could only be established when both parents agreed to it – today, the situation is different, as the court may establish joint custody whenever it considers that this is in the best interests of the minor children.
In the process of determining custody, contact and maintenance, the court also obtains the opinion of the competent Social Work Centre. The opinion of the social work centre carries significant weight in the proceedings, as the courts in practice follow the opinion of the centre in determining custody, access and maintenance. In practice, we observe that social work centres are also increasingly in favour of shared parenting, provided that the family situation of the family concerned is normal (absence of violence, etc.) and shared parenting is also practically feasible.
Each parent has the right to have contact with his or her child if the child is placed in the care of another parent. However, the extent and frequency of contact depends on the specific family situation. If one parent prevents the other parent from having contact (even before the court has made a final decision on contact), the other parent has the possibility to apply for an interim injunction to secure (temporarily, pending the court’s decision) contact with the child.
Every parent has a duty to support their child. The amount and the distribution of maintenance between the parents depends on the needs of the child on the one hand, and on the means of each parent on the other.
A good family law lawyer must be determined, compassionate and analytical.
Before an application can be made to the court for custody, contact and maintenance arrangements, the spouses or partners must attend a preliminary counselling session at the Social Work Centre. This is a procedural prerequisite for the initiation of proceedings (which, exceptionally, does not have to be fulfilled).
The purpose of preliminary counselling is to help the spouses determine whether their relationship has deteriorated to the point where the marriage has become unsustainable for at least one of them, or whether there is a possibility of preserving the marriage. If the outcome of the preliminary counselling at the CSD is unsuccessful, court proceedings may be initiated by applying to the courts.
Based on many years of experience, we advise you to consult a family law lawyer before attending a preliminary counselling session at the CSD. A lawyer will be able to explain what your rights are (so that you do not enter into a settlement that could be harmful to you) and warn you about what you need to pay special attention to during the preliminary counselling.
At the client’s request, we draw up an agreement on the matrimonial property regime (also known as a “prenuptial agreement“) before the marriage itself or during the marriage, which avoids some unpleasant court proceedings in the event of a divorce. Despite the lay belief that a pre-nuptial agreement can only be concluded before marriage, it is in fact possible to conclude an agreement on the property regime during the marriage. In this way, the spouses can achieve a division of the community property which has already been created up to the point of conclusion of the contract and settle the question of the future creation of community property. This has the same effect as if they had concluded the contract before the marriage.
Family law disputes are probably among the most emotionally taxing court proceedings for all parties involved. For this reason, it is very important that the family law lawyer representing you in court (or other) proceedings is empathetic on the one hand, but also able to make a realistic assessment of the specific legal situation of the parties to the proceedings in order to protect his/her client’s rights.
As family proceedings are very stressful for the parties involved, it is important that you have a lawyer with the expertise to listen to you and stand by your side.
At Križanec, we always try to resolve disputes out of court in the first instance. In our experience, this is particularly important in family matters (especially when minor children are involved).
If you find yourself in a dispute with your (former) spouse or partner over rights and obligations arising from divorce or parenthood, it makes sense to consult a lawyer as soon as possible. A lawyer with experience in family law will be able to tell you what your rights are and what your options are for proceeding (preliminary consultation with the CSD, mediation, application to court, application for an interim injunction). Based on his/her experience, the lawyer will advise you on the most appropriate way to proceed.
