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 to regulate custody (care and upbringing), contact/visitation and maintenance can be filed with the court, the spouses/partners must attend preliminary counselling at the Centre for Social Work (CSD). This is a procedural precondition for initiating proceedings (with limited exceptions—for example, where one spouse lives abroad).
The purpose of preliminary counselling is to help the spouses assess whether their relationship has deteriorated to the point that the marriage has become untenable for at least one of them, and whether there is any prospect of preserving the marriage. The Centre for Social Work also informs them of available support options (e.g., family counselling). The spouses may choose to use these services or, if their positions are not too far apart, conclude an agreement on issues concerning the children.
If preliminary counselling at the CSD is unsuccessful (i.e., the parties’ positions cannot be brought close enough to settle), court proceedings may be initiated by filing a motion with the court.
Based on our long-standing experience, we strongly recommend consulting a family-law attorney before attending preliminary counselling at the CSD. A “divorce lawyer” can explain your rights (so you do not inadvertently agree to a settlement that is against your interests) and highlight what to pay particular attention to during the counselling.
At the spouses’ request, we can prepare an agreement regulating their matrimonial property relations (commonly referred to as a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement), either before the marriage is concluded or during its duration, helping avoid certain burdensome court proceedings in the event of divorce. Contrary to the common belief that such an agreement can only be made before the wedding, it can in fact be concluded during the marriage as well. In this way, the spouses can determine the division of assets upon divorce with respect to property accumulated up to the date of the agreement and set rules for the creation of joint property going forward. This achieves the same effect as if the agreement had been signed before the marriage and serves to protect their assets.
If you are in a relationship (marital or non-marital) in which violence occurs, you have special protection under the Domestic Violence Prevention Act. A victim of violence may, with the assistance of a lawyer, ask the court to impose various measures against the family member, such as: prohibiting them from entering the victim’s residence; banning them from remaining in the vicinity of the victim’s home; prohibiting them from approaching places the victim regularly attends (school, kindergarten, workplace); prohibiting any contact with the victim by any means, including remote communications and via third parties; prohibiting any meetings with the victim; and other appropriate measures.
Proceedings are expedited, as their purpose is to protect a victim who is at immediate risk.
Whether you are a victim seeking representation to obtain protective measures, or you are on the other side and such measures have been proposed against you, our attorneys can advise you on the appropriate steps and represent you in the proceedings.
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.
