1. (marital property & divorce)
Family law
(marital property & divorce)
in Croatia
Vlatka Cikač, Attorney-at-Law & Mediator
Dubrovnik, 09th October 2018.
Presentation for Lawyers Public Information Foundation

2. 2 systems Old Marriage and Family relations Act
Family Act from 1998 (effective as of )
Family Act from 2015 (effective as of )

3. Family Act governs Marital rights
Relations between parents and children
Adoption
Guardianship
Support
Relations regarding property rights
Court and administrative procedures

4. Marital property
jointly owned property acquired by the spouses during the marriage or resulting from such property
property owned separately by each respective spouse before the marriage or acquired during the marriage by:
gift, inheritance, or similar

5. Jointly owned property
a community of property (or jointly owned property) is such property acquired by working of spouses in the course of their marriage or it is a result of such property
spouses are co-owners of their community of property in equal shares, unless otherwise agreed
gains from games of chance as well as copyright benefits are considered a community of property

6. Separate property
a separate property of individual spouse is a property that he owns in the moment of the conclusion of the marriage
as well as the property that he acquired during the marriage, but not on the grounds of labour
a property which a spouse acquires through the inheritance or donation during the marriage will remain his own separate property

7. 2 systems of defining the co-ownership on the marital property
before: property was divided between the spouses based on the individual contribution of each spouse in the acquisition of that property
now: spouses are joint owners of their joins properties in equal shares

8. spouses may agree on the division of jointly owned property (aut of the court)
both spouses are entitled to make a claim to the court for division of property after the termination of (in case of divorce) and during the marriage

9. Marital agreement
matrimonial agreement can regulate proprietary relations regarding both present and future property
one can conclude such agreement before or during the marriage
it requires a written form with notarised signatures
Croatian Family Law Act doesn’t allow stipulating the application of foreign law to the proprietary relations between spouses

10. Recognition of Unmarried Cohabitants
relations between unmarried couples are legally recognizes and regulated through family law
minimum duration of 3 years, or shorter if there is a child or ended in marriage
such relationship, that lasts for a „longer period of time” crates property rights that rise to the level of the rights of marries couples

11. Divorce
after World War II, during the socialist regime, Croatia got more liberal legislation than some western European systems
Croatian system is not familiar with judicial separation or a long waiting period for a legal divorce
even one year of separation can be a ground for a divorce

12. nowadays, we are practically indifferent toward the increasing number of divorce suits or destruction of marriages and family communities
they are becoming a pattern of our culture

13. in 1946 provisions of the Basic Marriage Act have enabled all citizens to ask the court for dissolution of marriage
it was based on the principle of fault divorce and general disruption of marital relations
jurisprudence made the legal meaning of the “principle of fault divorce” less significant

14. today Croatia totaly abandoned the
“principle of fault divorce”
the law allowss divorce by common agreement without any additional explanation
the legislator does not force spouses to enter into stressful, lengthy and expensive legal proceedings in order to convince the court of their reasons

15. Court will dissolve a marriage if:
marital relations have been seriously and permanently impaired
a year has passed since the martial union ceased to exist
both spouses consent to a divorce

16. Basic principles of divorce
divorce can be very simple
reduce time and money spent on divorce proceedings
divorce proceedings are so to say humanized

17. a spouse may initiate an action for divorce by the filing of a suit
both spouses may file a consensual divorce application
a husband is not entitled to initiate an action for divorce during the wife’s pregnancy or until their child turns one year of age

18. Supporting a spouse
a spouse who does not have sufficient means or cannot obtain them from her/his property, and is not capable to work or find employment, has the right to be supported by the other spouse
a spouse has the right to file a claim for support until the conclusion of the main hearing in a divorce or annulment suit, of which the court is obliged to warn them
or within six months of the termination of marriage

19. Supporting the children
parents are obliged to support their minor child
parents are obliged to support their child of full age who is attending secondary school or university or professional studies in accordance with special provisions, and regularly and duly fulfils its duties
the montly sum defined by parental plan or by the court

20. Divorce involving children
since 1998, children’s rights have been part of the Croatian legal system
due to the ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and their incorporation into family law

21. modernization of the legal parent–child relation
that aims at the mutual parental responsibility
crucial point – child's welfare

22. social welfare center conduct the meeting with parents
eventually also mediation
if there is no consent, parent can start court procedure

23. Parenting plan
parents can decide with which parent the child will live with
about contact between non-resident parent and the child
as well as child support
Parenting plans reached by agreement are presented to the court for certification.

24. In the case of the court suit, a court can make decision:
with which parent the child will live with
about contact between non-resident parent and the child
as well as child support

25. Vlatka Cikač, Attorney-in-Law & Miediator
Thank You!
Vlatka Cikač, Attorney-in-Law & Miediator