What Changed in Czech Family Law in January 2026 — and What It Means for You

Since 1 January 2026, Act No. 268/2025 Coll. has been in force. It is the most extensive amendment to Czech family law since the new Civil Code took effect in 2014. The media have taken to calling it the "divorce amendment", but divorce is only part of it. The reform also affects the care of children, court procedure, enforcement of decisions and child support.

I work in family law every day, and I think the amendment is a step in the right direction. On paper, though, a change in the law solves nothing by itself. What counts is what courts and parents do with it. Here is what matters.

¶ Divorce: less to prove, no hunt for the guilty party

In divorce proceedings the court establishes whether the marriage has broken down. As a rule, it no longer looks into why. Much of the courtroom blame game about who cheated on whom and who walked out first falls away.

The previous uncontested divorce has been replaced by the agreed divorce. It has three conditions: the marriage has lasted at least one year, the court has approved the parents' agreement on arrangements for their minor children (if they have any), and the spouses have agreed in writing, with officially certified signatures, on property, housing and, where relevant, maintenance between themselves. The former requirement that the spouses must have lived apart for at least six months no longer applies.

The court fee is CZK 2,000 for an agreed divorce and CZK 5,000 for any other divorce. Proceedings started before 1 January 2026 are charged under the old rules. The two routes are compared in my article Uncontested vs. contested divorce.

¶ Care of children: the categories are gone, the disputes are not

This is the change I consider the most important.

Until the end of 2025, a court chose between sole custody, alternating custody and joint custody. Parents competed for the label, and whoever "was awarded the child" saw it as a victory. The new Section 907 of the Civil Code abandons these categories. The court leaves the child in joint custody (both parents caring without any set split) only if the parents agree on it (Section 907(1)). Otherwise it sets the extent of each parent's care according to the child's best interests.

The law now also states that the care of both parents is of equal value (Section 888(1)). That does not mean a 50:50 split. In finding file no. IV. ÚS 765/26 (a finding, or nález, is a Constitutional Court ruling on the merits of a constitutional complaint), the Constitutional Court expressly distinguished equal value, meaning both parents matter equally, from equal time, meaning the same number of days. Care can be markedly uneven if that is what serves the child.

The amendment does not by itself affect earlier decisions. A final custody arrangement remains valid and can only be changed if circumstances change. What courts look at in custody proceedings is covered in my article Child custody disputes — what parents need to know. If your child refuses contact with the other parent, see also When a child refuses to visit the other parent.

¶ Divorce and children in a single proceeding

Where the spouses have a minor child, the law joins the divorce proceedings and the proceedings on arrangements for the child. The court will not dissolve the marriage before it has decided about the child, and the divorce judgment becomes final no earlier than the decision about the child. So if one parent appeals against the custody arrangement, the marriage continues until that appeal is resolved.

For parents, this means fewer parallel proceedings. It also means the dispute over the children cannot be put off until later.

¶ Provisional decisions instead of interim measures

In matters concerning the care of a child and contact with the child, courts no longer issue interim measures under the Code of Civil Procedure. These have been replaced by the provisional decision (Section 465a et seq. of the Act on Special Court Proceedings). The differences are significant:

• A decision can only be made once all parties, including the child, have had the opportunity to comment. The law deliberately removed the element of surprise.
• The court decides without undue delay, and within three months at the latest.
• A provisional decision lasts no longer than three months. If proceedings on the merits are already under way, the court can extend it, up to six months in total (Section 465g(3) and Section 460). It extends it beyond that only in exceptional cases, where for serious reasons the taking of evidence could not be completed. A provisional decision lapses after one year at the latest.
• There is no appeal against the decision on the application. That is why it is so important to respond in time before the district court.

This year the Constitutional Court has already held more than once that a provisional decision was unconstitutional where the other parent had no real opportunity to respond to the application (findings file nos. I. ÚS 1382/26 and II. ÚS 1971/26).

A provisional decision is not the tool for a child in acute danger. For that, the special interim measure still exists, and the court rules on it without delay. It can, however, only be sought by the child welfare authority (known in the Czech Republic as OSPOD), not by a parent. If a child is in danger, call the police and OSPOD.

¶ When the other parent does not comply with the decision

The amendment has tightened enforcement of decisions on care and contact. A fine may not be lower than CZK 5,000 (the upper limit remains CZK 50,000), and it can be imposed repeatedly. The court is to decide on ordering enforcement without undue delay, usually within two months. It can now also order a parent to allow substitute care or contact to the extent they frustrated it, or to reimburse the costs this caused the other parent.

¶ Child support: higher interest and sale of the debt

Since January 2026, a higher rate of default interest applies to unpaid child support for a minor. Under Government Regulation No. 517/2025 Coll., it is 2.5 per mille (0.25%) of the amount owed per day for the first six months of default, and the ordinary statutory interest rate after that. This applies to defaults arising on or after 1 January 2026.

A claim for overdue child support ordered by a court can now be assigned for consideration, in other words sold to someone who will pursue it. The payment must be made by bank transfer, not in cash. If the claim is assigned by the child, court approval is needed unless the price is at least equal to the principal owed. More on calculation and enforcement in Child support after the 2026 reform.

¶ Corporal punishment

The Civil Code now expressly states that parental care for a child's development takes place "without corporal punishment, psychological distress or other degrading measures" (Section 858).

I know this topic stirs emotions, and some people see it as the state interfering in family life. But the law does not punish every smack; the new provision is above all a standard. It gives OSPOD, and a court assessing in custody proceedings how a parent looks after a child, a benchmark they can rely on.

¶ Two schools

Where the care of both parents has been set by a court, the Education Act allows a child to attend two primary schools (základní škola, ages 6 to 15). For compulsory pre-school education, the same applies to two nursery schools. The law permits this; it does not require it. Courts still consider whether two schools would overburden the particular child, and it does not work without cooperation from both the schools and the parents.

¶ What this means in practice

If you have a final custody arrangement from before the amendment, it remains valid. The new rules are a reason to review it only if the situation of the child or the family has changed since then.

Pending proceedings: the Constitutional Court's position is that courts will apply the new wording of the Civil Code on care even in proceedings that began before January 2026 and have not yet ended. The exception is child support for the period before 1 January 2026. Interim measure proceedings started under the old rules will be completed under those rules.

If you are only now considering a divorce or a custody arrangement, you are starting out in a system that rewards parents who can reach agreement. A parent who offers an agreement, and can prove they did, starts from a better position in court than one who arrives with a list of grievances.