In the case of divorce (or termination of the relationship in the case of cohabiting partners), the most contentious issue, apart from the amount of child maintenance, is how to regulate the contact between the separating parent and the child. It is essential to find a solution to this problem, because even if only one parent will have parental custody and the child will live with only one of them, the other parent will still have the right to have contact with the child and cannot be prevented from doing so.
Here, as in all other cases, it is best and legally easiest if the parties can reach an agreement, otherwise the court will decide. This can be done in a divorce case for married couples or in a custody case for cohabiting couples.
Below we look at the main rules for keeping in touch:
Contact includes meeting (visiting) the child in person, taking the child away for a fixed period of time, staying with the child for a long period of time (several days) and contact without meeting (e.g. by telephone, internet).
In order to avoid disputes later, it is worthwhile for parents to regulate the method, duration and frequency of contact in detail, to determine the exact time of pick-up and drop-off, to decide on the exact time of the day, and to decide on the distribution of holidays and breaks between the parties.
In the absence of an agreement, if one of the above-mentioned lawsuits is pending, the court may be asked to order contact during the lawsuit, or the court may decide on its own motion in the child’s best interests without a request. If neither party has initiated a lawsuit, the guardianship authority can decide on access.
In all cases, the court (guardianship authority) will hear the parents and the child, who has the capacity to judge, before making a decision. It will also take into account the child’s age, health, living conditions and the personal circumstances of the parents. The decision will specify the frequency, duration, continuity or periodicity of the contact, the place, time and method of the child’s return, the arrangements for making up for lost contact, the obligation to notify the child of the absence and whether there will be supervised contact (in which case the parent may only meet the child in the presence of a supervising professional at the child welfare centre).
If circumstances change later and the access rules need to be changed, the change can be requested from the court in the case of a court decision, or from the guardianship authority.
