Obligation to inform the other parent – rights and obligations

In principle, every parent of a child (regardless of whether the parents are divorced or married, whether they live together as common-law partners or do not live together) holds parental rights and obligations by operation of law (Article 4 of the Family Act). This includes the right to be informed about their child. A parent can be deprived of or restricted in their parental rights only on the basis of a court decision (Sections 38 and 39 of the Family Act).

The fact that a child was entrusted to the personal care of one of the parents by a divorce decree regulating parental rights and obligations toward minor children (or by an interim measure) does not mean that the other parent has lost their parental rights. The only exception is if there is a final and effective court decision on the deprivation/restriction of parental rights to that extent.

Therefore, we are of the opinion that the other parent should be informed about their child if they show an interest in the child’s status (medical condition, psychological state, school performance, etc.).

In conclusion, a parent who has been denied information by the preferred parent (to whom the child was entrusted into care) could also seek enforcement of the right to be informed against the other parent through a court (Section 24 (4) of the Family Act).

Relevant Statutory Provisions (The Family Act)

• Article 4: „Parental rights and obligations belong to both parents.“

• Section 24 (4): „When deciding on the entrustment of a minor child into the personal care of one of the parents, the court shall safeguard the right of the parent to whom the minor child will not be entrusted into personal care to regularly obtain information about the minor child. A parent to whom the minor child has not been entrusted into personal care may claim the right to regular information about the minor child in court.“

• Section 35 (Court Decision in the Event of Disagreement Between Parents): „If the parents do not agree on essential matters related to the exercise of parental rights and obligations, in particular on moving the minor child abroad, on the administration of the minor child’s property, on the minor child’s citizenship, on granting consent to the provision of healthcare, and on the preparation for a future profession, the court shall decide upon the petition of one of the parents.“

  Note: The enumeration of “essential” matters is not exhaustive. In principle, this means that when one parent represents the child in ordinary day-to-day matters, the expression of the other parent’s view is not necessary. However, if it involves an essential matter, it is necessary to ask the other parent if they agree with the acting parent’s expression. If the other parent expresses disagreement, the conditions for the procedure under Section 35 of the Act are met.

• Section 38 (Interventions into Parental Rights and Obligations):

  1. „If a parent is prevented from exercising their parental rights and obligations by a serious obstacle and if it is in the interest of the minor child, the court may suspend the exercise of parental rights and obligations.“

  2. „If it is necessary in the interest of the minor child, the court shall restrict the parents’ exercise of their parental rights if: they permanently lead an unorganized way of life, they do not exercise their obligations arising from parental rights and obligations at all, or they do not secure the upbringing of the minor child.“

  3. „In the decision restricting the exercise of parental rights under subsection 2, the court shall state the scope of rights and obligations to which the restriction applies.“

  4. „If a parent abuses their parental rights and obligations, in particular by maltreatment, abuse, neglect of the minor child, or other ill-treatment of the minor child, or seriously neglects the exercise of parental rights and obligations despite previous warnings, the court shall deprive the parent of the exercise of parental rights.“

• Section 39:

  1. „If the court has decided to restrict, deprive, or suspend the exercise of parental rights and obligations only in relation to one of the parents, the other parent shall exercise parental rights and obligations to the full extent.“

  2. […]

  3. „The support obligation of parents toward a minor child does not cease by a court decision restricting, depriving, or suspending the exercise of parental rights and obligations.“

The Father’s Obligations After a Divorce

The divorce of spouses does not strip them of their parental rights and obligations toward their minor children. Despite the divorce, it still holds that „both parents have parental rights and obligations. In their exercise, they are obliged to protect the interests of the minor child (Section 28 (2) of the Family Act).“ According to Section 28 (1) of the Family Act, parental rights and obligations include, in particular:

• a) systematic and consistent care for the upbringing, health, nutrition, and versatile development of the minor child,

• b) representation of the minor child,

• c) administration of the minor child’s property.

Within the divorce decision, the court also addresses the regulation (i.e., optimal setup) of parental rights and obligations for the period after the divorce. The court may intervene in individual rights of the parents toward their child and adjust their exercise (e.g., entrust the minor to the personal care of the mother and order the father to pay child support in a certain amount) always depending on the individual circumstances of the case and taking into account the best interest of the child.

Changing Schools Without the Other Parent’s Consent

Changing the school that a minor child attends is undoubtedly an important event in the child’s life, which will significantly impact their future. Therefore, both parents should, in principle, decide on such a change.

As cited above under Section 35 of the Family Act, if parents cannot agree on essential matters—including preparation for a future profession—the court must decide upon the petition of one of them.

Although a change of school is not explicitly mentioned among the specific examples of essential matters in Section 35, it can be deduced from the word “in particular” (“najmä”) that the list of essential matters is by no means final and does not preclude including other important changes, such as changing a school, into this category.

Hello, We would like to direct your attention in particular to the provision of Section 24 (6) of Act No. 36/2005 Coll., the Family Act (hereinafter referred to as the “ZR”), within the meaning of which: „When deciding on the entrustment of a minor child into the personal care of one of the parents, the court shall safeguard the right of the parent to whom the minor child will not be entrusted into personal care to regularly obtain information about the minor child. A parent to whom the minor child has not been entrusted into personal care may claim the right to regular information about the minor child in court.“

In connection with the cited provision, it is appropriate to state the following:

Section 24 (6) of the ZR concerns a situation where a minor child has been entrusted by a court decision into the exclusive personal care of one of the parents. However, we hold that the right to be informed about all matters regarding the child (e.g., about his health problems, medications, school attendance, extracurricular activities, temporary change of the child’s residence, summer camps, etc.) is an essential component of the bundle of parental rights and obligations that belongs to both parents even in the time after a divorce (or if the spouses are still married but live separately) and regardless of which parent provides personal care to the child. Personal care carried out by only one of the parents changes nothing about the fact that the other parent is still the legal representative of the minor and has the same right to participate in his upbringing (Section 28 (1) of the ZR).

In your case, there is an option to turn to the court to impose an explicit obligation on the so-called preferred parent to inform the parent to whom the minor child was not entrusted into personal care about all essential matters concerning the minor. The law does not explicitly require filing a specific motion to impose an informational obligation; it is sufficient if you address a submission to the court from whose content it will be clearly evident that you are claiming the right to regular information about the minor.

Important turning point regarding age: Given that your son will attain 18 years of age in October, the provision of Section 24 (6) of the ZR will no longer be applicable after that date, as it concerns only “regular information about a minor child.”

Upon reaching the eighteenth year of life, a natural person becomes an adult, i.e., fully legally competent to perform legal acts (Section 8 (1) of the Civil Code). From the acquisition of adulthood, it generally holds that a person does not need a legal representative, and no one needs to approve their actions. If you are interested in the life of your adult child, you should turn directly to him—his mother has no legal means to deny him any contact with you.

Hello, parents of a minor child are entitled (and obliged) to exercise their parental rights and obligations even after a divorce. For this purpose, Section 24 (6) of Act No. 36/2005 Coll., the Family Act (hereinafter referred to as the “ZR”) explicitly states that: „When deciding on the entrustment of a minor child into the personal care of one of the parents, the court shall safeguard the right of the parent to whom the minor child will not be entrusted into personal care to regularly obtain information about the minor child. A parent to whom the minor child has not been entrusted into personal care may claim the right to regular information about the minor child in court.“

The law explicitly grants the right to information about a minor child to the parent to whom the child was not entrusted into personal care, so that they too can participate in the child’s upbringing, education, and the provision of their needs.

In such a case, the entitled parent has the right to know especially about all essential matters occurring in the life of their child, i.e., especially about:

• Medical condition: Doctor visits, new or past illnesses, allergies, treatment, medication use.

• School activities: Academic performance, school attendance.

• Extracurricular activities: Hobbies, sports, clubs.

• Changes in residence: Any change of stay, even if short-term or temporary (vacations, trips, outdoor school, summer camps, etc.).