As of 1 March 2026, significant changes will come into force in the procedure for formalizing divorce proceedings. These changes provide that, from now on, when a marriage is dissolved before a notary, an agreement on child custody must be executed in the form of a notarial deed, which has the same legal force as a court judgment.
Current regulations provides that, by mutual consent of the spouses, a divorce may be finalized before a notary if the spouses have concluded a written agreement regarding custody of their common minor child, rights of access to the child, maintenance (alimony), and the division of jointly owned property (if they have a common minor child and/or joint property).
Until now, the law did not impose a mandatory requirement for such an agreement to be executed in the form of a notarial deed, requiring only that the agreement be concluded in writing.
In practice, situations frequently arose in which parents, wishing to obtain a divorce as quickly as possible, entered into private agreements on custody of their common child merely to formally satisfy the mandatory condition for divorce, rather than to regulate their relationship in the long term. Often, spouses did not regard this legal document as important, viewing it merely as a formality.
As a result, after the divorce parents frequently initiated court proceedings concerning access to children and custody issues, despite having previously confirmed before a notary that an agreement on these matters had been reached and that no disputes existed.
The requirement to conclude the agreement in the form of a notarial deed, according to the intent of the legislator, is aimed at minimizing future disputes, ensuring that at the stage of divorce the spouses approach the regulation of child custody matters more consciously, taking into account their long-term consequences.
The amendments provide that, prior to the dissolution of the marriage, the spouses must clearly define in the agreement the procedure for contact with the child—namely, the time and place for exercising access rights—and must also agree on the allocation of responsibilities and expenses between themselves in exercising those rights.
A notary, acting as a neutral party, will, before drawing up the notarial deed, ascertain the will of the parties to the notarial act and the terms of the agreement, clearly and unambiguously record the spouses’ statements, and inform them of the possible legal consequences of the agreement. If the notary establishes the existence of a dispute between the spouses regarding issues of child custody (the child’s place of residence, the procedure for contact with the child, the amount of maintenance, etc.), the dissolution of the marriage by mutual consent before a notary will not be permitted.
If the notarial deed on child custody is not complied with in the future, the notary issues a notarial enforcement deed, which is submitted for compulsory enforcement in a procedure analogous to the compulsory enforcement of a court judgment. Thus, the new procedure is intended to ensure swift and effective compulsory enforcement of the agreement without the need to apply to a court.
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