Lithuania

Article 38 

The family shall be the basis of society and the State. 

Family, motherhood, fatherhood and childhood shall be under the protection and care of the State. 

Marriage shall be concluded upon the free mutual consent of man and woman. 

The State shall register marriages, births, and deaths. The State shall also recognise church registration of marriages. 

In the family, the rights of spouses shall be equal. 

The right and duty of parents is to bring up their children to be honest people and faithful citizens and to support them until they come of age. 

The duty of children is to respect their parents, to take care of them in their old age, and to preserve their heritage. 

Lithuania Constitution-English-PDF.

Article 2.5. Active civil capacity of natural persons 

1. On attaining full age, i.e. when a natural person is eighteen years of age, he, by his acts, shall have full exercise of all his civil rights and shall assume civil obligations.
2. Where the law provides for the possibility of a natural person to enter into marriage before he is eighteen, the person, who has not yet come of the given age, shall acquire full active civil capacity at the moment of entering into marriage. If at a later date this marriage is dissolved or nullity of marriage is declared for reasons not related to the age of the parties to marriage a minor shall not loose his full active civil capacity.

Article 2.27. Right to the Change of the Designation of Sex 

1. An unmarried natural person of full age enjoys the right to the change of designation of sex in cases when it is feasible from the medical point of view. The application to the given effect shall have to be made in writing.
2. The conditions and the procedure for the change of designation of sex shall be prescribed by law.

Article 3.7. Concept of marriage 

1. Marriage is a voluntary agreement between a man and a woman to create legal family relations executed in the procedure provided for by law.
2. A man and a woman who have registered their marriage in the procedure provided for in law shall be deemed to be spouses.

Article 3.13. Voluntary nature of marriage 

1. Marriage shall be contracted by a man and a woman of their own free will.
2. Any threat, coercion, deceit or any other lack of free will shall provide the grounds on which the marriage declared null and void.

Article 3.14. Legal age of consent to marriage 

1. Marriage may be contracted by persons who by or on the date of contracting a marriage have attained the age of 18.
2. At the request of a person who intends to marry before the age of 18, the court may, in a summary procedure, reduce for him or her the legal age of consent to marriage, but by no more than two years.
3. In the case of a pregnancy, the court may allow the person to marry before the age of 16.
4. While deciding on the reduction of a person’s legal age of consent to marriage, the court must hear the opinion of the minor person’s parents or guardians or curators and take into account his or her mental or psychological condition, financial situation and other important reasons why the person’s legal age of consent to marriage should be reduced. Pregnancy shall provide an important ground for the reduction of the person’s legal age of consent to marriage.
5. In the process of deciding on the reduction of the legal age of consent to marriage, the state institution for the protection of the child’s rights must present its opinion on the advisability of the reduction of the person’s legal age of consent to marriage and whether such a reduction is in the true interests of the person concerned.

Article 3.26. Equality of spouses 

1. Having contracted a marriage, the spouses acquire the rights and duties defined in this Book.
2. Spouses shall have equal rights and equal civil liability in respect of each other and their children in matters related to the formation, duration and termination of their marriage.
3. Spouses may not waive, by mutual agreement, their rights or extinguish their duties that arise from a marriage.

Article 3.27. The duty of spouses to support each other 

1. Spouses must be loyal to and respect each other; they must support each other morally and financially and contribute toward the common needs of the family or the needs of the other spouse in proportion to their respective capabilities.
2. Where due to objective reasons one of the spouses is unable to make a sufficient contribution toward the common needs of the family, the other spouse must do that in accordance with his or her abilities.

Article 3.29. Passive and active capacity of spouses 

Marriage shall not restrict the passive and active capacity of spouses, nevertheless the possibility of the spouses to exercise certain rights may be restricted by the contract of marriage or the mandatory rules hereof. 

Article 3.30. Duties of the spouses in respect to their children  

Spouses must maintain and bring up their children of minor age, care for their education and health, ensure the child’s right to personal life, inviolability of his or her personality and freedom, the child’s property, social and other rights laid down in the domestic and international law. 

Article 3.34. Temporary Restriction of the property rights of a spouse 

1. Where one of the spouses is in serious breach of his or her marital duties provided for in this Book hereof and poses a threat to the property interests of the family by his or her acts, the other spouse shall have a right to apply to the court for an order prohibiting the other spouse from disposing of their community property without the consent of the other spouse. The prohibition may not be valid for more than two years.
2. Transactions entered into by a spouse without the consent of the other spouse, which should have been obtained, may be annulled under an action brought by the other spouse provided the third party involved in the transaction was in bad faith. An action may be brought within a year of the date on which the spouse acquired or should have acquired knowledge of the transaction.

Article 3.35. Rights and duties of the spouses in the household 

1. Neither spouse may, without the consent of the other spouse, alienate, pledge or lease movable property used in the household or encumber the right to it in any other way.
2. The movable property serving for the use of the household shall include household utensils, furniture, except for works of art, collections or home libraries.
3. A spouse having neither consented to nor ratified such a transaction may apply to have it annulled except in cases where the transaction was by onerous title and the third party was in good faith.

Article 3.36. The rights and duties of spouses in respect of the dwelling considered to be Family Property 

1. Where the spouses live in a rented dwelling under a lease agreement, the spouse in whose name the dwelling is rented may not, without a written consent of the other spouse, terminate the lease agreement before its term, sublease it or transfer the rights under the lease agreement. The spouse having neither consented nor ratified such an act may apply to have it annulled.
2. A spouse who is the sole owner of the family dwelling may not, without a written consent of the other spouse, alienate, pledge or lease this dwelling. The spouse having neither consented to nor ratified such an act may apply to have it annulled provided that the disputed premises have registered in the public register as a family asset.
3. The rules of paragraph 1 and 2 shall be applied also in cases of usufruct (i. e. the right of using and receiving the profits, products or fruits of property that belongs to another) and contract of use.

Article 3.37. The grounds and procedures for declaring marriage null and void 

1. A marriage may be declared null and void if the conditions for the formation of a valid marriage set out in Articles 3.12 to 3.17 hereof have been violated as well as on the grounds provided for in paragraph 3 Article 3.21, Articles 3.39 and 3.40 hereof.
2. A marriage may be annulled only by the court.
3. A marriage that the court declares to be null and void shall be void ab initio.
4. Having pronounced a marriage null and void, the court must send a copy of its judgement to the Register Office where the marriage was registered within three business days of its effective date.

Article 3.38. Persons entitled to petition for a decree of nullity on the grounds of violation of the requirements for the formation of marriage. 

1. A marriage formed in violation of the conditions set for the formation of marriage in Articles 3.16 and 3.17 hereof may be declared null and void on the petition of spouse who was ignorant of the impediments to the marriage, a public prosecutor or any other person whose rights and lawful interests were violated by the marriage.
2. A marriage formed in violation of the requirement set in Article 3.14 hereof may be declared null and void on the petition of a minor spouse, his or her parents, guardians or curators, public institutions for the protection of the child’s rights or a public prosecutor. After the minor spouse attains the age of 18, he or she shall be the only person who may petition for a decree of nullity.
3. A marriage formed in violation of the requirement set in Article 3.15 hereof may be declared null and void on the petition of the guardian of the spouse lacking capacity to marry, a public prosecutor or any other person whose rights and lawful interests have been violated by the marriage.
4. A marriage formed in violation of the requirement set in Article 3.13 hereof may be declared null and void on the petition of the spouse who had failed to express his or her free will at the time of the marriage or a public prosecutor. Where the who failed to express his free will is a minor, the nullity of the marriage may be sought by his or her parents, guardians, curators or a State institution for the protection of the child’s rights.
5. A judgement for the nullity of marriage on the grounds referred to in paragraph 3 Article 3.21 hereof may be sought by the party to the marriage who by the time of marriage had not been informed of the other party’s illness.

Article 3.40. Declaring a marriage null and void due to the lack of free will 

1. A marriage may be declared null and void if a spouse can prove that at the time of marriage he or she was incapable of understanding the true meaning of his or her actions or of being in charge of them of being in charge of them.
2. Nullity of marriage may be sought by a spouse if he or she entered into the marriage under threat, duress or fraud.
3. A spouse who gave consent to the marriage in consequence of an essential mistake may seek the nullity of the marriage. The mistake is presumed to be essential if it is a mistake about the circumstances related to the other party the knowledge of which would have been a sufficient reason for the party not to enter into the marriage. The mistake is presumed to be essential if it is about:

1) the health condition or the sexual abnormality of a party which makes the usual family life impossible; 

2) the grave crime committed by the other party. 

Article 3.41. Bars to the nullity of marriage 

1. The court may refuse to declare a marriage null and void if the circumstances which had constituted an impediment to the marriage hereunder disappeared during the proceedings of the case.
2. The court may refuse to declare a marriage contracted by a minor person null and void if the nullity of the marriage were contrary to the interests of the minor children of the minor spouse or spouses.
3. A marriage may not be pronounced to be a fictitious marriage if prior to the petition for nullity the spouses had created family relations or had cohabited for over a year from the date of marriage or had given birth to or were expecting their own child.
4. A marriage may not be declared null and void after divorce, except where the marriage had been contracted in violation of the monogamy principle or within the prohibited degrees of relationship (Articles 3.16 and 3.13).
5. A marriage which was contracted without one of the spouses expressing his free will may not be pronounced null and void if, after the formation of the marriage or after the knowledge of the circumstances giving a sufficient ground for pronouncing it null and void, the spouses lived together for over a year or they have given birth to or are expecting their own baby.

Article 3.42. Statutes of limitation 

1. A spouse who entered into a marriage under the age of 18 may petition for the nullity of the marriage within a year of the date of his or her attaining full age.
2. Petition for the nullity of a marriage contracted without a free and voluntary consent may be presented within a year of the date on which the circumstances constituting the grounds for pronouncing the marriage null and void disappeared or became known.
3. Petition for the nullity of a fictitious marriage may be presented within a year of the date on which the marriage was contracted. A public prosecutor may petition for the nullity of a marriage under Article 3.39 hereof within five years of the date on which the marriage was contracted.
4. Petition for the nullity of a marriage on other grounds shall be subject to no limitations.

Article 3.43. Separation of spouses and maintenance order 

1. In an effort to protect the interests of one of the spouses, the court may, circumstances permitting, order the spouses to separate pending the proceedings on the nullity of their marriage.
2. In pronouncing a marriage null and void, the court must decide as to the maintenance of the children and the spouse in good faith as well as to make a residence order in respect of the children.

Article 3.48. Mandatory participation of guardianship and care institutions 

Where one or both spouses are of minor age or have been declared by the court lacking legal capacity, guardianship and care institutions or the public institution for the protection of the child’s rights must attend the proceedings for the nullity of the marriage of such persons and give their opinion on whether the nullity of the marriage may prejudice the rights and interests of such persons or their children. 

Article 3.49. Cases of dissolution of marriage 

1. A marriage is dissolved by the death of one of the spouses or by termination by the operation of law.
2. A marriage may be dissolved by the mutual consent of the spouses, on the application of one of the spouses or through the fault of a spouse (spouses).

Article 3.52. Application for divorce 

1. A mutual application of the spouses for divorce shall be presented to the court of the district where one of the spouses resides.
2. The application must be accompanied by the contract as to the consequences of the divorce.
3. The application must contain reasons why, in the opinion of the spouses, their marriage has broken down.

Article 3.60. Conditions for obtaining divorce 

1. A spouse may apply for divorce on the grounds provided for in this Section where the marriage has broken down through the fault of the other spouse.
2. The fault of a spouse for the breakdown of the marriage shall be established if he or she has seriously breached the duties under this Book hereof, which is the reason why their matrimonial life has become impossible.
3. A marriage shall be presumed to have broken down through the fault of the other spouse where he or she has been convicted of a pre-meditated crime or has committed adultery or is violent toward the other spouse or the other members of the family or has deserted the family and has not been caring for it for over a year.

Article 3.65. Provisional protection measures 

1. The court having regard to the interests of the children of the spouses as well as the interests of one of the spouses may make orders for provisional protection measures pending the outcome of the divorce suit.
2. The court may make the following orders for provisional protection measures:

1) to order one of the spouses to live separately; 

2) to determine the residence of the minor children with one of the parents; 

3) to demand for one of the spouses not to interfere with the use of certain property by the other spouse; 

4) to issue a maintenance order in favour of the minor children or the other spouse; 

5) seize property until its ownership by one of the spouses is determined or in order to enforce maintenance payments; 

6) seize the property of one of the spouses the value of which could be used to compensate for the litigation costs to the other spouse; 

7) prohibit one of the spouses from having contact with his or her minor children or appearing in certain places. 

Article 3.70. Legal consequences of a divorce on the basis of the fault of one of the spouses 

1. Where a divorce is granted on the basis of the fault of one of the spouses, the spouse at fault shall lose the rights of a divorcee under the law or under the marriage contract including the right to maintenance.
2. The other spouse may demand from the spouse responsible for the breakdown of the marriage damages related to the divorce as well as compensation for non-pecuniary damage done by the divorce. This provision shall not be applied where both spouses are responsible for the breakdown of the marriage.
3. At the request of the other spouse the spouse at fault for the breakdown of the marriage shall return the gifts received from him or her except for the wedding ring unless the marriage contract provides otherwise.
4. Where both spouses are responsible for the breakdown of the marriage, both of them shall have a right to demand the return of the immovable gifts given to each other unless more than ten years have elapsed from the gift contract and the immovable property has been transferred to third parties.

Article 3.71. Retention of the right to use the matrimonial dwelling 

1. Where the matrimonial dwelling is owned by one of the spouses, the court may make a usufruct order and allow the other spouse to remain in the matrimonial dwelling if their minor children live with him or her.
2. The usufruct order shall be valid until the child (children) attain majority.
3. Where the matrimonial dwelling is rented, the court may award the rights of the lessee to the spouse that remains to live with their minor children or that lacks capacity for work and may evict the other spouse if he or she has been ordered to live separately.

Article 3.72. Mutual maintenance of the former spouses 

1. The court when making a divorce judgement shall also make a maintenance order in favour of the spouse in need of maintenance unless the matters of maintenance are settled in the agreement of the spouses concerning the consequences of divorce. A spouse shall have no right to maintenance if his or her assets or income are sufficient to fully support him or her.
2. Maintenance shall be presumed to be necessary if he or she is bringing up a minor child of the marriage or is incapacitated for employment because of his or her age or state of health.
3. A spouse that was not able to obtain any qualifications for work (complete his or her studies) because of the marriage, common interests of the family or the need to care for the children, shall have a right to demand from the former spouse to cover the costs related to the completion of his or her studies or retraining.
4. The spouse responsible for the breakdown of the marriage shall have no right to maintenance.
5. While making a maintenance order and deciding on its amount, the court shall take into account the duration of the marriage, the need for maintenance, the assets owned by the former spouses, their state of health, age, capacity for employment, the possibility of the unemployed spouse of finding employment and other important circumstances.
6. The amount of maintenance shall be reduced, made temporary or refused if one of the following circumstances exist:

1) the marriage lasted for a period not exceeding a year; 

2) the spouse entitled to maintenance has committed a crime against the other spouse or his or her next of kin; 

3) the spouse entitled to maintenance has created his or her difficult financial situation through his or her own irresponsible acts; 

4) the spouse requesting maintenance did not contribute to the growth of their community assets or wilfully prejudiced the interests of the other spouse or the family during the marriage. 

7. The court may demand from the spouse obliged to provide maintenance to the other spouse to produce an adequate guarantee of fulfilment of this obligation.
8. The court may make maintenance orders for a lump sum or periodical (monthly) payments or property adjustment.
9. Where divorce is based on the application of one of the spouses because of the legal incompetence of the other spouse, the applicant spouse must cover the treatment and care expenses of the former incompetent spouse unless the expenses are covered from state social security funds.
10. The maintenance order shall be the basis for the forced pledge of the respondent’s assets.

If the former spouse defaults on his or her obligation to pay maintenance, his or her assets may be used to make payments in the procedure laid down by the law. 

11. Where the maintenance order is for periodical payments, a significant change in the circumstances referred to in paragraph 5 of this Article may warrant the application of either of the former spouses for an increase, reduction or termination of maintenance payments. Periodical payments shall be for the life of the creditor and shall be inflation-indexed annually in the procedure laid down by the Government.
12. After the death of the spouse obliged to pay maintenance, the obligation to pay maintenance is devolved on his or her successors to the extent of his or her estate irrespective of the way the estate is accepted.
13. Where the payee dies or remarries, the maintenance payment shall be terminated. On the payee’s death, the right to demand arrears of the maintenance payments shall pass to the payee’s successors. The dissolution of the new marriage shall create a right to apply for the renewal of maintenance payments provided the payee is bringing up a child by his or her former spouse or is caring for a disabled child by his or her former spouse. In all other cases the duty of the subsequent spouse to maintain the payee shall take precedence over that of the first former spouse.

Article 3.73. Application for separation 

1. One of the spouses may apply to the court for the approval of the separation if due to certain circumstances, which may not depend on the other spouse, their life together has become intolerable (impossible) or can seriously prejudice the interests of their minor children or the spouses are no longer interested in living together.
2. Both spouses may jointly apply to the court for the approval of their separation if they have made a contract concerning the consequences of their separation providing for the residence, maintenance and education of their minor children as well as for the adjustment of their property and mutual maintenance.

Article 3.77. Legal consequences of separation 

1. When the court makes a separation judgement, it releases the spouses form the obligation to live together, but the other rights and duties of the spouses shall not be extinguished except in cases provided for herein.
2. Separation shall not produce any effects on the rights and duties of he spouses in respect of their minor children except in cases provided for herein.
3. When making a separation judgement, the court must always make a property adjustment order unless those matters are settled in the marriage contract of the spouses.
4. The legal consequences of separation for the property interests of the spouses shall be produced from the initiation of the separation suit. However, the spouse other than the one responsible, in the opinion of the court, for the separation may ask the court to make the legal consequences of separation retroactive to the date on which the spouses ceased to live together.
5. If one of the separated spouses dies, the survivor shall retain all the rights of a surviving spouse under the law, except where the surviving spouse has been declared by the court to be at fault for the separation. The same rule shall apply where the court makes a separation order on the basis of the joint application of the spouses unless the marriage contract of the spouses stipulates otherwise.

The surviving spouse, however, shall lose the right of succession to the estate of the deceased spouse. 

Article 3.78. Mutual maintenance of the spouses 

1. When issuing a separation order, the court may order the spouse at fault for the separation to pay maintenance to the other spouse in need of it unless the maintenance matters are settled in the agreement of the spouses.
2. When making a maintenance order and determining the amount, the court must take into consideration the duration of the marriage, the need for maintenance, the financial position of both spouses, their state of health, age as well as their earning capacity, the unemployed spouse’s chances of finding employment and other important circumstances.
3. The court may rule that the spouse under the obligation to pay maintenance to other spouse must provide a security that the obligation will be fulfilled.
4. Maintenance may be ordered as a lump sum of a certain amount or periodical monthly payments or property transfer.
5. The maintenance order shall be the basis for the statutory pledge of the respondent’s assets.

If a spouse defaults on his or her obligation to provide maintenance, his or her assets may be used to make payments in the procedure laid down by the law. 

6. Where maintenance has been ordered in the form of periodical payments, a fundamental change in the circumstances referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article, either spouse may claim an increase, reduction or termination of the payments. Periodical payments shall be indexed annually in the procedure laid down by the Government.

Article 3.81. Kinds of legal regime of property of spouses 

1. There shall be statutory and contractual legal regime of the property of spouses.
2. The statutory legal regime of the property of spouses shall be governed by Articles 3.87 to 3.100 hereof.
3. The contractual regime of the property of spouses shall be governed by Articles 3.101 to 3.108 hereof.

Article 3.165. Substance of personal parental rights and duties 

1. Parents shall have a right and duty to bring up their children; they shall be responsible for their children’s education and development, their health and spiritual and moral guidance. In performing these duties, parents shall have a priority right over the rights of other persons.
2. Parents must create conditions for their children to learn during their compulsory school age.
3. All questions related to the education of their children parents shall decide by mutual agreement. In the event of the lack of agreement, the disputed matter shall be resolved by the court.

Article 3.166. Giving a child a name 

1. Every child shall be given a name by his or her parents.
2. A child may be given two names.
3. A child shall be given a name by the mutual agreement of the parents. Where the child’s mother and father cannot agree on the name, the child shall be given a name by a judicial order.
4. While registering the birth of a child whose parents’ identity is not known, the child shall be given a name by the state institution for the protection of the child’s rights.

Article 3.167. Giving a child a surname 

1. Every child shall be given his or her parents’ surname.
2. Where the surnames of the child’s parents are different, the child shall be given the mother’s or the father’s surname by the mutual agreement of the parents. If the parents cannot agree, the child shall be given the surname of one of the parents by a judicial order.
3. While registering the birth of a child whose parents’ identity is not known, the child shall be given a surname by the state institution for the protection of the child’s rights.
4. The grounds and procedures for changing a child’s name or surname shall be subject to the Rules of the Registration of Civil Status approved by the Minister of Justice.

Article 3.169. A child’s residence where the parents are separated 

1. Where the parents are separated, the child’s residence shall be decided by the mutual agreement of the parents.
2. In the event of a dispute over the child’s residence, the child’s residence shall be determined by a residence order awarded by the court in favour of one of the parents.
3. If the circumstances change or if the parent with whom the child was to live lets the other parent live with and bring up the child, the other parent may file a second suit for the determination of the child’s residence.

Article 3.170. The right of the separated parent to have 

contact with the child and be involved in the child’s education 

1. The father or the mother who lives separately from the child shall have a right to have contact with the child and be involved in the child’s education.
2. A child whose parents are separated shall have a right to have constant and direct contact with both the parents irrespective of their residence.
3. The father or the mother with whom the child resides may not interfere with the other parent’s contacts with the child or involvement in the child’s education.
4. Where the parents cannot agree as to the involvement of the separated father or mother in the education of and association with the child, the procedure of the separated parent’s association with the child and involvement in the child’s education shall be determined by the court.
5. The separated father or mother shall have a right to receive information about the child from all the institutions and authorities concerned with the child’s education, training, health care, protection of the child’s rights, etc. Such information may be denied only in cases where the child’s life or health is imperilled by the mother or the father and in cases provided for by the law.
6. The refusal of authorities, organisations, institutions or natural persons to provide information to the parents about their children may be brought before the court.

Article 3.192. Parents’ duty to maintain their children 

1. Parents shall be obliged to maintain their underage children. The procedure and form of maintenance shall be determined by the mutual agreement of the parents.
2. The amount for maintenance must be commensurate with the needs of the children and the financial situation of their parents; it must ensure the existence of conditions necessary for the child’s development.
3. Both parents must provide maintenance to their underage children in accordance with their financial situation.

Article 3.193. Parental agreement on the maintenance of their underage children 

1. On divorce by mutual agreement (Article 3.51 hereof) or on separation (Article 3.73 hereof) spouses shall make an agreement providing for their mutual duties in maintaining their underage children as well as the procedure, amount and form of such maintenance. The agreement shall be approved by the court (Article 3.53 hereof).
2. Parents of underage children may conclude an agreement on the maintenance of their children also when their divorce is based on other grounds.
3. If one of the parents does not comply with the agreement on the maintenance of their underage children approved by the court, the other parent shall have a right to apply to the court for the issuance of the writ of execution.

Article 3.194. Maintenance orders 

1. If the parents (or one of the parents) fail in the duty to maintain their underage children, the court may issue a maintenance order in an action brought by one of the parents or the child’s guardian (curator) or the state institution for the protection of the child’s rights.
2. A maintenance order may also be issued if on divorce or on separation the parents did not agree on the maintenance of their underage children in the procedure provided for in this Book.
3. The court shall issue a maintenance order until the child attains majority, except in cases where the child lacks capacity for work due to a disability determined before the age of majority, or when the child is in need of support, he is a full-time student of institutions of secondary, vocational or higher education and is not older than 24 years of age.
4. The enforcement of the maintenance order shall be terminated when the child:

1) is emancipated; 

2) attains majority; 

3) is adopted; 

4) dies. 

5. If the person obliged to pay maintenance dies, the duty of maintenance shall pass to his or her successors within the limits of the inherited property irrespective of the way the estate is accepted under the rules of Book Five hereof.

Article 5.13. Spouses’ right of inheritance 

The surviving spouse of the bequeather shall be entitled to inherit pursuant to intestate succession or alongside with the heirs (if any) of either the first or second degree of descent. Together with the first degree heirs, he shall inherit one fourth of the inheritance in the event of existence of not more than three heirs apart from the spouse. In the event where there are more than three heirs, the spouse shall inherit in equal shares with the other heirs. If the spouse inherits with the second degree heirs, he is entitled to a half of the inheritance. In the event of absence of the first and second degree heirs, the spouse shall inherit the whole inheritable estate. 

Lithuania Civil Code-English-PDF