Policy Document
Act V of 2013 on Civil Code
Benefits & Requirements
Coverage: Eligible groups or beneficiaries
Hungarian citizens
Does this law grant the right to unilateral divorce?
Yes
Remarriage waiting period after divorce is finalised
There is no change
Alimony orders established by this document: eligible beneficiary
Any partner. However as a novelty, in addition to spouses, a former cohabitation partner is also entitled to claim maintenance, with the condition that the cohabitation exists for at least one year, and a child was born from this relationship.
Alimony orders established by this document: eligibility criteria
The former partner who is in need thereof without a fault on his or her part is entitled to claim it. A novelty is that in case if the marriage did not last one year, and no child was born in wedlock, the payment period of maintenance may be restricted to a period identical to that of effective cohabitation.
Types of custody established by this document
As a novelty, the law introduces the possibility of mutual alternating placement for children, if the parents agree thereupon and the conditions are fulfilled.
Visitation rights established by this document
The law reinforced the communication rights of the parent living separately: e.g. he or she can bring the child to summer vacation abroad, as well as the costs of communication (e.g. travel costs) may be divided between the two parents. Not only the biological father, but also the foster father can be entitled to visitation rights.
Child support: age of emancipation for child support
The child is entitled to it until the age of 25. But between the age of 18 and 25 only under a number of conditions: - the child pursues education continuously and successfully, - by fulfilling the obligation of maintenance, the own costs of living of the parent and his or her minor child shall not be jeopardized, - the adult child is worthy of maintenance (e.g. cooperates with the parent paying maintenance)
Child support: maximum percentage of parent's average net income
Hereafter the maintenance can be established exclusively as a definite amount, and in no case as a percentage of the income of the obligor. Up to the present, in case of minor children, the establishment in percentage was more characteristic. The amount may be modified annually according to the increase of the index of consumer prices published by the Hungarian Central Statistical Office, but it is only a possibility, and there is no obligation to stipulate it.
Read the Law
Full Text Source in English
Polgári Törvénykönyv-Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch-Civil Code ILS Nemzetközi Fordító Szolgálat Kft. Budapest 2013
Original full text source in native language
Magyar Közlöny 2013/31 (2013 február 26.)
Original full text web source in native language
Secondary Literature & Sources
Secondary literature
Frątczak, E.; Kulik, M.; Malinowski, M.; & Słotwińska-Rosłanowska, E. "Regulacje prawne w odniesieniu do zjawisk i procesów demograficznych. Wybrane akty prawne regulujące świadczenia na rzecz dzieci i rodziny – polityka społeczna Polska, wybrane lata 1945 – 2006". Sekcja Analiz Demograficznych. Komitet Nauk Demograficznych PAN, Zeszyt 17A, Warszawa (2007) [Legal regulations for demographic processes. Selected legal acts regulating social protection for family and children in Poland,1945-2006. The Section of Demographic Analyses. The Committee of Demographic Sciences, Issue 17A, Warsaw]