FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ)

Domestic violence occurs when the member of the family violates constitutional rights and freedoms of the other family member by means of physical, psychological, economic, sexual abuse or duress.

Forms of Domestic Violence:

Physical violence: battering, torture, damage to health, illegal deprivation of freedom or any other act which inflicts physical pain or suffering; preventing a family member from healthcare which may cause damage to health or death of the latter;

Psychological violence: abuse, blackmail, intimidation or any other action which is deemed as degrading and inhuman treatment;

Economic violence: any act that restricts one’s right to food, accommodation and other conditions for normal development, as well as property and labor rights including shared property and management of one’s shared of property.

Sexual violence: coercive sexual intercourse, under duress or misusing vulnerability of victims; sexual intercourse or any other act of sexual nature, or immoral act against minors.

Harassment: physical or psychological coercion over an individual so that s/he undertakes an action or refrains from it while a decision whether or not to undertake the specific action should be his/her discretion, or experience effects of non-consensual actions

Neglect: failure to meet the child’s basic physical and psychological needs by the parent and/or legal guardian, restriction of the child’s right to basic education, failure to provide basic protection from threats, and failure to undertake necessary actions for registration of birth or ensuring access to medical and other services while the parent and/or the legal guardian has relevant information, opportunity and access to such services.

The following members of the family can be a perpetrator of domestic violence: mother, father, grandfather, grandmother, a spouse, son/daughter (stepson/stepdaughter), adopted son/daughter, adoptive parent, a spouse of an adoptive parent, foster son/daughter, foster family (foster mother/father), grandson/granddaughter, sister, brother, parents in-laws, son in-law, daughter in-law, ex-spouse, common-law spouses and their family members, a guardian (supporter).

Victim is a member of the family who has sustained physical, psychological, sexual, economic violence or coercion and with a status granted by the respective agency under the Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs, court authority and/or a group tasked to determine whether or not an individual is eligible to a status of the victim (victim identification group).

An alleged victim of domestic violence is the one who perceives himself or herself a victim and applies to respective bodies/the group for determining the status of the victim of domestic violence (victim identification group) in order to have the status determined.

A perpetrator is a member of the family who abuses another member of the family physically, psychologically, economically, sexually or exercises coercion against the latter.

Medical staff of a healthcare facility and those working at educational institutions where minors are involved, staff of Social Service Agency (a legal body of public law), authorized personnel at guardianship and curatorship bodies and other subjects as stipulated by the Georgian legislation are responsible for reporting cases of domestic violence.

The following persons and bodies are authorized to address the court regarding domestic cases involving domestic violence: victim (alleged victim), his or her family member, guardianship and curatorship bodies when minors are involved, also individuals providing medical, legal and/or psychological help to the victim upon the consent of the latter.

A state shelter providing psycho-social rehabilitation services as well as legal and medical assistance is available to victims of domestic violence.

The Crisis Center is an institution where victims and alleged victims of domestic violence can be placed on a temporary basis and have access to psycho-social rehabilitation, basic and emergency medical care and legal counseling

In addition, another mechanism allows victim to remain at the place of residence owned by the perpetrator while the letter is diverged from such residence.

If you are the victim of domestic violence or are able to provide information pertaining to a specific case of domestic violence, you are kindly requested to place a call on a hotline for victims of domestic violence at the State Fund for the Protection and Assistance of Victims of Human Trafficking within 24 hours:

+995 32 116 006 or 112

The real estate is a parcel of land together with minerals, plants and premises fixed to the ground.

The following are the grounds for rights on real estate:

• A purchase contract;
• A gift contract;
• Exchange contract;
• Privatization;
• Certificate of inheritance;
• Recognition of property of land, homestead, etc.

Property rights on real estate are registered at the territorial registration service of the National Agency of Public Registry the Ministry of Justice of Georgia.

• Application;
• A copy of the applicant’s ID (personal identification document, passport, residence permit etc);
• A certificate of the right (purchase contract, gift contract, exchange contract, privatization documents, certificate of inheritance, in case of the recognition of the property rights over land (parcels and premises) an administrative act adopted by a respective commission, a characterization issued by technical registration archive, inventory plan, etc.;
• Cadastral drawings;
• A receipt of payment of registration service fee;
• In case of privatization conducted by the Georgian Ministry of Economic Development a protocol confirming the purchase of land and other real estates issued by a respective territorial body (in a form of direct purchase, close or open auctions) etc.

Other documents which may be of importance to the resolution of the issue in question can also be enclosed within the application.

Legalization of the property right requires a contract to be concluded in writing and signed by the parties to be then authorized by an authorized staff of a respective registration service of the Public Registry or a notary. The contract needs to be registered at the Public Registry.

The seller of a parcel of land and other real estate is responsible for paying fees related to concluding purchase contracts, registration and submitting all necessary documents.

The parties, however, are allowed to bring changes to the condition above upon mutual agreement.

Registration of real estate will take place within 4 days after the submission of the application and the fee amounts to 50 GEL.

Primary registration of property right on agricultural land in the Public Registry is free of charge as per Resolution N231 of the Government of Georgia on 28 June 2012.

In order to get registered in the unified database, one of adult members of the family should file a written application to a territorial body of the Social Service Agency based on the place of residence requesting the registration in the database.

A household with a ranking score is considered to be regerested in the database.

A ranking score should be calculated within three months from the submission of the application.

A social agent is sent to the family’s home at the address indicated in the application within one month form the date of the submission. The social agent will assess a household-owned property, income and other expenditure and fill out a relevant declaration. A ranking score derived from the household’s socio-economic standing will be assigned to the household within maximum a month’s time after the assessment visit takes place.

Individual ranking score determines a type of state assistance that a given household is eligible to. Assistance can be material or non-material and aims at improving a socio-economic standing of the applicant.

The amount of subsistence allowance is determined based on the number of household members and the respective ranking score.

Subsistence assistance is designated in the same month when the applicant is deemed eligible to such an assistance based on a written statement filed by the poor household requesting the subsistence allowance.

Poor households are allowed to collect their allowance a month after they are granted a ranking score.

1. A convicted felon serving a sentence in a penitentiary institution based on a legally effective verdict;
2. A person undergoing non-consensual treatment;
3. A person being on a military service with a specific term (except for those who are allowed to visit families at least once in three days);
4. A person who has been living abroad for three consequitive months;
5. A person decleared missing or deceased by court;
6. A person in a specialized institution whose living costs are fully covered.

Households assessed before 1 May 2015 with the ranking score up to 57 001 are eligible to:

• Single household - 60 GEL;
• Households with two and more members - 60 GEL plus 48 GEL for every member;

Households assessed beyond 1 May 2015 are eligible to:

• Households with the ranking score below 30001 - 60 GEL for every member of the family;
• Households with the ranking score of more than 30001 but less than 57001 – 50 GEL for every member of the family;
• Households with the ranking score of more than 57001 but less than 60001 – 40 GEL for every member of the family;
• Households with the ranking score of more than 60001 but less than 65001 – 30 GEL for every member of the family;
• Households with the ranking score of less than 100001 – 10 GEL for every member of the family.

Social assistance will be terminated if:

• The family does not reside at the address entered in the database;
• The household is split on purpose;
• The household is united on purpose;
• There have been changes in the family composition;
• There is a new family member of full age;
• Two years have passed since the birth (adoption) of a child or the last assessment;
• The household opts out from the program;
• There is a need for additional assessment/examination of the family because of a newly identified circumstance.

The following factors will affect decisions on eligibility, termination or changes to the social assistance:

• Changes in the number of the household members (birth, death, marriage etc);
• Granting or depriving a disability status to any member of the family;
• Employment, legal income;
• Other circumstances as stipulated by the law.

Internally displaced persons who receive monthly allowance are not eligible to subsistence allowance and therefore, they have to make a choice between the two.

 Beneficiaries of subsistence allowance have the right to:

• Receive subsistence allowance;
• Request the delivery of subsistence allowance to the family home if all members of the family suffer conditions restricting their ability to move;
• Recieve a social package, state pension/compensation, other individual social assistance and/or other state benefits in addition to subsistence allowance, if not stipulated otherwise by the legislation;
• Make familiar with his/her personal data maintained in the database;
• Request changes to be made to his/her personal information maintained in the database;
• Request an excerpt from the database of socially vulnerable households;
• Enjoy other rights stipulated by the legislation.

Households receiving the assistance are responsible for:

• Informing the Social Service Agency on any changes to the composition of the family (death, birth, marriage, departure of a family member abroad for more than three months etc) and/or improvements in social conditions of the family;
• Inforfimng a respective territorial body of the Agency on the changes above no later than a month.

Households who do not agree with the ranking score have the right to re-apply to a territorial body of the Social Service Agency per the place of residence and request re-assessment of the family’s social standing. Re-assessment can be requested after a year since the last assessment.

Primary assessment rules, procedures and terms will be applied during the re-assessment.

If the household is denied the request for the re-assessment, or if the family wants to challenge the ranking score derived as a result of the secondary assessment, they have the right to appeal against such decision in the Social Service Agency (the head office). A final decision of the administrative body can be challenged in the court of law.

A recipient of support is an individual who has solid mental/intellectual disorder while the interplay of these disorders and various barriers may prevent him/her from fully and effectively participating in public life under equal conditions enjoyed by others.

The person may be eligible to support in labor relations, small business deals, trade agreements, real estate management, identification of places of residence, giving consent to treatment, for the purpose of preventing harm to this person, and implementation of other rights and responsibilities as stipulated by the court based on the individual assessment.

The court of law is the body which has the right to recognize an individual as a recipient of support and ensure such support based on a place of residence of the person in question.

• The individual to be recognized as a recipient of support;
• Family member of the individual who is to be recognized as a recipient of support;
• A legal representative of the person who is to be recognized as a recipient of support;
• A body of guardianship or curatorship;
• Psychiatric or specialized institution, if the person is placed in such institution.

An application shall be submitted to the court by the individual who is interested in recognizing a person as recipient of support and determining the scope of such support.

There are no fees or other dues to be paid in relation to the revision of cases related to the recognition of the person as a recipient of support.

The person whose case on the recognition as the recipient of support is being reviewed in the court, must be represented by a lawyer.

The individual to be recognized as a recipient of support shall be given the state-appointed attorney based on the verdict of the court, or assigned by the Legal Aid Service upon the application of the individual to be recognized as a recipient of support.

• Tests to ascertain whether or not the individual is truly eligible to be recognized as a recipient of support, shall be conducted at Leval Samkharauli State Forensic Bureau based on the verdict of the court.
• Analysis takes place in the premises of Forensic Bureau based on the place of the applicant/the person to be recognized a recipient of support. However, tests may be carried out at location of the person to be recognized as a recipient of support by a decision of the court if the person cannot be brought to the Bureau.
• The state covers the expenses incurred by such forensics, which means that the person to be recognized as a recipient of support is exempt from paying the state expenses.

The law does not specify the timeframe, however, the court determines the frequency of revision (not exceeding five years) regardless of the timeframe of the support.

The support can be terminated if:

• The recipient of support has deceased (in such cases a decision is made by guardianship and curatorship body);
• If the reason for which the person was recognized as a recipient of support, no longer exist (In such cases the court is responsible for making a decision).

A family member, relative, a person close to the family of the person to be recognized as a recipient of support, or a specialist who manages to meet requirements laid down by the law, may be appointed as a support provider.

• An individual below 18 years;
• An individual who has been recognized as the a recipient of support;
• An individual who has been deprived of or restricted parental rights because of their failure to fulfil parental obligations.

(Note: A certificate confirming that there are no impeding circumstances for recognizing a person as a recipient of support may be obtained at the Social Service Agency (legal body of the public law).

The support provider is responsible for:

• Following up with permanent medical treatment prescribed to a recipient of support;
• Ascertaining his/her wills/choices and help her/him to make adequate decisions;
• Reporting to the guardianship and curatorship body on the fulfilment of their obligations and responsibilities defined by a decision of the court within the timeframe which has been determined by the guardianship and curatorship body but not exceeding six months;
• Immediately informing the court on changes within the scope/termination of the support if the reason for which the person has been assigned support has either been revoked or changed except for cases when the court has already been informed by a guardianship or curatorship body or the support receiver.

The supervision of the support provider is exercised by a guardianship or curatorship body according to a place of residence of the support receiver. The purpose of supervision is to make sure that the support provider fulfils his/her obligations imposed by a court decision and defined by the Georgian legislation, as well as to assess the development of skills of the support receiver and response adequately.

The court is authorized to appoint a temporary support provider upon the applicant’s plea before the finalization of proceedings, in other words before the final decision is made if it deems that the applicant may sustain irreversible damage, such as, suspension of pension/social assistance, inaccessibility to appropriate treatment/necessary medication etc.

Individuals who may be appointed as support providers may as well provide temporary support – a family member, relative, family friend of a person to be recognized as a recipient of support, or a specialist.

Cases on establishing juridical facts are reviewed by the court or appropriate servant at the court.

The court shall determine whether or not fact can be deemed juridical only when it is impossible to otherwise obtain documents confirming these facts or restore lost documents in any other manner.

The court establishes those facts which have no effect on generating, changing or eliminating property rights of citizens or organizations. More specifically, the court reviews cases to establish:

• Kinship between individuals;
• Financial dependency of an individual;
• Paternity, marriage, divorce, registration of changed name and/or surname or adoption;
• Ownership of documents confirming ownership with name, surname and father’s name different from what is indicated the passport or the birth certificate of the owner of such documents;
• Acceptance of inheritance and establishing the place of the opening of inheritance.

An application should be submitted to the court based on the applicant’s place of residence.

The application should provide explanation as to what the applicant need to establish the fact for. In addition, evidence confirming the failure of the applicant to obtain or restore lost documents otherwise should be enclosed within the application.

The application shall be submitted in a written or typed form at the applicant’s choice and there is no specific form to fill out.

In such cases the following documents should be enclosed within the application: a birth certificate and its photocopy, a passport of the citizen of Georgia (an identification document) and its photocopy, a document containing personal data of the applicant different from those in the birth certificate or passport; also, a refusal of an appropriate body or agency (for instance, Social Service Agency, Civic or Public Registry) to correct the mistakes in the document, a receipt of the payment of the due. In some instances, a marriage certificate and its photocopy, and names of witnesses may also be required.

In such cases the following documents should be enclosed within the application: a death certificate of the descent and its photocopy; a certificate issued by the local government body confirming the effective ownership of inherited property. If the applicant fails to produce such a certificate, she or he should present the following documents as a proof that the property is managed by him/her: utility payment and other receipts (if such documents are not available only statements of witnesses will suffice), a photocopy of an identification document, documents confirming kinship with the descent (a birth certificate, a marriage certificate etc), a receipt of the payment of the due, a notary decree on the refusal to undertake a notary act.

While establishing the juridical fact, the court invites interested persons (persons whose legal interests will be affected by the decision to be made by the court).

As the establishment of the juridical fact falls under the category of cases under the competence of the Magistrate Court, the applicant is eligible to paying half of the court fee amounting to 25 GEL.

The applicant is exempt from paying the court fee if:

• She or he is registered in the unified database of the socially vulnerable households and receives allowance;
• She or he has a status of the person with disabilities;

Documents supporting the above circumstances must be enclosed within the application.

A decision of the judge on denying the establishment of the juridical fact may be appealed within 14 days from the day such decision was mad, while a decision made by the authorized court servant (a magistrate) may be challenged by appealing to the same court within 10 days from handing over a decision with supporting justification to the party.

The decision of the court on establishing the juridical fact should be referred to the appropriate body or agency (notary, Public Registry etc) based on the nature of the juridical fact referred to in the decision.

There are two types of inheritance: hereditary succession and testamentary succession. Therefore, the transfer of the decedent’s property to other persons (heirs) is implemented according to law or will, or based on both grounds.

Pursuant to the law, in case of hereditary succession the heirs can be persons who survived the decedent as of the moment of his/her death, and also, the decedent's children born alive after his or her death.

In case of testamentary succession the heirs can be (surviving) persons who survived the decedent as of moment of his/her death, as well as those conceived during the decedent's lifetime and born after his/her death (even if these are not his/her children), as well as legal entities.

The law regulates inheritance at law, and under whose possession and in what quantities shall the deceased’s (decedent) property remain. In such a case, there is a principle of order of priority (with five classes), which means that in case of existence of upper class heir the remaining classes of heirs are excluded from inheritance.

Legal heirs according to the order of priority are:

1^st class - Decedent’s children, child born after his/her death, spouse, parents (adoptive parents).

Child born out of wedlock is considered to be a successor, if paternity is established by the law.

Adopted child and his/her descendants, similar to adoptive parent and his/her relatives, are equal to the children of adoptive parents and their descendants. Adopted child is no longer considered to be the heir of his parents and other biological relatives in the ascending line, as well as brothers and sisters after the death.

Grandchildren, great grandchildren and children of the latter are considered as heirs, if their parents who have been the heir of the decedent, at the time of opening of the estate, are no longer alive, and equally take the portion to which the inheritance of their deceased parent would have been entitled to;

Grandchildren, great grandchildren and children of the latter shall not be deemed to be legal heirs, if their parents have refused to accept the inheritance (refused the right to hereditary succession). Adoptive parents and their blood relatives, similar to the adopted child and his/her descendants, are equal (have equal rights) as the adoptee's parents and other blood relatives. Adopted parents, siblings by blood and other blood relatives in the ascending line do not inherit (are no longer legal heirs) by law after the death of the adopted child or his descendants;

2^nd class - Deceased’s siblings, niece and nephew, if the parent who would have been the heir of the decedent is no longer alive at the time of the decedent's death;

3^rd class - Paternal and maternal grandparents and great grandparents; great grandparents shall be deemed to be legal heirs, if by the time the estate is being opened, the grandparents are no longer alive;

4^th class - Uncles, aunts;

5^th class - First cousins; if they are not alive, then their children.

The property (estate) is distributed equally among the heirs of the same rank (class). At this time there is no difference between the rights to the inheritance of the heirs. The court decides any dispute regarding inheritance among the heirs.

In case of testamentary succession, in contrast to the hereditary succession, the deceased (testator) identified in advance by testamentation (drawing up a will) the heirs and the portions of estate these heirs are entitled to (who will get how much of his property).

By the will, the testator is able to transfer his property to the legal heirs, as well as any other non-related person, including legal (organization, establishment) entity.

If an entire estate was divided according to the will among the heirs, but one of the heirs of the estate at the time of the opening estate is no longer alive, the hereditary succession (inheritance law/legal succession) is not established and the portion of the property shall be divided among other testamentary heirs.

In case of testamentary succession, the natural portion (share) of the decedent’s property (estate) is transferred to the heirs of the first rank (class).

The natural portion (share) of the property constitutes half of the property that would have been transferred to the heirs of the first rank (class) in the absence of the will.

Both hereditary and testament succession are established if the will distributing only a portion of the estate (the will is made only about a portion of the estate) and/or a court declaring the will partially void. The hereditary succession applies to the remaining part of the estate, which is not mentioned in the will and/or the court declared partially void.

No. In order for the property of the decedent (testator) to be attributed to the heir, it is necessary for the heir to the receive the inheritance according to law (legally/lawfully/as prescribed by law), within six months after the decedent's death.

Inheritance is considered as received by the heir after the heir (through testamentary or hereditary succession) applies to a notary office with the request of inheritance and obtains the certificate (title deed) of inheritance.

Inheritance is considered as received by the actual ownership or control by the heir of the inheritance, which proves that the heir has received the inheritance.

Persons with disabilities receives the inheritance with the assistance of their legal representatives, while recipients of support through the help of support providers, if this support to exercise property rights was assigned (issued) by a court decision.

Actual possession of the estate may be carried out in various ways. One of the options is for the heir to live in the same house (this should be proved by the certificate issued by the Public Service Development Agency) as the testator, at the time of death of the latter; also, for the heir to move things (within the 6-month period of the decedent's death) and keep them in order to then be distributed to other heirs (if any) too.

The actual control of the estate refers to the instances when the heir does not actually own the property, but her/his actions prove that s/he considers the estate as her/his own, by, for example, paying taxes after opening of the estate, etc.

The heir can appeal to the notary and request to receive inheritance. In this occasion, there are no pre-defined statutory dates/deadlines for receiving inheritance, as it means that the inheritance in received by the heir already and referring to the notary for the purpose of formalizing is voluntary.

Inheritance must be received in the period of the six months after the death of the decedent (testator). The heir, who fails to meet the deadline, may lose the right to inheritance!!!

If the heir is a person with a limited capacity (disability) or receives support (assistance), the right to inheritance may be waived with the permission of the court.

After the expiry date of receiving inheritance, the heir who has missed the deadline may still receive the inheritance, if all remaining heirs agree on this. The deadline for receiving the inheritance may be extended also by the court, if the excuse for missing the deadline is found valid.

The heir, who has missed the statutory six-month period for receiving inheritance to, and in fact did not take the estate into possession, should appeal to court with the statement of claim. Complainant or his/her representative should indicate in the statement of claim valid excuse for missing the deadline, appeal for this excuse to be found valid and/or request for extending the deadline. At this moment, another heir who is against the statement of claim becomes defendant (libellee) in this court case.

Statement about the refusal of inheritance should be drawn in the notary office.

State tax for appealing court is due to be paid according to the legislation (3% of the property value; the value of the property shall be determined by the audit report).

The certificate (title deed) of inheritance is a notarial certificate (act) certifying (confirming) the inherited estate (inheritance). In order for the real estate indicated in the certificate (title deed) of inheritance to be considered as owned by the person, it is necessary to register it at any of the National Agency of the Public Registry or Public Service Hall based on the estate location.

The certificate of inheritance (title deed) is issued to the heirs any time after the six months period passes from the opening of the estate.

The certificate of inheritance (title deed) is issued earlier than six months if the notary office (notary) is notified that there are other heirs apart from the ones requesting the certificate of inheritance (title deed).

In a family household (community) the inheritance of a joint household estate will be opened after the death of the last member of the household (community).

The heir is obliged to satisfy the creditors of the decedent (pay debts) adopted in the framework of the inheritance (estate).

Marriages are registered at a territorial body of the State Service Development Agency (a legal body of public law) at the Ministry of Justice of Georgia. Couples may choose the location of the territorial body based on their residence.

Marriage of a person placed at a penitentiary institution is registered in a place designated specifically for this purpose at the institution.

A notary may also register the marriage under his/her delegated competences.

• Age of marriage is 18 years.
• Marriage of adult persons with disabilities shall be permitted with the preliminary written consent of the custodian.

Prior consent of the couple (engagement) does not impose the obligation to marry. If the couple decides to not proceed with the marriage, engagement presents will be returned to the parties. Engagement does not serve as grounds for forced marriage by law.

Marriage will be deemed inadmissible if:

• One of the parties has already been married to another person;
• If marriage is entered into by relatives in direct, ascending or descending lines;
• If the marriage takes place between biological and non-biological sister and brother;
• If the marriage is entered into by an adoptive parent or adopted daughter/son
• If at least one of the parties is a recipient of support and the couple has not concluded a nuptial contract.

The nuptial contract can be concluded before the registration of marriage and any time after the marriage has been registered. The nuptial contract defines couple’s property rights and obligations during the marriage as well as during a divorce.

The nuptial contract must be concluded before the marriage if at least one of the parties is a recipient of support. A process of concluding the nuptial contract requires the involvement of guardianship and curatorship bodies, as well as a support provider in relations to the party of the contract that are defined by a respective decision issued by the court.

The following can serve as grounds for the termination of the marriage:

• Death of one of the spouses;
• Declaration of one of spouses as deceased in a manner identified by the law;
• Divorce.

Upon a mutual consent of both spouses, divorce takes place at a territorial body (the House of Justice) of the State Service Development Agency (a legal body of public law) of the Ministry of Justice of Georgia. Spouses or their legal representatives submit a joint statement to the respective territorial body.

In the event of the dispute between the spouses, the divorce procedures move to the court.

Divorce can be registered by a notary within his/her delegated competences.

One of the spouses can file a divorce at the territorial body of the State Service Development Agency (a legal body of public law) at the Ministry of Justice of Georgia provided that:

• There is a court resolution on divorce
• The other spouse is declared missing in a manner which is stipulated by the law
• The other spouse is sentenced to serving at least three years for committing a crime.

During the pregnancy of the wife and within a year after the birth of the child, the husband has no right to file for divorce without his wife’s consent.

A decision of the court on the divorce must be registered at the territorial service of the State Service Development Agency (legal body of the public law) at the Ministry of Justice of Georgia or at the House of Justice. Termination of marriage takes effect from the moment divorce is registered.

Property acquired by spouses during their marriage is considered the shared property even if one of them did not generate income from independent sources.

Spouses are obliged to financially support each other. A spouse who is not able to participate in the labor market; a spouse in need of financial support, and a wife during her pregnancy and within three years from the birth of the child are eligible to allowance by a ruling of the court if they are refused allowance and/or there has not been a prior agreement on allowance between former spouses.

A spouse who cannot participate in the labor market and therefore is in need of support from the former spouse maintains the right to allowance after the divorce if s/he became disabled a year before the divorce or within a year from the divorce.

The court can release the spouse from the responsibility to support his/her spouse or change arrangements for a specific time period if the marriage lasted only for a short period of time, and/or the spouse demanding financial support has committed a dishonest act towards the allowance payer, also, if the spouse who demands financial support is unable to participate in labor relations due to his/her consumption of alcohol or drugs or committing premeditated felony.

The amount of allowance to be paid by the spouse is defined in a form of monthly monetary allowance based on financial standing and family conditions of the spouses.