New family law seeks to make custody fairer
New legislation seeking to right many wrongs in the obsolete framework of Greek family law, particularly with regard to the custody of children in the event of separation, will be presented to cabinet by Justice Minister Konstantinos Tsiaras before heading to MPs for approval.
If ratified, the legislation gives both parties in a divorce a more equal share of the time they spend with their children but also in the responsibilities of looking after their well-being. For example, it introduces, for the first time, a provision giving greater visitation rights to the non-custodial parent in a separation, allocating him or her one-third of all available time.
Life-altering decisions concerning the child, such as medical matters, choice of school or even choice of name are also going to be more evenly shared between separated parents.
The aim of the legislation is to bolster both parents’ contribution to the child’s upbringing, as well as to reduce the areas than can cause friction between separated partners, often to the detriment of the child. It also seeks to discourage abuses of custodial rights by punishing efforts by one parent to alienate a child from the other.
