Blog
Attorney Milena Nowicka
What does establishing contact with a child involve? Contact with a child vs. parental authority
How can contact with a child be established?
When can you file a case for establishing contact with a child?
Who may apply for a court order establishing contact with a child?
Regulating contact with a child by grandparents
What does proceedings for establishing contact with a child look like?
Stage 1: Application for regulation of contact
Stage 2: Court proceedings concerning contact with a child
Stage 3: Issuance of a decision establishing contact with a child
When is it worth applying for interim protection of contact with a child during the proceedings?
What should you do if a parent does not comply with the court order and continues to obstruct contact with the child?
If you and the other parent live together, maintaining contact with the child usually occurs naturally. The situation is different, however, when the minor permanently lives with only one of you. In such a case, you should agree on the manner in which contact will be exercised. If you are unable to reach an agreement, it will become necessary to have contact with the child established through the court.
Contact with a child is both a right and an obligation of parents. It may be exercised, among other ways, through meetings (including taking the child from their place of residence), visits, as well as telephone and email communication.
Contact with a child is independent of parental authority. Therefore, the mere fact that a parent has been deprived of parental authority does not automatically mean that they also lose the right to contact with their son or daughter. Such a situation is possible, but only in exceptional cases. The right to contact may be limited or completely revoked, for example, if a parent has abused the child, suffers from a severe mental illness, or is serving a prison sentence.
As long as parents live together, the issue of contact is obvious and natural. Problems arise when the parents live separately—for example, after the breakdown of a relationship or following a divorce. In such cases, it may become necessary to establish contact with the child, meaning a court regulation of the rules, dates, frequency, and manner in which contact is exercised by a parent.
Establishing contact with a minor child does not always require court intervention. It may take place through:
This article, however, focuses exclusively on scenarios involving court intervention in matters relating to contact with a child and the manner in which such contact is exercised.
You may apply to have contact with a child regulated if you are unable to reach an agreement or if the other parent obstructs your contact with the child.
It is irrelevant whether you are married, in the process of divorcing, already divorced, or were never married at all. What matters is that one of the parents is unable to exercise their right and obligation to maintain contact with the child.
An application for establishing contact is usually submitted by the parent with whom the child does not permanently reside. Most often, the other parent prevents meetings with the son or daughter, making court regulation necessary.
However, the situation may also be reversed. The child may live with you, while the other parent fails to comply with arrangements—for example, by not returning the child at the agreed time or by showing no interest in maintaining contact. In such cases, you may also file an application for establishing contact with the child.
Under the provisions of the Family and Guardianship Code, not only parents may apply to have contact regulated by the court. This right is also granted to grandparents who, for various reasons, are deprived of the possibility of maintaining contact with their grandchild.
Proceedings concerning contact with grandchildren follow the same principles as those initiated by parents. Therefore, the information provided in the remainder of this article applies regardless of whether you are a parent or a grandparent.
It should be emphasized, however, that the form and scope of contact with grandchildren should be adapted to the minor’s situation. In short, the key issue is whether the manner and frequency of contact are consistent with the child’s best interests. Factors such as the child’s age, the distance between the grandparents’ home and the child’s place of residence, and the emotional bond between the child and the grandparents are all relevant.
As you already know, contact may be regulated in several ways, one of which is court proceedings to establish contact. To initiate such proceedings, you must file an application—not a lawsuit—because matters concerning contact are conducted in non-contentious proceedings. This means, among other things, that there is no claimant and defendant. Moreover, the court does not issue a judgment but a decision.
Since proceedings to establish contact are initiated by an application, the first step is to prepare the appropriate document. The application must be filed with the Family and Juvenile Division of the district court having jurisdiction over the child’s place of residence. The application is also subject to a court fee of PLN 100.
Numerous templates for applications to establish contact with a child can be found online. However, relying solely on a ready-made template does not guarantee success. While it may help you meet formal requirements (such as including all required information and the correct title), it is less helpful when it comes to the substantive part of the application.
In particular, you must submit appropriate claims—not only request that contact be established, but also specify in detail how you believe such contact should be exercised. Additionally, you should consider submitting supplementary requests, such as requests for interim contact arrangements, expert opinions, or the examination of witnesses.
The most important part of the application is the justification supported by evidence. This aspect always depends on the specific circumstances of the case, which is why universal solutions are rarely effective. In this regard, assistance from a family law attorney may prove helpful, as they can tailor the application precisely to your situation. The more carefully the application is prepared, the greater the chance that the court will issue a decision favorable to you.
During the proceedings, the court will primarily seek to determine how contact with the child has functioned so far and which solution best serves the child’s best interests. To this end, it will hear the applicant, the other parent, and any witnesses involved in the case.
Very often, the court will also order expert opinions, including those of court-appointed psychologists or psychiatrists, as well as the Opinion-Giving Team of Court Experts. Such evidence allows the court to assess the parents’ parental and caregiving competencies.
After the evidentiary proceedings have been completed and the parties heard, the family court will issue a decision determining how contact with the child is to be exercised.
The court will specify the scope of contact, including weekdays and weekends, as well as special periods such as holidays, school breaks, and vacations, and other special days—for example, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. The court may also impose additional obligations, such as requiring a parent to pick up the child from their place of residence and return them after the visit.
Establishing contact is not the only request you can make in your application. Another issue worth considering is interim contact arrangements. This is essentially a request to determine how contact with the child will be exercised until the court issues its final decision.
This is important because the entire proceedings may last many months. By filing a motion for interim contact arrangements, you can at least temporarily regulate this matter in the meantime. However, keep in mind that the fact that the court establishes a certain manner of contact at this stage does not mean that the same rules will necessarily apply in the final decision.
It might seem that a court decision would resolve the problem of contact with a child. In practice, however, in some cases this may still not be enough to change a parent’s behavior.
In such a situation, you may initiate further proceedings, namely proceedings to enforce contact.
Such enforcement of contact with a child (that is, effectively compelling a parent to comply with the court decision) is divided into two stages. First, the court will threaten the parent that if they continue to hinder contact, they will be required to pay a specified amount as a penalty, determined in proportion to the parent’s financial situation.
And what if this still does not work? Then the second stage begins, in which the court carries out the earlier threat and awards the specified amount in favor of the other parent. If the parent refuses to pay the penalty voluntarily, enforcement by a bailiff may be necessary. Alternatively, in connection with such behavior, you may also consider submitting additional motions—for example, to limit parental authority or to increase child support.
