When parents separate, their shared responsibility for their child does not end. However, the organisation of everyday family life changes. Parents need to determine when the child will spend time with each of them, who will collect and return the child, how school holidays and festive periods will be divided, and how telephone or online contact will be maintained.
The best solution is an agreement that takes the child's needs into account. However, reaching such an agreement is not always possible. In that case, a court can determine the contact arrangements. Importantly, Polish law also provides measures for addressing failures to comply with established contact arrangements.
Does a parent have the right to contact with their child after separation?
Under Article 113 § 1 of the Polish Family and Guardianship Code, parents and their child have both the right and the duty to maintain contact with one another, irrespective of parental authority.
This means that:
- separation or divorce does not, in itself, deprive a parent of the opportunity to maintain a relationship with their child;
- contact rights also apply to parents who have never been married;
- restricting parental authority does not automatically restrict contact;
- maintaining contact is also a right of the child, not merely an entitlement of an adult.
Contact is not limited to face-to-face meetings. It may include spending time together, overnight stays with a parent, trips, telephone conversations, messages and video calls.
It is important to distinguish between parental authority and contact with a child. Parental authority concerns, among other things, responsibility for the child's care and making decisions about the child's affairs. Contact serves to maintain a personal relationship. These are separate legal matters, although they are closely connected in practice.
The right to contact is not unlimited. Where the child's welfare requires it, a court may impose particular conditions on meetings, restrict contact or, in circumstances specified by law, prohibit it.
How can parents arrange contact without going to court?
Parents may agree on contact arrangements themselves. Article 113¹ of the Polish Family and Guardianship Code provides that they should be guided by the child's welfare and take the child's reasonable wishes into account.
Where an agreement is possible, it is advisable to put it in writing. It does not need to be complicated, but it should clearly define how contact will be organised.
A well-prepared agreement should cover:
- the days and times of contact during the week;
- weekends and any overnight stays;
- winter holidays, summer holidays and school-free days;
- public holidays and family celebrations;
- arrangements for collecting and returning the child;
- telephone and online communication;
- procedures for informing the other parent about illness or circumstances preventing a meeting.
A provision stating that “the parent may see the child by prior agreement” may be insufficient. If the relationship between the parents deteriorates, the absence of specific dates and times can lead to further disputes.
If reaching an agreement independently proves difficult, mediation may be considered. A settlement reached before a mediator, once appropriately approved by the court, may also provide a basis for enforcing contact arrangements.
An example of a child contact schedule
There is no single schedule suitable for every family. Contact with a three-year-old should be organised differently from contact with a primary-school pupil or a teenager.
To illustrate how precisely contact arrangements can be described, the following is an example for a school-age child whose parents live relatively close to one another.
Example contact arrangements
- Every other weekend: from Friday at 5:00 p.m. until Sunday at 6:00 p.m., including overnight stays with the other parent.
- One weekday: Wednesday from 4:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
- Winter school holidays: one week, with the method for determining the dates specified.
- Summer holidays: two agreed periods of seven days each.
- Christmas and Easter: an agreed division of festive periods, for example alternating between even-numbered and odd-numbered years.
- Telephone or video calls: on agreed days, at times suited to the child's daily routine.
This is only an example, not a ready-made arrangement suitable for every case. In practice, it is also advisable to specify who is responsible for transport, where the child will be handed over and what should happen if a meeting cannot take place.
For example, if the child attends sports activities on Saturday mornings, the schedule should allow them to continue. If the parents live in distant towns, frequent short meetings may be less suitable than longer contact periods during selected weekends and school holidays.
Above all, a good contact schedule should be realistic, workable and adapted to the child's needs rather than one parent's expectations.
What if the parents cannot agree on contact arrangements?
If discussions and attempts to agree on dates are unsuccessful, a parent may apply to the court for an order regulating contact with the child.
As a general rule, such cases are heard by the district court (sąd rejonowy), family and juvenile division, with jurisdiction determined by the child's place of residence or, where the child has no place of residence, under the further rules set out in Article 569 of the Polish Code of Civil Procedure.
The procedure may be different if divorce or legal separation proceedings are already pending between the parents. In that situation, contact arrangements may be determined within those proceedings.
In a divorce judgment, the court generally also decides on each parent's contact with their joint minor child. However, at the joint request of the parties, the court may refrain from ruling on contact.
What should an application to the court contain?
The application should primarily include:
- Details of the parents and child, and identification of the competent court.
- A precise proposed contact schedule.
- Reasons why the proposed arrangements serve the child's welfare.
- Relevant circumstances concerning the existing relationship, care arrangements and the child's daily life.
- Requests for evidence and the required attachments.
A general request to “allow contact with the child” may be too vague. The more precisely the proposed arrangements are described, the easier it is for the court to assess whether they can be implemented.
What evidence should you prepare for child contact proceedings?
In proceedings concerning contact, not only the parents' statements matter. The court also considers circumstances that help it assess the child's situation.
Depending on the nature of the case, useful evidence may include:
- correspondence between the parents concerning arrangements for meetings;
- a calendar recording previous contact;
- messages confirming cancelled meetings or refusals to allow contact;
- documents concerning the child's school schedule and extracurricular activities;
- information about where the parents live and available transport arrangements;
- witness testimony from people with direct knowledge of relevant events;
- medical documents or information about the child's special needs, where relevant to the contact arrangements.
In some cases, the court may seek an expert opinion, including from a court-appointed specialist team known in Poland as OZSS (Opiniodawczy Zespół Sądowych Specjalistów).
It is advisable to retain factual correspondence and keep a simple chronology of events. For example, recording “On 12 October, the meeting did not take place because I received a message refusing to hand over the child” is more useful than making a general statement that the other parent “always obstructs contact”.
In family proceedings, specific events, dates and circumstances are particularly important.
Interim contact arrangements — must you wait until the case ends?
Court proceedings may take time, and an extended period without contact can negatively affect the relationship between a parent and child.
For that reason, where justified by the circumstances, a parent may apply for interim contact arrangements for the duration of the proceedings.
This is a temporary court order determining the rules for contact before a final decision is made. It may cover, for example, meetings on selected weekends, telephone calls or arrangements for collecting the child.
The application should include a specific proposed contact schedule and explain why interim protection is necessary. The court assesses the situation in light of the child's welfare and the rules governing interim relief.
An interim order does not mean that the court will automatically grant contact on the exact terms requested. It may adopt different arrangements if it considers them more appropriate.
What can you do if the other parent obstructs contact with the child?
Obstructing contact can take various forms: failing to hand over the child at the agreed time, unilaterally changing meeting hours, repeatedly cancelling meetings or imposing additional conditions that conflict with an existing court order.
The appropriate response depends primarily on whether contact has already been formally regulated.
Where there is no court order or enforceable settlement
The first step should generally be an attempt to agree on specific arrangements in writing. If that proves unsuccessful, it is possible to apply to the court for a contact order and, where justified, interim contact arrangements.
Where a court order or enforceable settlement exists
Articles 598¹⁵ and 598¹⁶ of the Polish Code of Civil Procedure provide a specific mechanism for responding to breaches of obligations relating to contact.
The proceedings generally involve two stages:
- A warning that a specified sum of money may be ordered to be paid for each breach of contact-related obligations.
- An order to pay — if breaches continue despite the earlier warning, the court may order payment of a sum calculated with reference to the number of breaches.
However, this is not an automatic financial penalty for every meeting that fails to take place. The court must establish why contact was not carried out and assess the circumstances of the individual case.
An important judgment in this area was delivered by the Polish Constitutional Tribunal on 22 June 2022, case SK 3/20. It concerns situations in which contact does not take place because of the child's own behaviour, where that behaviour was not caused by the person caring for the child. In such circumstances, the parent caring for the child cannot automatically be held financially liable under the provisions found unconstitutional.
Conversely, a mere statement that the child does not want to see the other parent does not establish the reasons for the situation. The court may consider, among other things, whether the parent providing day-to-day care genuinely supports the proper implementation of contact.
In certain cases, it is also possible to seek reimbursement of justified expenses incurred in preparing for contact that did not take place, under Article 598¹⁷ of the Polish Code of Civil Procedure.
What if the other parent fails to attend scheduled meetings?
The duty to maintain contact applies to both sides. Difficulties may arise not only when the parent with whom the child lives obstructs meetings, but also when the parent entitled to contact repeatedly fails to attend.
Repeated last-minute cancellations may cause the child disappointment and uncertainty.
The provisions governing the enforcement of contact arrangements also allow responses to breaches of obligations by the person entitled to contact. However, this does not mean that every isolated cancellation will justify a financial measure.
If the existing schedule has become unrealistic, it may be better to seek its amendment rather than maintain arrangements that cannot be followed consistently.
Can a child refuse contact with a parent?
The child's views matter and should be taken seriously. However, there is no single age at which a child acquires an unconditional right to make all decisions about contact independently.
The court takes into account the child's age, maturity, needs and reasonable wishes. It also considers the reasons for any reluctance to meet a parent.
Temporary resistance resulting from changes to a daily routine should be assessed differently from a situation involving violence, serious anxiety or other significant risks to the child.
A child should not be forced into contact through violence or drawn into a conflict between the parents. Where serious difficulties arise, the situation may need to be assessed by the court and appropriate specialists.
When can a court restrict or prohibit contact?
The child's welfare takes priority over the parents' expectations.
Under Article 113² of the Polish Family and Guardianship Code, a court may restrict contact if the child's welfare requires it. For example, the court may:
- permit meetings only in the presence of a specified person;
- prohibit taking the child away from their usual place of residence;
- restrict contact to telephone calls or other forms of remote communication;
- restrict or exclude particular forms of contact.
Where maintaining contact seriously threatens or harms the child's welfare, Article 113³ of the Code provides for the possibility of prohibiting contact.
Such decisions require an assessment of the individual circumstances. Conflict between the parents does not automatically justify restricting contact. However, where the child's safety is at risk, particularly careful and urgent action may be required.
Can previously established contact arrangements be changed?
Yes. Under Article 113⁵ of the Polish Family and Guardianship Code, the guardianship court may amend a contact order where the child's welfare requires it.
Reasons for seeking a change may include:
- the child starting school and changes to their daily routine;
- one parent moving home;
- changes to working hours affecting the ability to attend meetings;
- new health or developmental needs of the child;
- a significant change in family circumstances;
- continuing difficulties with the existing contact arrangements.
An earlier order does not necessarily have to remain unchanged throughout the child's childhood. However, a change in circumstances does not automatically amend a contact schedule established by a court order.
Common mistakes when arranging contact
In practice, many disputes arise from arrangements that are not sufficiently precise. The most common problems include:
1. Vague dates and times. A provision stating “every other weekend” without specifying the hours or how the weekends are calculated can lead to disagreements.
2. Omitting holidays and school breaks. Parents may agree on ordinary weekends but later struggle to divide Christmas, winter holidays or summer holidays.
3. No transport arrangements. It is unclear who should collect the child, from where and at what time.
4. Scheduling meetings without considering the child's routine. Arrangements should take account of school, rest, activities and friendships.
5. Linking contact to financial disputes. Disagreements about child maintenance should not be used to put pressure on the other parent over contact.
6. Involving the child in the parents' conflict. A child should not be expected to communicate complaints, demands or information about ongoing legal proceedings between their parents.
Frequently asked questions about child contact (FAQ)
Does a parent who fails to pay child maintenance lose the right to contact?
No. Child maintenance obligations and contact with a child are separate legal matters. Maintenance arrears do not automatically remove a parent's right to contact. However, they may justify appropriate legal action to recover unpaid maintenance.
Can a parent who has been deprived of parental authority still see their child?
As a general rule, contact is independent of parental authority. Deprivation of parental authority does not, by itself, prohibit contact. However, the court may restrict or prohibit contact where the statutory conditions are met.
Must contact include overnight stays?
No. The form of contact depends on the child's needs and the circumstances of the case. In some families, overnight stays will be appropriate; in others, shorter meetings without overnight stays may be more suitable.
Can a parent change a court-ordered contact schedule independently?
A parent should not unilaterally depart from a binding court order. Parents may agree on individual practical changes, but where a lasting amendment to court-regulated contact is required, applying to the court to vary the order may be the appropriate course.
Do grandparents have the right to contact with their grandchildren?
The provisions on contact also apply, as appropriate, to grandparents, siblings and other persons specified in Article 113⁶ of the Polish Family and Guardianship Code. Where there is a dispute, the child's welfare remains the primary consideration.
What should you do if contact is repeatedly cancelled?
It is advisable to retain messages, record the dates and reasons for missed meetings, and establish whether an enforceable court order or settlement exists. This will affect which legal measures are available.
How should you prepare for a consultation with a lawyer?
Before the meeting, it is useful to gather existing court orders or settlements, correspondence with the other parent and a brief chronology of events. It may also help to prepare a proposed contact schedule and identify which parts of it are disputed.
Child contact cases are not merely about determining the dates of meetings. Their purpose is to arrange family relationships after separation in a way that allows the child to maintain a safe and stable bond with their parents while taking their individual circumstances into account.
The Law Office of Attorney Angelika Mazur-Kubowicz provides legal assistance in family law matters, including the establishment, amendment and enforcement of child contact arrangements, in Kraków, Proszowice and Mszana Dolna.
Every case requires an individual assessment of the documents, existing arrangements and circumstances affecting the child.
Legal basis: Articles 58, 107 and 113–113⁶ of the Polish Family and Guardianship Code; Articles 569 and 598¹⁵–598¹⁷ of the Polish Code of Civil Procedure. The judgment of the Polish Constitutional Tribunal of 22 June 2022, case SK 3/20, is also relevant to the enforcement of contact arrangements.