Divorce lawyer in Kaunas

In a divorce, drawing up the legal documents is only part of the work. At the same time you have to decide where the children will live, how much each parent pays towards them, how to divide the flat and who is left with the loan. The route you choose at the start governs how long all of it takes and what can be resolved at all. Here is how each route works, what it costs, and what clients ask about most.

Clients in family law matters are represented by advokatė Gintarė Girdzijauskienė, managing partner of Law&Key in Kaunas. To arrange a consultation, call +370 37 210623.

The three ways to end a marriage

In Lithuania a marriage is usually dissolved in one of three ways: before a notary, in court under a simplified procedure by mutual consent, or in court in contested proceedings. The first two require both spouses to agree; the third applies when they do not. Separately, Article 3.55 of the Civil Code allows a marriage to be dissolved on the application of one spouse where the spouses have lived apart for more than one year, or where, by a court decision given after the marriage, the other spouse has been declared legally incapable or of limited capacity in this area, has been declared missing, or is serving a prison sentence of more than one year for a negligent offence.

Before a notary

The quickest route, but not open to everyone. Article 3.51(3) of the Civil Code allows dissolution before a notary only where the spouses have no common minor children and have not run a joint household or lived as a married couple for more than one year. The general conditions must also be met: more than one year has passed since the marriage, an agreement on the consequences of the dissolution has been concluded, and both spouses have full legal capacity.

If you have common minor children, the notarial route is closed, even if you agree on everything.

By mutual consent in court

Where you agree on all the consequences but do not meet the notarial conditions, the marriage is dissolved in court under a simplified procedure. The essential document is the agreement on the consequences of the dissolution: where the children will live, the contact arrangements, the amount of maintenance, how property and debts are divided, whether either spouse is entitled to maintenance, and what surnames remain.

The court checks that agreement. If its terms substantially infringe the rights of the children or of one spouse, it will not be approved. Agreements drawn up in haste come back for correction for that reason, and the process then takes longer than planned.

Contested proceedings

Where there is no agreement. Such a case also decides the question of fault: a marriage may be dissolved through the fault of one spouse or of both. Fault carries financial consequences, so it is fought over seriously. Contested cases take the longest.

What a divorce costs

Court fee

No court fee is payable when you divorce by mutual consent. Article 83(1)(12) of the Code of Civil Procedure exempts spouses from the fee for applications to dissolve a marriage by mutual consent and on the application of one spouse. In contested proceedings a fee is payable: separately for the claim to dissolve the marriage, and separately for property claims, calculated on the value of the claim.

Notary’s fee

Where the marriage is dissolved before a notary, the notary’s fee is payable according to the schedule approved by the Government.

Our fee

There is no single price, because the work differs from case to case. Drawing up an agreement for two people who have settled everything is one thing. Contesting where the children will live while dividing a house and gathering evidence about income is quite another. Whether the decision is appealed adds to it again.

The consultation is chargeable. During it we work out what is genuinely in dispute in your case, tell you which route is open to you, and then agree the scope of work and the fee.

Children in a divorce case

Where there are minor children, the court must resolve three questions even if the parents agree on them: which parent the child will live with, the arrangements for contact with the other parent, and the maintenance each will provide.

Child maintenance: how the amount is set

Article 3.192 of the Civil Code sets no fixed sum and does not tie maintenance to the minimum monthly wage. It requires maintenance to be proportionate to the children’s needs and to the parents’ financial position, so the amount is calculated afresh in every case.

Do not confuse court-ordered maintenance with the state’s child maintenance benefit. Where a debtor fails to pay ordered maintenance, the State Social Insurance Fund may pay the benefit and later recover it from the debtor. Since 1 July 2026 the benefit is EUR 185 per month per child (until 30 June 2026 it was EUR 133.20). The benefit does not exceed EUR 185: if the court awarded less, Sodra pays the amount awarded; if more, it pays EUR 185. The benefit is the state’s minimum support for the period while the debtor pays nothing, whereas the court calculates the sum from the child’s needs and what each parent can manage. Nor is it the universal child benefit (“child money”), which is paid for every child regardless of maintenance and is unconnected with the amount a court awards.

At present the state pays a universal benefit of EUR 129.50 a month for each child (the so-called “child money”).

Where a child is raised in a large family (three or more children) or in a family on a low income, or has a disability, a higher benefit including a supplement is paid each month: EUR 205.72.

The main amounts of state support for parents are these:

Monthly child money

• Standard benefit: EUR 129.50 a month for each child.
• Increased benefit: EUR 205.72 a month (granted to children with a disability and to children from low-income or large families).

Where the parent who owes maintenance conceals their income

Maintenance is most often awarded as periodic monthly payments. Where the debtor is solvent, this form secures a set sum each month for the child and so guarantees that the child’s everyday needs are met, including food, clothing, housing, health care, education and leisure. It is normally used where the parent has regular income such as wages, a pension or benefits. Having established that the parent’s income is insufficient for the maintenance obligation to be properly performed, the court awards maintenance in other forms: as a lump sum, or in immovable or movable property (ruling of the Kaunas Regional Court of 19 April 2022 in civil case No. e2A-452-324/2022).

Awarding maintenance as a specific sum, which may be recovered from the debtor’s assets, or in property, closes off the debtor’s scope to abuse the position and avoid providing proper maintenance. Every situation is of course individual, so the solution should depend on the particular facts of your case.

Where the contact arrangements are not complied with

Contact arrangements are worth setting out concretely: a general reference to “mutual agreement” later becomes a fresh dispute. Where arrangements already in force are not complied with, the Supreme Court of Lithuania held in its ruling of 2 September 2026 in civil case No. e3K-7-68-684/2026 that at the stage of issuing a writ of execution the court does not examine whether the arrangements were breached. That is assessed in enforcement proceedings: the bailiff records the breaches and applies to the court, which may impose a fine of up to EUR 300 for each day of delay in favour of the party seeking enforcement (Article 771(6) of the Code of Civil Procedure). A penalty agreed between the parents cannot be recovered through the writ; a separate claim is required.

Where your spouse maintains children from an earlier relationship

Your spouse, while married to you, pays maintenance to their own minor children from earlier relationships. You have the right to claim a monetary compensation of one half of all the funds paid during the marriage to maintain those children.

Division of property

Article 3.117 of the Civil Code lays down a presumption: the spouses’ shares in their common property are equal. That may be departed from only in the cases the Code provides. Article 3.123 allows the court to depart from equal shares having regard to the interests of minor children, one spouse’s state of health or financial position, or other important circumstances, and to reduce a spouse’s share where, within the year before the proceedings were brought, that spouse reduced the value of the common property without the other spouse’s consent by giving part of it away or adding it to their own separate property, or where, within the last five years, that spouse concealed family income and used it for personal needs.

What usually decides a division case is the evidence: account statements, transaction documents, valuations. These are the situations clients most often bring us.

The car was sold before the divorce

You decided to end the marriage and only then learned that the car had been sold. Yes, you are entitled to compensation. Because the car has already been sold and a valuer can no longer inspect it and establish its value, the value of the car at the moment of sale is taken from the “Emprekis” database, and compensation amounting to one half of the car’s value is claimed.

Your spouse withdrew the savings from the account

If, after you told your spouse that you intend to divorce, they withdrew all the savings from their account, you have the right to ask the court to order your spouse to produce the account statements and to award you a monetary compensation of one half of those withdrawn funds that were not used in the interests of the family.

A plot gifted by your in-laws on which you built a house

If your spouse’s parents gifted them a plot of land on which you later, once married, built a house, you may ask the court to recognise the plot as the spouses’ joint property, provided that during the marriage the plot was substantially improved and its value rose significantly precisely because of that improvement, and not because of the natural growth of property prices.

The home was bought before the marriage but you repaid the loan together

Your spouse took out a loan to buy real estate before the marriage and acquired that property. You have the right to ask the court to award you one half of the funds paid to the creditor during the marriage and, in certain cases, to recognise that real estate as the spouses’ joint property.

When living under one roof has become impossible

The divorce case is continuing, the property has not yet been divided, so you are still living together, and your spouse’s behaviour makes further life under one roof impossible for you and for your minor children, whether through physical or psychological violence. You have the right to ask the court to apply interim protective measures: pending the outcome of the case, to order your spouse to move out of the dwelling. Whether the request is granted depends on how well it is substantiated. Representing our clients’ interests, we meet such situations often, so we know which documents must be put before the court to make it as likely as possible that the request succeeds and that you do not have to endure constant stress in your own home.

What documents are needed

The minimum set is the marriage certificate, the children’s birth certificates, and details of income, property held and debts. Where the marriage is dissolved by mutual consent, a draft agreement on the consequences of the dissolution is also required. In contested cases the volume of documents depends on what is in dispute.

How long the process takes

The duration depends on the route chosen and on whether there is a dispute. The notarial route is the shortest, a case by mutual consent takes longer, and a contested case is the longest, its duration depending on the volume of evidence and on whether the decision is appealed. We can assess specific timescales only once we know your situation.

Where one spouse lives abroad

The first question is which country’s court has jurisdiction and which country’s law applies. The answer governs both the procedure and the property and maintenance questions, so it is worth establishing before any documents are filed.

Frequently asked questions

Can we divorce before a notary if we have minor children?

No. The notarial route is available only where there are no common minor children. With children the case goes to court, even if you agree on everything.

Is a court fee payable?

Not when divorcing by mutual consent: Article 83(1)(12) of the Code of Civil Procedure exempts spouses from it. In contested proceedings a court fee is payable.

Can we divorce if less than a year has passed since the marriage?

Not by mutual consent, because one of the conditions is that more than one year has passed since the marriage. Contested proceedings remain available, as does an application by one spouse where the conditions of Article 3.55 of the Civil Code are met.

Is maintenance calculated from the minimum wage?

No. The Code sets neither a fixed sum nor any link to the minimum wage. Maintenance must be proportionate to the child’s needs and the parents’ financial position.

Is property always divided in half?

Equal shares are a presumption with exceptions. The court may depart from it having regard, for example, to one spouse’s personal funds put towards acquiring the common property, and to other important circumstances.

Do I need a lawyer?

The law does not require one. But the agreement on the consequences of the dissolution governs many years, and mistakes in it are corrected through the reopening of the proceedings or in fresh proceedings.

Contact us

Law&Key law firm, Kęstučio g. 93-10, Kaunas. Telephone +370 37 210623. Arrange a consultation by phone or through our contact page.