The first 48 hours
Before anything else:
- Write down the date you received the documents, and keep the envelope or email. Most deadlines run from the day of receipt, not from the date printed on the letter.
- Do not throw anything away, even pages that look like forms or cover sheets. One of them may be a notice of your right to refuse the documents or a deadline.
- Do not reply informally to the other party about the case before you understand what it is. What you write may end up in the court file.
- Get the key pages translated if you cannot read them: the court’s cover letter, the claim and any decision.
What have you received?
Most papers from a Lithuanian family court fall into a few types:
A claim and a request to respond
The other party has started a case, for example for divorce, the child’s residence or property division. The court sends you the claim and a notice asking for your written response by a set date.
A divorce application by mutual consent or by one spouse
In some divorce cases, you are asked for your position rather than sued. The deadline still matters.
An interim order
The court may already have made a temporary decision, for example about where the child lives during the case or a freeze on assets. These take effect quickly and can sometimes be appealed separately.
A summons to a hearing
A date, time and place, or a link for a remote hearing.
A decision
If the case has already been decided, the key question is how long you have to appeal. The decision itself should state this.
The court’s cover letter usually says what the document is and what you are expected to do. That page is the most important one to translate first.
An example
Paul lives in Dublin. In March he receives a thick envelope from the Kaunas District Court: his wife, who moved back to Lithuania with their daughter, has filed for divorce and asked for the girl to live with her. Everything is in Lithuanian.
Paul notes the date of receipt, has the cover letter translated and learns he has 21 days to respond. He appoints a Lithuanian lawyer, who receives all further papers for him. In his response, Paul argues that his daughter’s habitual residence is still Ireland, because she was taken to Lithuania only a few weeks earlier and without his agreement. That point could change the whole case.
The response deadline
In an ordinary family case, the court sets a period of at least 14 and at most 30 days for your written response, counted from the day you received the documents. In exceptional cases, at your request, it can be extended up to 60 days.
Your response should say whether you agree with the claim, why not, and on what evidence. It should also say whether you will be represented by a lawyer, and whether you are open to settlement or mediation.
If the documents are not in your language
If the documents were served on you in another EU country, you can refuse to accept them within two weeks if they are not in a language you understand or an official language of the place where you received them. A standard form explaining this right should be included.
Refusing means the court has to serve them again with a translation. It gives you time, but the case continues, and refusing documents you actually understand can backfire. Decide with advice.
If you live abroad: receiving later documents
This is where many people get caught out. Under Lithuanian procedure, a party living abroad must have a representative in the case or name a person in Lithuania to receive documents. If you do neither, later court documents can be left in the case file and treated as delivered, and you may not learn about a hearing or a deadline until it has passed.
The simplest solution is to appoint a Lithuanian lawyer, who then receives all documents for you.
If you ignore it
In family cases, a Lithuanian court may not give a default judgment just because you did not respond. That is a protection, but a limited one. The case continues, the court hears only one side’s story, and decisions about your marriage, children or property may be made on that basis.
If children are involved, the court will also hear the child, if the child is able to express views, and receive an opinion from the child protection service. Your silence means your view of the child’s life is missing from the file.
Should the case be in Lithuania at all?
Sometimes the first question is whether the Lithuanian court should hear the case. In the EU, divorce can be heard in several countries, while cases about children generally belong to the country where the child actually lives.
If you believe the case belongs elsewhere, say so in your first response, with evidence of where you, your spouse and your children actually live: school, work, housing, doctors. Our guides on international divorce and child custody explain the rules.
Mediation
If the case is a dispute about children or property, the other party will usually have had to try mediation first. Your response can say that you are open to mediation or settlement. Many cases end with an agreement, and a court-approved agreement has the same force as a judgment.
A short checklist
- Date of receipt written down and envelope kept.
- Cover letter and claim translated.
- Deadline identified and entered in your calendar.
- Lithuanian lawyer or person for receiving documents appointed.
- Your own documents gathered: marriage and birth certificates, proof of where you and the children live, income, property.
- First response prepared, including any objection to jurisdiction.
See also: documents from abroad.