# Family lawyer in Lithuania > Plain-English guides to Lithuanian family law for international families: divorce, children, property, maintenance, court papers and foreign decisions. Written by attorney Simona Ambroziūnaitė (NORDEN legal, Konstitucijos pr. 26, Vilnius, Lithuania). General information, not legal advice. Contact: enquiry form https://familylawyer.lt/contact/. Consultations in Vilnius and online. Lithuanian-language site: https://skyrybuadvokate.lt/ ## Divorce in Lithuania - [Divorce in Lithuania](https://familylawyer.lt/divorce/): Divorce in Lithuania when one spouse is Lithuanian or lives abroad: which court decides, which law applies, divorce by agreement or in a contested case. - [Divorcing a Lithuanian husband or wife: a guide for foreign spouses](https://familylawyer.lt/divorcing-a-lithuanian-spouse/): A Lithuanian court treats a foreign spouse the same as a Lithuanian one: nationality gives neither side an advantage, and you have the right to an interpreter. Where you divorce depends mainly on where you both live. Decisions about children usually belong to the country where the children live. If your spouse plans to take the children to Lithuania, act before they leave. - [International divorce in Lithuania](https://familylawyer.lt/international-divorce-in-lithuania/): You can usually divorce in Lithuania if you both are Lithuanian citizens, or if you live or last lived together in Lithuania. You can agree in writing which country's law applies to the divorce. A divorce granted in another EU country is valid in Lithuania without any extra court procedure. ## Children and parenting across borders - [Children and parenting across borders](https://familylawyer.lt/children/): Where a child lives, contact from abroad, moving a child to or from Lithuania, Hague Convention return cases and children’s passports after separation. - [Child custody in Lithuania for international families](https://familylawyer.lt/child-custody-lithuania/): Under Lithuanian law, both parents keep equal rights and duties towards their child after separation, whoever the child lives with. Parents can agree on where the child lives. If they cannot, a court decides, based on what is best for the child, after hearing the child and the child protection service. A parent's nationality or language gives no advantage. In international cases, the courts of the country where the child actually lives usually decide. - [Seeing your child in Lithuania when you live abroad](https://familylawyer.lt/contact-with-child-from-abroad/): Under Lithuanian law, a parent who does not live with the child has the right and the duty to stay involved, wherever they live. Parents can agree a schedule; if they cannot, a Lithuanian court sets one, giving the other parent the widest possible involvement that is good for the child. For parents abroad, this usually means longer blocks of time in holidays plus regular video calls. Obstructing contact is treated as an abuse of parental rights. - [My Lithuanian partner wants to move back to Lithuania with our child](https://familylawyer.lt/partner-moving-to-lithuania-with-child/): In most countries, including all EU countries, a parent cannot move a child abroad permanently without the other parent's consent or a court decision. If your child lives with you in your country, the decision belongs to the courts there, not in Lithuania. If you agree to the move, put it in a detailed written agreement first, because after the move Lithuanian courts will usually decide future disputes. If the child is taken without your consent, you can ask for the child's return. - [International child abduction to or from Lithuania](https://familylawyer.lt/international-child-abduction/): If a child under 16 is taken to another country without the other parent's agreement, the other parent can ask for the child to be sent back, under an international treaty called the Hague Convention. In Lithuania, one court hears these cases and should decide within six weeks. It does not decide who the child lives with. It decides that the child goes home, so the courts there can decide. - [Getting your child back: how a return case works in Lithuania (Hague Convention)](https://familylawyer.lt/child-return-case-lithuania/): A return case in Lithuania is heard by one court, the Vilnius Regional Court. You can apply through the Central Authority in your country or directly to the court. The court can urgently ban the child from being taken out of Lithuania, should decide within six weeks in EU cases, and its decision can be appealed once. If the child is not returned voluntarily, a bailiff enforces the order together with child protection specialists. - [Your child's citizenship and passports after separation](https://familylawyer.lt/child-passports-and-citizenship/): A child with at least one Lithuanian parent is usually a Lithuanian citizen from birth, wherever the child was born. A Lithuanian passport or ID card for a child is normally issued on the application of one parent, without the other's signature. Holding a passport does not give a parent the right to move the child abroad: that still needs the other parent's consent or a court decision. - [Moving abroad with a child from Lithuania](https://familylawyer.lt/moving-abroad-with-a-child/): To move abroad permanently with a child who lives in Lithuania, you need the other parent's written consent. If they refuse, a Lithuanian court decides, based on what is best for the child. Moving without consent or a court decision can lead to an order to bring the child back. ## Property and maintenance - [Property and maintenance](https://familylawyer.lt/property-and-maintenance/): Dividing property on divorce when assets are in several countries, debts and mortgages, and child maintenance when one parent lives outside Lithuania. - [Child maintenance when a parent lives abroad](https://familylawyer.lt/child-maintenance-parent-abroad/): A child can usually claim maintenance in the country where the child lives, even if the paying parent lives abroad. The amount is normally decided under the law of the child's country. Within the EU, a maintenance decision can be enforced in another Member State without a separate court procedure, and free help is available through Central Authorities. - [Dividing property on divorce when assets are in several countries](https://familylawyer.lt/property-in-several-countries/): Lithuania does not apply the EU Regulation on matrimonial property, so Lithuanian courts use Lithuanian rules. In general, the law of the country where the spouses lived governs their property. Under Lithuanian law, property acquired during the marriage is usually shared equally. Only Lithuanian courts can decide rights to real estate in Lithuania, and property abroad may have to be dealt with in the country where it is. ## Court papers and documents - [Court papers and documents](https://familylawyer.lt/court-papers-and-documents/): Received court papers from Lithuania, using a foreign judgment about children or maintenance in Lithuania, or preparing foreign documents for a family case. - [Received court papers from Lithuania? What to do next](https://familylawyer.lt/court-papers-from-lithuania/): Do not ignore documents from a Lithuanian court. Write down the date you received them, find out what they are and what deadline they set, and get a translation. In a typical family case, the court gives you between 14 and 30 days from receipt to send a written response. If you live abroad, appoint a lawyer or a person in Lithuania to receive documents, or later papers may be treated as delivered without reaching you. - [Documents from abroad for a family case in Lithuania](https://familylawyer.lt/documents-from-abroad/): Documents for a Lithuanian court must be in Lithuanian or come with a certified Lithuanian translation. Public documents from other EU countries, such as birth and marriage certificates, do not need an apostille. Documents from outside the EU usually do, unless a treaty says otherwise. If you live abroad, you can be represented by a Lithuanian lawyer, and you must give the court an address in Lithuania or a representative for receiving court papers. - [Using a foreign court decision about children or maintenance in Lithuania](https://familylawyer.lt/foreign-decisions-in-lithuania/): Decisions on children and maintenance from other EU countries are generally recognised and enforced in Lithuania without a separate court procedure: you take the decision and a standard certificate to a bailiff. Decisions from outside the EU usually need to be recognised first by the Court of Appeal of Lithuania, unless a treaty provides otherwise. ## Other - [About](https://familylawyer.lt/about/) - [Contact](https://familylawyer.lt/contact/) - [All guides](https://familylawyer.lt/guides/) - [Full text in one file](https://familylawyer.lt/llms-full.txt)