Do I need a lawyer for a divorce in Czechia?
No. Czech law does not require legal representation in a divorce, and you can represent yourself before the court. A lawyer is advisable in a contested divorce involving property, child custody or maintenance. For an uncontested divorce with an agreement, careful preparation of the documents is often enough.
Divorce is governed by the Civil Code in Section 755 and following. The law does not require the parties to be represented by an advocate, so the court will accept a petition filed directly by the spouses.
In practice there are two types. An uncontested divorce under Section 757 is possible if the marriage lasted at least one year, the spouses have lived apart for more than six months, and they submit an agreement on the division of property, housing and, if relevant, arrangements for minor children. The court does not examine the causes of the breakdown and the proceedings are quick.
A contested divorce under Section 755 applies when the spouses disagree. The court investigates the causes of the breakdown, takes evidence and decides other matters separately. A lawyer is practically essential here, because procedural mistakes are hard to fix.
If there are minor children, a final decision of the guardianship court on custody and maintenance is required before the divorce (Section 906). A lawyer is not mandatory for that proceeding either.
This text is general and informative and is drawn from publicly available laws of the Czech Republic. It does not replace individual legal advice from an advocate. Before deciding a specific matter, we recommend consulting a qualified lawyer.