What a Polish divorce judgment decides

When may a court grant a divorce?

Article 56 § 1 of the Family and Guardianship Code provides: where a complete and permanent breakdown of marital life has occurred between the spouses, either spouse may request the court to dissolve the marriage by divorce.

Both features must be present together. Complete means the ending of all the bonds, not just one of them. Permanent means a return to living together cannot be expected. Neither the passage of time nor a de facto separation alone decides the matter.

Can a court refuse a divorce even though the marriage has broken down?

Yes. Article 56 § 2 names two situations in which a divorce is not permissible despite a complete and permanent breakdown: when the welfare of the spouses' common minor children would suffer as a result, and when a divorce would for other reasons be contrary to the principles of community life (zasady współżycia społecznego). The statute does not define those principles, so the court applies them to the facts of the particular case.

Article 56 § 3 adds a further limit. A spouse who is solely at fault for the breakdown cannot obtain a divorce, unless the other spouse consents, or unless refusing consent would, in the circumstances, be contrary to the same principles.

Does the court decide who is to blame?

As a rule, yes. Under Article 57 § 1, when granting a divorce the court also decides whether, and which, spouse is at fault for the breakdown. Under § 2, if both spouses ask for it jointly, the court does not rule on fault, and the effects are then the same as if neither spouse were at fault.

That choice reaches beyond the judgment itself. Fault matters for the limit in Article 56 § 3 described above, and for support between former spouses under Article 60, described below.

What does the judgment decide about the children?

A divorce judgment does not stop at dissolving the marriage. Article 58 § 1 provides that in the judgment granting a divorce the court rules on parental authority over the spouses' common minor child and on the parents' contact with the child, and determines the amount each spouse is obliged to contribute toward the costs of the child's maintenance and upbringing.

These matters are decided of the court's own motion, in the same judgment, but the court takes into account the parents' written agreement on parental authority and contact after the divorce, if it is consistent with the child's welfare. Siblings should be raised together unless the child's welfare requires otherwise.

Without such an agreement, Article 58 § 1a requires the court to decide how the parents will exercise parental authority jointly, taking into account the child's right to be raised by both parents. Where the child's welfare supports it, the court may instead entrust parental authority to one parent and limit the other parent's authority to specified duties and rights. Under § 1b, on the parties' joint request the court does not rule on contact at all.

What happens to the shared home and the joint property?

If the spouses still occupy a shared home, Article 58 § 2 requires the court to decide how they will use it for as long as they go on living there together after the divorce. In exceptional cases, where one spouse's grossly reprehensible conduct makes living together impossible, the court may order that spouse's eviction at the other spouse's request. On a joint request, the court may also divide the home or award it to one spouse who agrees to leave without replacement housing being provided. The needs of the children come first in any ruling on the home (§ 4).

Under Article 58 § 3, at one spouse's request the court may also divide the joint property in the divorce judgment, but only if doing so will not cause excessive delay in the case. What belongs to the joint estate in the first place is explained in our article on joint and personal property.

Can a former spouse be ordered to pay support?

Article 60 provides for support between former spouses in two situations. A former spouse who was not found solely at fault and who is in need may demand support from the other, in line with their own justified needs and the other's earning and financial capacity. Where one spouse was found solely at fault and the divorce substantially worsens the innocent spouse's financial situation, the court may order the spouse at fault to contribute to the innocent spouse's justified needs, even if the innocent spouse is not in need.

The obligation ends when the entitled spouse remarries. If the paying spouse was not found at fault, it also ends five years after the divorce, unless the court extends that period at the entitled spouse's request because of exceptional circumstances.

Can I return to my former surname after the divorce?

Yes, by a declaration. Under Article 59, a divorced spouse who changed their surname on marriage may, within one year of the divorce judgment becoming final, return to the surname they used before the marriage by a declaration made before the head of a civil registry office or before a consul. The one-year period has applied since October 8, 2025; before that date the deadline was three months.

Why this matters when one party lives in the United States

Because the decisions concerning the child, and sometimes the home and the property, are made in the same judgment as the divorce, a divorce case conducted in Poland settles the framework for contact and for sharing costs at the same time. These are not separate proceedings that can be left for later.

If the marriage has already been dissolved by a court in the United States, the question is different: how that judgment takes effect in Poland. We describe it in our article on a U.S. divorce in Poland.

How we help

We assess the situation, prepare the pleadings, represent a party before the Polish court, and explain the consequences of each ruling. Under a power of attorney we act on your behalf.

This article is general information about Polish law, not legal advice about your matter. Legal basis: the Family and Guardianship Code (consolidated text, Journal of Laws 2026 item 236), Articles 56 to 60; the one-year deadline in Article 59 comes from the Act of June 24, 2025 (Journal of Laws 2025 item 897). Which country's court has jurisdiction where the parties live abroad is a separate question. All of this has to be checked case by case - describe your situation to us.