Marital Responsibilities: What the Law Requires and What a Healthy Relationship Entails

Quick Overview: Spouses have equal rights and obligations. They are obligated to respect one another, live together, remain faithful to one another, support one another, respect each other’s dignity, maintain family unity, create a healthy family environment, and care for their children together. The law also addresses the right to information about income and assets, contributing to family needs, joint decision-making, managing day-to-day affairs, mutual representation, and spousal support. However, not every violation is enforced in the same way: the court can address financial matters, housing, or children, but not emotions or intimacy.

Legal Obligations of Spouses Under the Civil Code

The basic rule is simple: spouses have equal rights and equal obligations. Marriage is therefore not a relationship in which one person makes decisions and the other merely conforms.

Section 687 ofthe Civil Code states that spouses are obligated to respect one another, live together, remain faithful to one another, mutually respect each other’s dignity, support one another, maintain the family unit, create a healthy family environment, and care for their children together.

These rules sound, in part, like a description of a good relationship. However, they do have legal significance. They can come into play, for example, in a divorce, in a dispute over spousal support between spouses, when resolving issues of shared housing, in child custody matters, or when assessing whether one spouse acted contrary to the family’s interests.

The law also grants spouses the right to information. A spouse has the right to know the other spouse’s income, the status of their assets, and their current or planned work, study, or similar activities. This can be important , for example, when planning a mortgage, child care, or the family budget.

However, this does not mean that the court will order the spouses to get along, spend time together, or rebuild trust. The law can address specific legal consequences—money, housing, child custody, and property. It cannot enforce a functional relationship.

Meeting the Family’s Needs: Money and Care Are Equally Important

One of the most practical marital responsibilities is the obligation to contribute to the needs of family life and the household. This isn’t just about rent, a mortgage, and utilities. It also includes food, clothing, children’s school supplies, transportation, medication, extracurricular activities, basic household items, and other expenses commensurate with the family’s standard of living.

According to Section 690 of the Civil Code, each spouse contributes according to their personal and financial circumstances, abilities, and means, so that the standard of living for all family members is fundamentally comparable. The law explicitly states that financial contributions are of equal importance to personal care for the family and its members.

In practice, this means that the spouse who earns more may contribute a larger financial amount. The other spouse may contribute primarily by caring for the children, the household, a sick family member, or by managing daily life. Caring for the family is not “doing nothing” just because it does not appear on a pay stub.

Example: The husband earns 90,000 CZK per month; the wife stays at home with a young child and receives only parental benefits. The husband covers most of the household expenses, while the wife provides care for the child and manages the family’s daily life. Such a division may be entirely in accordance with the law, as both contribute according to their abilities—one with money, the other with care.

If the spouses do not share a common household, each generally bears the costs of their own household, but this does not relieve them of their obligation to help and support one another. A special rule applies when one spouse lives with a child of the marriage or another minor child entrusted to their care, and the other spouse has left the family household without a valid reason and refuses to return. In such a case, that spouse may also be required to contribute to the expenses of the family household.

In practice, we often deal with situations where one spouse leaves the shared household but stops paying for rent, daycare, extracurricular activities, or meals for the children. If the marriage is still in effect, leaving the home does not automatically mean the end of financial obligations toward the family.

Family Decision-Making: Spouses Should Agree on Important Matters

Many decisions are made in family life: where the family will live, which school the children will attend, whether the family will take out a mortgage, who will reduce their work hours to care for a child, or whether one spouse will start a business.

The Civil Code stipulates that spouses must agree on family matters, including the choice of the family’s residence and the family’s lifestyle. If they cannot agree on a significant family matter, the court may , upon the request of one spouse , substitute the consent of the other spouse. However, this applies only if the other spouse refuses to give consent without a serious reason and contrary to the family’s interests, or is unable to express their will. The court’s primary role is to guide the spouses toward an agreement.

Not every disagreement, therefore, belongs in court. The court will not decide where you go for the weekend. However, it can address a significant issue, such as whether the family will move, whether a child will change schools, or how an important family matter will be handled.

Example: The wife wants to take a job in another city and move the entire family there. The husband disagrees because the children would have to change schools and he would lose his job. This goes beyond the day-to-day running of the household. It is a significant family matter that requires a genuine agreement.

When choosing a job, a course of study, or similar activities, spouses should take into account the interests of the family, their spouse, and any minor children living in the family household. This does not mean that one spouse can forbid the other from pursuing a career. It does mean, however, that the family should not be faced with a fundamental decision without communication and without consideration for others.

Family Care, Day-to-Day Matters, and Representation of Spouses

The day-to-day running of a family would be impossible if spouses had to enter into a formal agreement for every little thing. Therefore, the law assumes that family matters are handled jointly by the spouses or by one of them. In ordinary family matters, the legal acts of one spouse bind and entitle both spouses jointly and severally. These typically include everyday purchases, minor household items, payment for services, children’s school activities, or necessary repairs. An exception applies if the other spouse informs a third party in advance that they do not consent to the action. A court may also, upon the request of one spouse, exclude the legal effects of the other spouse’s future actions vis-à-vis third parties.

Example: A wife buys a new vacuum cleaner because the old one stopped working. This is a common household need. Such a purchase generally does not require formal prior approval.

A different situation arises with matters that go beyond ordinary household needs. In other family matters, the consent of the other spouse is required. If consent is lacking, the spouse who objects to the action may, under certain circumstances, claim that it is invalid.

Example: One spouse takes out a large loan without the other’s knowledge to renovate a house or make a risky investment. This is no longer a matter of a routine household purchase. It will be necessary to examine whether the matter concerned family affairs, the spouses’ joint property, the consent of the other spouse, and, where applicable, the protection of a third party.

The law also recognizes mutual representation between spouses. A spouse has the right to represent the other spouse in their day-to-day affairs. However, this right does not apply if the other spouse has previously expressed their objection to the person with whom the matter is to be negotiated, if a court has revoked the right of representation, or if the spouses are not living together in a situation where one of them has left the family home with a child without a valid reason and refuses to return.

Mutual representation is therefore not a blank check. A spouse cannot simply sell the other’s real estate, take out a large loan on their behalf, or make decisions on matters that clearly go beyond the ordinary management of the household.

Spousal Support: When One Spouse Is at a Disadvantage

Marriage also entails financial solidarity. If one spouse has a significantly lower income, is ill, cares for young children, or finds themselves without means, a claim for spousal support may arise. According to Section 697 of the Civil Code, spouses have a mutual obligation to support one another to the extent that ensures, in principle, the same standard of living and cultural level for both. This obligation to provide support takes precedence over the obligation to support children and parents. This is a stricter standard than that applied to some other maintenance obligations. The goal is not merely to prevent absolute destitution. The purpose is to ensure that spouses do not live under fundamentally unequal conditions for the duration of the marriage.

Example: A husband earns a high income but refuses to contribute to household expenses. The wife cares for a young child, has a low income, and uses her own savings to pay for rent, food, and daycare. If an agreement cannot be reached, she may seek spousal support through the courts.

In making its decision, the court examines the spouses’ incomes, assets, reasonable needs, child care arrangements, health status, ability to work, and overall circumstances. Spousal support may be requested not only while the spouses are living together but also when they are de facto living apart, provided the marriage is still in effect. Spousal support must be distinguished from alimony for a divorced spouse. After divorce, eligibility is assessed according to different rules and, as a rule, more strictly.

“Marital Duties” and Intimate Life

The term “marital duties” is often used colloquially, with a touch of hyperbole, as a reference to sex or the spouses’ intimate life. Legally and socially, however, this is highly misleading. Marriage does not entitle anyone to sex, sexual intercourse, or other intimate behavior. An intimate relationship must always be based on voluntariness, respect, and consent.

The fact that two people are married does not mean that one can force the other into intimacy. The current version of the Criminal Code defines rape as an act committed against the express will of another person; it also recognizes the crimes of sexual assault and sexual coercion. All of these crimes can occur—and, unfortunately, do occur—even within the family. Refusal of intimacy can be one sign of a relationship crisis. It can lead to the breakdown of a marriage during a divorce. However, the notion of marital obligations with regard to an intimate relationship no longer has any basis in contemporary society or the legal system. Disagreement regarding an intimate relationship can be a problem between partners that is resolved through communication, therapy, or separation. Pressure, intimidation, humiliation, or coercion into sex, however, is a completely different legal situation and may require protection, including criminal prosecution.

Summary

Marital obligations are not just empty words. The Civil Code requires spouses to show respect, support, and fidelity; to care for the family together; to contribute to the household; and to make joint decisions on important matters. Some obligations are primarily of moral significance, while others can be addressed through legal channels.

The most common issues resolved in court include spousal support, contributing to the family’s needs, protection of the family home, child care, and property matters. Conversely, the court cannot and must not enforce feelings, trust, or intimate cohabitation.

The colloquial term “marital duties” as applied to intimate life is not only inappropriate but also legally incorrect. Intimacy in marriage must be based on consent and respect. Marriage is not a consent “forever,” nor does it grant one person the right to force the other to do anything.