The year 2026 brings one of the biggest waves of legislative changes in years – and this time they don’t just affect lawyers or big firms. The new rules will fundamentally affect divorce and childcare, maintenance, unemployment benefits and the situation of people who care for loved ones. The state’s view of child-rearing is also changing. Here is an overview of the most important changes that every ordinary citizen should be aware of.
From 1 January 2026, the rules of divorce proceedings will change significantly. The new regulation aims to simplify the whole process, shorten its length and, above all, reduce conflicts between spouses. The law is based on the premise that if people want to divorce, there is no point in burdening them with unnecessary evidence and “dissecting” their private lives in court.
A fundamental change is the new concept of so-called “amicable divorce“. If the spouses agree to divorce (whether they file jointly or join the other), the court will no longer examine the causes of the breakdown of the marriage. In such a case, the breakdown of the marriage is deemed to have been proven. At the same time, the existing legal presumption of breakdown based on a six-month separation period is abolished. In practice, this means faster proceedings and less interference by the court in personal relationships.
The changes will also affect contested divorces. Here too, the courts will focus primarily on the existence of the breakdown of the marriage itself, not on finding “fault”. The only exception will be in specific situations where the divorce could cause particularly serious harm to one of the spouses.
Another important novelty is the merging of divorce and custody proceedings into a single proceeding if the spouses have minor children. This will eliminate the need to go through two separate court proceedings, which will significantly speed up the whole process. The court fees will also change – while they remain lower in an amicable divorce, they will increase in a contested divorce, which should motivate spouses to reach an agreement.
Overall, 2026 brings divorce proceedings that are less formal, less confrontational and more oriented towards practical solutions.
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One of the most significant changes introduced by the amendment to the Family Law from 2026 is the abandonment of the existing distinction between exclusive, alternate and joint custody. These concepts are disappearing from Czech law and are being replaced by a single concept – custody of both parents. The law thus responds to the long-standing criticism that the “fight over the custody label” often unnecessarily exacerbated conflicts between parents and pitted them against each other.
The new approach is that both parents remain full carers even if they do not live together. Thus, the separation of parents does not mean that one parent is automatically the “main” parent and the other is just a visitor. If the parents agree on the custody arrangement, the court will generally approve their agreement and will not interfere with the specific arrangement.
Only if there is no agreement will the court intervene and determine the extent of each parent’s custody, typically the time-sharing of child care. In doing so, the court will focus primarily on the child’s best interests, stability, needs and existing lifestyle, not on a ‘fair division of time between the parents’. The new arrangements give the courts more scope for individual solutions that better suit the specific family situation.
It also explicitly introduces the possibility of indirect contact, i.e. contact between parent and child by telephone, video calls or other means of communication. This element reflects modern communication and is particularly important where personal contact is not possible or appropriate.
The aim of the whole change is not to experiment with family relationships, but to move away from the competitive model and to strengthen parental cooperation for the benefit of the child.
Tip: Families with children are facing a major change. The long-standing child benefit is being abolished from October 2025 and replaced by the so-called child bonus, which is one of the components of the new super allowance. What does this mean in practice? We look at this in our article.
The year 2026 brings several important changes in the area of maintenance in response to long-standing problems of non-payment and the overburdening of the criminal system. The aim of the new legislation is to improve the enforceability of maintenance in real terms, but at the same time to reduce situations where non-payment is automatically dealt with by criminal proceedings, which often do not lead to a remedy.
One of the main innovations is the possibility of assigning a maintenance debt due. A parent to whom the other parent owes court-ordered maintenance will be able to assign (in simple terms, “sell”) this debt to a third party, for example to a specialised debt recovery agency. The consideration for the assignment must be provided in cash and the law contains safeguards – for example, court approval is required in cases where the assignment might be contrary to the child’s interests. The purpose of this change is to give the entitled parent the opportunity to receive the money more quickly and to get rid of the long-term burden of recovery.
There is also a fundamental change in criminal law. The criminal offence of neglect of maintenance will now be reduced to situations where the failure to pay maintenance puts the person entitled – typically the child – at risk of destitution. Non-payment of maintenance does not therefore automatically entail criminal liability. The legislator thus makes it clear that criminal law is to be a last resort and that most maintenance disputes are to be resolved civilly.
For parents, this sends a double message: on the one hand, it increases the practical tools for actually getting maintenance, but on the other hand, it reinforces the responsibility to deal with these situations in a timely and proactive manner, rather than relying solely on criminal charges.
As of 2026, there will be a significant clarification of parental responsibility, which will mainly affect child-rearing methods. The new legislation explicitly prohibits corporal punishment of children, as well as the infliction of mental hardship and the use of other humiliating measures. While the previous legal situation worked with a vague concept of “appropriate educational measures”, the new law removes this ambiguity and sets a clear boundary.
The law thus responds to long-standing interpretive disputes about what is still “education” and what is already an impermissible interference with the rights of the child. The new rule is that any corporal punishment is considered an interference with a child’s human dignity, regardless of its intensity or the parent’s motivation. Systematic humiliation, threats, ridicule or the creation of psychological pressure that may endanger the healthy development of the child is equally impermissible.
It is important to emphasise that this change does not mean automatically punishing parents for every educational error. It is not the introduction of a new criminal offence or the blanket criminalisation of families. The purpose of the amendment is, above all, to clearly define the standard of child protection and to give the courts, social welfare authorities and parents themselves clear guidance.
In extreme cases, where a parent fails to respect the prohibition and the behaviour endangers the child’s physical or psychological development, the court may intervene – for example, by limiting or suspending the exercise of parental responsibility. The new legislation thus emphasises prevention and child protection rather than sanctions, and confirms the trend that respect for the dignity of the child is the basic premise of modern family policy.
The year 2026 brings significant changes to unemployment benefits that will affect people who lose their jobs or decide to change jobs. The new legislation responds to the rising cost of living and the need to give people more security as they look for a new job.
The most obvious change, which will take place from January, is the increase in support in the first few months of unemployment. Support is to increase significantly, particularly in the initial phase of unemployment, with the exact amount remaining subject to statutory limits. It is expected that for people under 52 years of age, the new support will reach up to 80% of previous earnings in the first two months, and even longer for older claimants. The state is thus giving people more financial space to bridge the period of unemployment without being forced to accept any offer simply out of concern for their basic subsistence. The amount of support is always limited to a ceiling set at a multiple of the average wage.
At the same time, the total support period is extended according to the age of the applicant. Older people will thus have more time to find a job that matches their experience and health, instead of being pushed into early exit from the labour market. Another important change is the abolition of lower support for voluntary redundancy. The amount of the allowance is now based on age rather than on the reason for termination, which removes the long-criticised ‘penalty’ for voluntary redundancy.
Positive changes also apply to retraining, which is now supported by higher benefits and also covers days of participation in courses. Overall, the amendment strengthens the role of unemployment benefits as a tool for active reintegration into the labour market, rather than as a temporary social benefit.
The year 2026 also brings important changes for people caring for children or dependent family members. The legislator is responding to the fact that caring for others often means reduced working opportunities and, in the long term, negative effects on future pensions. The new legislation therefore seeks to take better account of this ‘invisible work’, which has so far received only limited recognition from the state.
An important new feature is the introduction of a new substitute insurance period for persons who personally care for a child up to the age of three without being the child’s parent. Typically, this will be the case when a grandparent or other close person takes over the child’s care, for example in the event of the death of a parent or a parent’s long-term serious illness. This period will be assessed for pension purposes in a similar way to the parent’s care of the child, which is crucial for future pension entitlement.
This change is followed by the extension of the right to parental leave to these carers. Thus, parental leave will no longer be the exclusive preserve of the biological parents, but may also apply where someone else is providing de facto care by agreement and under the terms of the law.
Another positive change is the increase in the care allowance for persons in stages I and II of dependency, both for children and adults. The specific amounts will be determined by implementing regulations.The increase in the amounts is intended to reflect, at least in part, the rising costs of providing basic care and services. Overall, 2026 thus strengthens the position of carers and sends a clear signal that caring for children and loved ones is a socially important activity that needs to be better protected and supported.
The year 2026 brings a number of legal changes that will have a significant impact on people’s daily lives. Divorce proceedings are simplified, the concept of child custody changes and the state clearly defines the boundaries of acceptable parenting by banning corporal punishment. The new rules also affect maintenance – expanding the possibilities for its enforcement while limiting the automatic use of criminal law. The emphasis is on quicker, less conflictual and more practical solutions to family situations.
At the same time, social protection in the areas of work and care is improved. Higher and longer unemployment benefits are intended to give people more security when looking for a new job, while new replacement insurance periods and increased care allowances better reflect the importance of caring for children and dependent relatives. Overall, the legislative changes from 2026 thus strengthen protection for the weak, promote responsible living situations and seek to adapt the law to the realities of everyday life.
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