Legal Development of Non-Marital Union in Croatia

Aleksandra  Korać Graovac

doi:10.55073/2021.1.55-70

Aleksandra Korać Graovac Professor, Faculty of Law, University of Zagreb, Croatia https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2685-8876

DOI: https://doi.org/10.55073/2021.1.55-70

Keywords: Croatian family law, non-marital union, non-marital spouses, cohabitation, children born out of wedlock

Abstract

Legal development of non-marital union in Croatia went through different phases – from modest family law effects (property rights and the right to maintenance) in late seventies of the twentieth century to equating non-marital union with marriage nowadays, except the establishment of fatherhood and gaining common family name.

In the Family Act (2015) non-marital union refers to a life union between an unmarried woman and an unmarried man that has lasted for at least three years or for a shorter duration if a common child has been born therein or has been continued by entering a marriage.

The author underlines the problem of legal uncertainty that arises from the fact that non-marital union is informal and that preconditions for non-marital union effects are different in different legal branches. Overall, legal regulation of non-marital union in Croatia is inconsistent due to particular legal solutions.

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