The court, deciding on the separation or divorce, usually decides on the place of residence of the child (with the mother or with the father) and on the contact with the child of the parent who does not live with him or her. With the consent of both parents, the court can also determine the so-called alternating care (i.e. the same period of time the child stays with the mother and with the father).
Contacts with a child are usually limited to specific days of the week, month, individual holidays and fixed holidays and winter holidays. The court usually sets hours of contact; it can also establish that contacts take place only in the presence of the other parent or, for example, in the presence of a probation officer. What is important, at the joint request of both spouses, the court will not adjudicate on contacts. In this case, the parents themselves decide who looks after the child and when.
The court’s decisions regarding contacts in a divorce or separation case can be changed later by a family court.