Child’s Guardianship, Residence and Visiting Rights

Guardianship of a child means the managing of the child's personal affairs. The guardian has a right to decide about the child’s maintenance, upbringing, and place of residence. The guardian is entitled to receive information about matters concerning the child from various officials, and the guardian also represents the child. The guardian also looks after the child’s financial matters. The guardianship ends when the child becomes 18 years of age, or before that in case the child gets married.

When parents live separated, they must decide which one of the parents the child is going to live with. The child can officially live in only one place.

When the parents live separately, the child has a right to be in contact with and visit the parent he/she does not live with. Both parents are responsible for ensuring the visiting rights of the child.