Parental responsibilities after divorce in European countries

Divorce, as a way to end a valid marriage during the life of the spouses, is a phenomenon that has led to dramatic changes in family life in all European countries. The number of divorces is growing across Europe, with the divorce rate per 1,000 inhabitants rising from 0.8 in 1965 to 1.9 in 2016. In 2016, 2.2 million marriages were concluded in European Union countries, and in the same year one million marriages were divorced. Divorce leads to serious changes in the family model, destabilization of the marriage and an increase in the number of single parent families as well as recomposed families. In addition, divorce has a negative effect on the psychosocial development of children, who are often the biggest victims of their parents' divorce. Special attention is paid to the impact of divorce on the psychosocial development of children, as well as the impact of the model of joint custody after divorce, which is increasingly accepted in all modern European legislation. The book shows the most significant trends in the legal regulation of divorce in European countries and it specifically analyzes the models of exercising parental rights after divorce.