Marriage and cohabitation
In Slovenia, as in other developed countries, there has been a trend towards a pluralisation of partnership and forms of family life. Regardless of these changes, the family remains a fundamental social institution that is of great importance for each individual. Public opinion surveys show that the family is still considered important in all stages of life and is at the top of pepole’s lists of values.
Different forms of domestic communities
In Slovenia, the following domestic communities of two adults are defined by law:
- marriage,
- cohabitation.
Rights and obligations of spouses/partners
Marriage is a community in which the spouses have equal rights and obligations, decide on joint matters by mutual agreement, and contribute proportionally and in accordance with their abilities to the maintenance of the family.
A spouse who does not have the means of subsistence and is unemployed through no fault of his or her own may request that the other spouse support him or her, provided that this is within the latter’s power.
The same applies to cohabitants.
Termination of a marriage or cohabitation
A marriage may be terminated by a decision of the competent court declaring that the marriage is non-existent or invalid. In most cases, however, a marriage is terminated by divorce or dissolution, by mutual agreement or on the proposal of one of the spouses.
A cohabitation is terminated without any official procedure on the basis of a decision of the partners (or one of the partners) to separate.
Upon the termination of marriage or cohabitation, the spouses or partners must deal with certain legal issues arising from the situation, i.e. they must reach an agreement on the division of their co-owned property, on the care, upbringing and maintenance of their joint children and their contacts with their parents, on which of them will remain or become a tenant, and on the maintenance of a spouse or partner who has no means of subsistence and is unemployed through no fault of his or her own.