Customer story

It all started in the fall of 2025. After 12 years of marriage, our family broke up. Two small children – a 7-year-old son and a 4-year-old daughter –, a shared apartment in Riga with a mortgage, emotional pressure and constant disagreements about childcare. The ex-spouse demanded joint custody and the children’s place of residence with him, claiming that I was “not stable enough”. At the same time, he refused to pay alimony and demanded the sale of the apartment in order to receive his share in cash. I was in despair – fear of losing my children, fear of being left without a home and without a means of livelihood.

On the recommendation of a friend, I turned to MP's law office. Already during the first consultation, the lawyer explained everything clearly and humanely. He explained that divorce in Latvia takes place only in court or before a notary (Article 69 of the Civil Law), and a marriage is considered dissolved if there is no cohabitation and it is impossible to restore it. The main argument in our case was **Article 6 of the Children's Rights Protection Law** – the rights and interests of the child are a priority in all legal relations that affect him.

Solution

Our lawyers immediately prepared a statement of claim:

– about divorce,

– about determining the children's place of residence with me,

– for restricting contact arrangements for the former spouse,

– for the recovery of maintenance (Article 179 of the Civil Law – each parent has the obligation to support their child until they are independent),

– on the division of joint property (apartment), taking into account that it is the joint property of the spouses (Articles 89–110 of the Civil Law).

 

Our lawyers also filed a request for a temporary order (Article 138¹ of the Civil Procedure Law) – for the children to stay with me until the final judgment and for the ex-spouse to start paying temporary alimony.

The court, in making its judgment, decided:

The marriage was dissolved upon the establishment of an irretrievable breakdown (Article 69 of the Civil Law).

– The children's place of residence was determined with the client with full custody – the court fully accepted our arguments regarding the best interests of the child.

– The ex-spouse has a specific contact schedule: every other weekend, holidays, and half of the summer vacation.

– Maintenance is determined in full – €230 per month for each child (in accordance with Article 179 of the Civil Law and the minimum amount set by the Cabinet of Ministers), with collection from salary.

– The joint apartment remained in the Client's ownership (with the loan taken over), but the former spouse was paid fair compensation in cash for his supposed share (Article 1075 of the Civil Law on the division of joint property).