July 2025 – Joint Custody Granted: Change of Circumstances Ruling

Revision of a Final Court Decision Due to a Change in Circumstances under Article 1536 of the Greek Civil Code – Joint Custody of Children Based on Their Best Interests.

With judgment no. 1317/2025 issued by the Single-Member Court of First Instance of Athens (Special Procedure for Family Disputes), the claim filed by our client – the father of two sons aged 12 and 10 – was accepted. The court revised the final judgment of the Single-Member Court of First Instance of Patras (issued in 2020), which had previously awarded exclusive custody of the children to their mother. Pursuant to the new decision, custody is now assigned jointly to both parents.

The Court found that the material circumstances underlying the prior judgment had substantially changed, thereby justifying the revision under Article 1536 of the Greek Civil Code. In particular, it held that the children’s best interests now require the equal involvement of both parents in their upbringing, to mitigate the adverse effects of the family breakdown, to prevent emotional estrangement from either parent, and to ensure both parents’ continued and active presence in the children’s lives – a factor deemed essential to their balanced personal development.

Among the facts accepted by the Court were the following:

• Both parents now reside in Athens, unlike at the time of the 2020 judgment, when they lived in separate cities. Following the relocation of the mother and the children to Athens, the father took concrete steps to also transfer his professional and personal base to Athens, securing part-time professional engagement in the city, residing there for half the week, and renting a home just five minutes from his children’s residence.
• The children are now older (12 and 10 years old, compared to 7 and 5 at the time of the prior judgment), and their age and needs call for more balanced parenting and joint decision-making.
• For the past eighteen months prior to the decision, the children had developed a stable routine with their father and had frequent and unhindered contact with him, in accordance with interim measures granted by the Court.
• A strong emotional bond exists between the children and their father, who has consistently responded to their needs with love, devotion, and active involvement in their daily life, including education, extracurricular activities, and integration into their school community.

Accordingly, the Court concluded that there is no legal basis for deviation from the general principle of joint custody and that the grounds justifying exclusive custody in favor of the mother no longer exist.

The Court further rejected the mother’s argument that joint custody was unworkable due to an alleged inability of the parents to cooperate. These claims were found to be unfounded, as the referenced events occurred prior to the 2020 decision, and the evidence showed that the parents are now capable of achieving a minimum level of cooperation on matters concerning the children. Notably, the Court stated:

“[…] It is anticipated that the joint exercise of custody will broaden the parties’ scope of cooperation, reduce conflict, and lead to collaborative and responsible decision-making […]”.

Additionally, with regard to visitation rights, the Court expanded the father’s contact with the children, affirming that frequent and meaningful interaction is essential to strengthening the emotional bond between father and children and preventing psychological alienation. At the father’s request, the point of exchange for visitation was set as the children’s school, thereby ensuring his daily involvement in their educational and social life.

Lastly, the Court imposed a financial penalty against the mother in the event of obstruction of the father’s contact rights, in accordance with our client’s request.