English 
Norsk 
Polski 
Lietuvių kalba 
Family and child law
Family law encompasses the legal rules and principles of importance to family relationships, including the dissolution of cohabitation and marriage. It also covers the financial relationship between the parties during cohabitation and marriage, a relationship that is often the subject of disagreement upon dissolution. Gifts, prenuptial agreements, maintenance obligations and debts are other matters covered by family law.
Children's law encompasses the legal rules and principles of importance to children and their parents' legal position. The main purpose of children's law is to safeguard the best interests of the child. Children's law regulates issues such as paternity, parental responsibility, access rights and child protection.
Halvorsen & Co has solid expertise and litigation experience in family and child law. We believe it is important to thoroughly understand the client's wishes and needs in order to find the best possible solutions. It is important for us to advise you as a client in a good way, so that we can find solutions that are in the best interests of the child and you as a client. This applies in particular to the drafting of agreements, negotiations and court proceedings.
Among other things, we assist you in matters concerning:
- Preparation of prenuptial and cohabitation agreements
- Divorce and relationship breakdown
- Financial settlement
- Parental disputes
- Paternity
- Child abduction
- Child protection
Marriage
As a married couple, there are a number of issues to consider. We often see that spouses want to make agreements between themselves about their own assets. This applies both to the division of assets after death and in the event of marital breakdown. Many people have significant assets in real estate and other property. It is important that spouses think through both ownership and the wealth associated with the assets at their disposal. Not everyone owns everything equally, and there may be unequal distribution in terms of the assets you had when the marriage was entered into. It is often advantageous to regularise this before the issue arises.
The legal rules relating to marriage are governed by the Marriage Act. The Act contains rules on how marriages can be validly entered into, rules on matrimonial property regimes, as well as rules on divorce and financial settlement in the event of divorce. The Act also regulates transfers and gifts between spouses.
In order to enter into a valid marriage, the parties must obtain a test certificate from the Norwegian Tax Administration. The certificate confirms that the parties fulfil the conditions for entering into a marriage. The certificate must be sent to the registrar before the wedding. After the wedding, the registrar will submit a marriage notification to the Norwegian Tax Administration to confirm that the marriage has been entered into.
During the marriage, all assets acquired by the parties will be jointly owned by the parties, so that the parties jointly own the assets with equal or unequal fractional distribution. The division of assets between spouses is different from the division of assets between cohabitants. At the time of marriage, the matrimonial property regime becomes joint ownership between the couple. During cohabitation, the division of assets has little significance. It is only in the event of a divorce that the property relationship between the parties becomes significant. In this context, joint ownership means that the parties must in principle divide the assets equally between them. However, spouses have the option of agreeing to deviate from this division of assets in a prenuptial agreement, where separate property can be agreed. A prenuptial agreement can create predictability between the parties when dividing the property after a break-up. However, there are certain formal requirements for entering into a prenuptial agreement. If the parties own an asset in joint ownership, but have created separate property on the asset, each party will have separate property on their part of the asset.
The parties have the right to dispose of their own assets, irrespective of the ownership structure. This means that each of the parties has the right to sell or use their own assets. However, there are some limitations to the right of disposal, such as when selling a joint home.
In the event of a divorce, the parties often disagree about the division of assets and which assets should be divided between the parties. As a general rule, the spouses' total assets should be divided equally between the parties. However, there are exceptions to this if the spouses have agreed to separate property or one of the spouses has discretionary assets.
Partition assets are the value of assets one of the spouses brought with them prior to the marriage, received inheritance or gift from someone other than the spouse. Spouses have freedom of contract when settling a divorce settlement.
We assist clients in all forms of counselling, disputes and issues related to marriage.
Cohabitation
Cohabitation can be defined as two people living in a marriage-like relationship without being married to each other.
There are a number of issues that cohabitants should consider. We often see that cohabitants want to make agreements between themselves about their own assets. This applies both to the division of assets after death and in the event of divorce. Many cohabitants have considerable assets in real estate and other assets. It is important for cohabitants to consider both ownership and the wealth associated with the assets at their disposal. Not everyone owns everything equally, and there may be unequal distribution in terms of the assets you had when the cohabitation was entered into. It is often advantageous to regularise this before the issue arises.
Unlike matrimonial property regimes, cohabitation property regimes are not regulated by law. For this reason, it is particularly important for cohabitants to have clear agreements on the division of assets that create predictability in the event of a break-up.
In principle, each cohabitant owns what they themselves acquire through purchase, gift and the like. This means that cohabitants do not become co-owners of each other's assets unless an agreement is made to this effect. For cohabitants, a cohabitation contract that defines ownership and the property relationship between the parties is very important. This applies in particular where the cohabitants own or rent something together. If the cohabitation ceases, the assets will as a general rule be divided according to ownership.
We assist clients in all forms of counselling, disputes and issues related to cohabitation.
Children's rights
Children's law is a separate area of law that regulates all legal rules and principles of importance to children and their parents' legal position. Children's rights are regulated in the Children and Parents Act, the Child Welfare Act, the Convention on the Rights of the Child and other international conventions. Other special legislation also contains special rules for children, such as the Guardianship Act and the Health Act.
The law firm Halvorsen & Co is professionally updated with specialised expertise in children's law and can assist at different stages of life if needed:
- Parental dispute
- What is parental responsibility?
- What should a parental agreement contain?
- Child abduction
Parental dispute
There's a lot to think about in the event of a break-up, and it's just as important to facilitate good parental co-operation on joint children as it is to find the right solutions for financial settlements.
It is mandatory to undergo a minimum of one hour of mediation at the Family Welfare Office or with a publicly recognised mediator. Here, you will be assisted in entering into an agreement on joint children adapted to your situation. After the first hour of mediation, you will be issued with a mediation certificate that you need to apply for separation.
If you are unable to reach an agreement about the children, you may wish to seek advice from an experienced family law attorney. We have extensive experience in counselling, negotiation and legal proceedings related to disputes under the Children Act.
What is parental responsibility?
Following a legislative change in 2020, the main rule of the Children Act is that parents automatically have joint parental responsibility when a child is born regardless of the parents' marriage or cohabitation. This applies to children born on or after 1 January 2020.
Parental responsibility is registered with the Norwegian Tax Administration at the National Registry. If the parents do not live together and the mother wishes to have sole parental responsibility, she must submit a notification to the National Registry within one year of paternity being established. The same applies to the father if he does not wish to share parental responsibility. The father cannot claim sole parental responsibility by notifying the National Registry.
Parents can agree on who should have parental responsibility. In the event of disagreement, the matter must be brought before the court and a court decision made based on what is in the best interests of the child. Changes relating to parental responsibility must be registered with the National Registry in order to be valid.
Parental responsibility is an umbrella term for all the rights and obligations parents have towards their child. Parents are responsible for providing good care and are obliged to make decisions on the child's behalf, and when they share parental responsibility they are obliged to make decisions together. Typical examples of decisions made as part of exercising parental responsibility are:
- Consent to adoption
- Moving abroad
- Non-emergency medical treatment
- Name selection
- Registering with or leaving a religious organisation
- Open a bank account and order a bank card
- Application for a passport
- School choice
This responsibility borders on the rights and obligations parents have when exercising daily care and access.
What should a parental agreement contain?
There are as many different parental co-operation agreements as there are families. According to the law, parents are equal in terms of both exercising care and having contact. The law's starting point is that parents should share custody equally, and children are entitled to good contact and care from both their parents. The child can only have permanent residence with parents who have parental responsibility.
In cases where there are reasons why one of the parents is better suited to exercising custody alone, the other parent shall have access rights.
An agreement with shared permanent residence is based on the assumption that the parents are equal and must make decisions together in everyday life. Such decisions typically include moving house, which kindergarten the child should attend, whether the child should attend SFO/AKS and which leisure activities the child should participate in. In other respects, it is the parent who exercises custody who decides on everyday decisions, typically food, clothing, homework, friends, bedtime, etc.
An agreement on shared permanent residence does not mean that the child spends the same amount of time with the parents; the term implies that the parents have equal rights of co-determination in more areas than permanent residence. It must be agreed in more detail where the child will be and to what extent it will be with each parent.
An agreement on shared permanent residence assumes that both parents are registered in the National Registry and the parents have joint parental responsibility. The agreement must be registered with the Norwegian Tax Administration.
Permanent residence means that the parent with permanent residence has greater decision-making authority over the child. This parent alone can decide which nursery school the child should attend, after-school care, leisure activities and domestic relocation. The other parent with access rights has the authority to make day-to-day decisions when they are with the child.
The choice of form of contact has financial consequences, for example, in the case of a shared permanent residence agreement, the child benefit can be divided equally between them.
In the event of a marital breakdown, the parents must agree on which address will be registered as the child's residential address in the National Registry. It is only possible to have one registered residential address, but both parents' addresses can be shown on the child in the national register. The choice of registered residential address is important in several respects, including which school district the child belongs to.
Child abduction
If someone takes a child who is considered to be resident in Norway out of the country without the consent of the child's parents, this will be considered a child abduction under Norwegian law. The same applies if a child is retained after a legal stay abroad, typically in connection with holidays or visits.
In cases where the child welfare authorities are responsible for the child, the consent of the child welfare authorities must be obtained before a child is taken abroad. Without such consent, travelling abroad will be considered an illegal abduction.
In most cases, one of the parents takes the child out of the country, but the legal rules also apply to cases where grandparents or a relative abduct the child. When the child's parents or the child welfare authorities demand the return of the child and this is not complied with, this constitutes illegal child abduction. Child abduction is a criminal offence.
Senior lawyer Monica Melgård is listed on the Ministry of Justice's list of recommended lawyers for child abduction. We can assist you quickly in assessing your case whether the child has already been taken out of the country or if you fear that the child will be taken out of the country illegally.
How is a financial settlement made in the event of divorce or separation?
If the parties were married at the time of the break-up, they will first have to apply for a separation licence. One year after the parties have been granted a separation licence, they can apply for a divorce.
As spouses, one of the parties may in certain cases be able to obtain the right of use to the parties' shared home after a relationship breakdown, regardless of whether the party owned part of the home.
Spouses
In the event of a divorce settlement, the parties must in principle divide the total assets equally between them. However, there are exceptions to this in cases where the parties have full or partial separate property, or where one of the parties has a claim for equal division. If the parties own all the assets in separate property, the total assets will not be divided between the parties. This means that each party retains their own assets and debts. If, on the other hand, the parties have had partial separation of property, the asset(s) in separation of property will be excluded from the division. The parties' other assets will be divided between the parties.
On the other hand, in cases where the parties have had a claim for unequal division, for example because one of the parties owned a home prior to the marriage and brought this into the marriage, he or she is entitled to keep the value of the home outside the division. This applies if the value is retained at the time of division, and the value can clearly be traced back to the funds the spouse had before the marriage or later received through inheritance or gift from someone other than the spouse.
Cohabitants
A termination of cohabitation occurs when the parties end their cohabitation. In contrast to marriage, there are no formal requirements for the termination of cohabitation.
As the division of assets in a cohabitation is not regulated by law, the cohabitation agreement between the parties will be decisive for the assessment of which assets are to be distributed and which of the parties owns which assets.
The starting point in all cases is that each cohabitant retains his or her own assets and debts at the end of the cohabitation. In a few cases, a cohabitant may nevertheless have acquired an ownership interest in the other cohabitant's home. There is a high threshold for approval of an ownership interest on this basis, and this will only be relevant in the event of a longer cohabitation, and the party who does not own the home contributes greatly to the cohabitation community.
Fur
In a few cases, it may be possible to claim compensation from the former spouse/cohabitant as a form of compensation. This may be relevant if you have contributed to increasing the other person's wealth. The threshold for being able to claim compensation is high.
We recommend that you contact a lawyer as early as possible in the financial settlement after a relationship breakdown, so that the distribution is carried out correctly and you receive what you are entitled to. We can assist you throughout the entire financial settlement.
Do you need help with family and children?
