Does the timeline of events affect who is found at fault in a Polish divorce?

In contested divorce proceedings, one of the most common questions we hear is some version of this: “I behaved badly towards my spouse – will that count against me?” Or the opposite: “My husband had a drinking problem for years. Why should the court now focus on how I reacted?” The answer to both questions is the same: it depends enormously on when the conduct in question took place, and what causal relationship it has to the breakdown of the marriage itself. In practice, the sequence of events often matters more than the content of the allegations.

Table of contents

1. What does fault mean in a Polish divorce?
2. Cause or consequence – the distinction that changes everything
3. When exactly did the marriage break down?
4. How an appellate court reversed a fault finding – a real example
5. What this means for the parties in practice
6. FAQ

What does fault mean in a Polish divorce?

Under Article 57 of the Family and Guardianship Code, when granting a divorce the court also rules on whether either or both spouses bear fault for the breakdown of the marriage – unless both parties jointly ask the court not to address fault at all.

Fault in divorce law is not the same as moral responsibility for a difficult relationship. The court is asking one specific question: did this spouse’s conduct contribute to the breakdown of the marriage? Conduct that occurred after the marriage had already effectively ended – however serious or blameworthy in itself – cannot be the cause of something that had already happened.

This distinction sounds straightforward, but in practice it is genuinely difficult to apply. Marital conflicts tend to escalate over time, with each side’s behaviour feeding the other’s. Disentangling the original source of the crisis from the reactions and counter-reactions that followed requires the court to carefully reconstruct the entire sequence of events.

Cause or consequence – the distinction that changes everything

Consider a marriage in which one spouse has abused alcohol for years, neglecting the family and causing repeated conflict. The other spouse – exhausted, isolated, and receiving no support – gradually changes: they begin reacting with anger, exchanging insults, eventually searching through their partner’s belongings. Do these behaviours count against them on the question of fault?

The answer depends on when they occurred. If the conduct appeared after the marriage had already factually broken down – and if it arose as a reaction to the other spouse’s earlier behaviour – the court may conclude that it was not a cause of the breakdown but a consequence of it. That is a fundamental distinction from the perspective of a fault finding.

Polish family courts are increasingly careful about this. Mutual accusations are a fixture of contested divorce proceedings, and the court’s task is to separate the original causes from the secondary reactions that followed.

When exactly did the marriage break down?

Polish law requires that the breakdown of marital life be both complete and permanent before a divorce can be granted (Article 56 § 1 of the Family and Guardianship Code). This means the breakdown of three bonds: emotional, physical, and economic. In practice these rarely all end at the same moment – the dissolution of a marriage is a process that unfolds over time.

Establishing precisely when the breakdown occurred has a direct bearing on the fault analysis. Conduct that took place before that point may have contributed to the breakdown. Conduct that came after cannot have caused it.

Evidence used to establish the timing of breakdown can take many forms: moving to separate bedrooms or separate addresses, ceasing to share meals or manage finances jointly, written communications showing the state of the relationship at a particular time. Each of these circumstances has a date – and it is the date that matters.

How an appellate court reversed a fault finding – a real example

The Court of Appeal in Poznań, in its judgment in case I ACa 230/19, fundamentally changed the first-instance court’s assessment of fault – precisely because the lower court had failed to properly analyse the chronology and causation of events.

The appellate court stated explicitly: “The District Court in Poznań rightly pointed to the defendant’s reprehensible conduct – in particular her aggression towards the plaintiff and involving the children in it, insulting the plaintiff, and searching his belongings – however, these behaviours took place after the breakdown of the marriage and could not therefore constitute its cause. They were the consequence of the plaintiff’s earlier conduct and his alcoholism.”

Equally significant was the court’s precise identification of when the marriage had broken down: “Cohabitation between the parties ended before 2015. From that point the parties were already living in separate rooms, and from March 2015 onwards communicated by leaving written notes for each other.”

That specific detail – written notes instead of conversation, from March 2015 – became the chronological anchor for the entire analysis. The appellate court found that the first-instance court had “overlooked the chronology when establishing the facts of the case, and in particular regarding the emergence and development of the marital conflict between the parties and the occurrence and causes of the breakdown of their marriage” – and it was precisely that omission that led to the flawed fault finding.

What this means for the parties in practice

For a spouse who behaved in ways they themselves regard as regrettable during a period of escalating conflict, the judgment in I ACa 230/19 carries an important message: context and sequence matter. Conduct that arose as a reaction to years of neglect, addiction, or abuse by the other spouse is assessed differently from conduct that itself initiated the crisis.

For a spouse who believes the other party’s behaviour caused the breakdown of the marriage, the practical priority is gathering evidence that establishes precisely that chronology – when the serious problems first appeared, when each of the three bonds broke down, what happened first. Text messages, emails, financial records, witness accounts – all of these carry dates, and those dates shape the court’s analysis.

In our experience, the reconstruction of the timeline of a marital crisis is one of the most underestimated aspects of contested fault proceedings, and one of the elements to which courts pay the closest attention.

FAQ

Does aggressive behaviour by one spouse always count against them on the question of fault? Not always. If the conduct arose as a reaction to the other spouse’s earlier behaviour, and if it took place after the marriage had already factually broken down, the court may find that it was a consequence of the breakdown rather than a cause of it. Context and chronology carry as much weight as the content of the behaviour itself.

How does a Polish court determine when the marriage broke down? A breakdown is complete and permanent when all three bonds have ended: emotional, physical, and economic (Article 56 § 1 of the Family and Guardianship Code). The court establishes the timing on the basis of the parties’ testimony, witness evidence, and documents – for example, the date one spouse moved out, the separation of bank accounts, or the content and tone of written communications at a particular time. There is no single fixed date – the court assesses the full picture.

Is alcoholism sufficient grounds for a finding of exclusive fault? Alcohol dependency is one of the most frequently recognised causes of marital breakdown in Polish case law and can in itself support a finding of exclusive fault. What matters is demonstrating the causal link between the addiction and the breakdown of the marriage – and this is precisely where the timeline of events becomes decisive evidence.

What evidence is most useful for establishing the chronology of events? The most useful evidence tends to be: text messages and emails with timestamps, medical records, records of police call-outs with dates, witness testimony identifying specific time periods, and financial documents showing when the economic household was separated. The more precisely the “timeline” of the marital crisis can be reconstructed, the stronger the evidential position.

Does conduct after the divorce petition is filed affect the fault finding? As a general rule, the court examines the causes of the breakdown of marital life, not conduct that occurred after the petition was filed. In certain circumstances, however – where later behaviour reflects on the overall assessment of a spouse’s conduct or affects the children’s wellbeing – it may be taken into account. Each case requires individual assessment.

I am a foreign national going through divorce in Poland – does this framework apply to me? Yes. The fault rules described in this article apply in all divorce proceedings heard by Polish courts, regardless of nationality. One point worth noting for those familiar with no-fault divorce systems – which are now common across much of Western Europe – is that in Poland fault still carries real legal consequences, particularly regarding spousal maintenance. The careful analysis of who did what, and when, is therefore not merely a formality. If you are uncertain how the Polish fault framework applies to your situation, taking legal advice early is advisable.

What if both spouses behaved badly – does the court find shared fault? Yes, this is possible. Where both spouses contributed to the breakdown of the marriage through their own conduct, the court may find shared fault. However, if one spouse’s conduct was primarily reactive – arising in response to the other’s behaviour after the marriage had already broken down – the court may decline to find fault on their part at all, as illustrated by the Court of Appeal’s reasoning in I ACa 230/19.

Do you have questions about how the timeline of events might affect your divorce proceedings? Call: +48 531 335 713 or email: kancelaria@prawnikodrozwodu.pl

This article is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Every family law case is individual and requires analysis of the specific facts and documents involved. The law firm accepts no liability for actions taken on the basis of the information contained in this article. For advice tailored to your situation, please contact our office.

Kancelaria Prawa Rodzinnego (Family Law Office): Adwokat Michalina Koligot, Adwokat Marta Krzyżanowicz, Adwokat Anna Konrady, Radca prawny Joanna Jędrzejewska ul. Mickiewicza 18a/3, 60-834 Poznań | tel. +48 531 335 713 | kancelaria@prawnikodrozwodu.pl | www.prawnikodrozwodu.pl