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Código Civil arts. 92 + 94 + 156 — Patria potestad + custodia + régimen de visitas (verbatim, post LO 8/2021)

Jurisdiction: Spain · Citation: Código Civil español arts. 92, 94, 156 (post LO 8/2021 + Ley 8/2021) · Authoritative source: boe.es — Código Civil

The patria potestad + custodia + régimen de visitas framework in Spanish family law. Art. 92 governs the post-separation/divorce guarda y custodia (care and custody) allocation; art. 94 the régimen de comunicación, visita y estancia (communication, visit, and stay regime); art. 156 the joint exercise of patria potestad (parental authority). Substantially reformed by Ley 15/2005 (introducing court-orderable custodia compartida) and again by LO 8/2021 + Ley 8/2021 (the 2021 Ley Orgánica de Protección Integral a la Infancia y la Adolescencia frente a la Violencia and accompanying civil reform), with operational welfare-protective safeguards.

The provisions parallel: - Portugal CC art. 1906 (responsabilidades parentais post Lei 61/2008 + 65/2020) - Italy CC arts. 337-bis to 337-octies (affidamento condiviso) - Greece AK arts. 1510+1513+1520 (synepimeleia post N.4800/2021) - France CC arts. 372-373-2-11 (autorité parentale conjointe)

Spain is doctrinally distinctive among Mediterranean jurisdictions because the 2021 reform produced a structurally complex framework: art. 92 custodia compartida remains available as a court-orderable arrangement, but the LO 8/2021 reform substantially tightened the welfare-protective screening for cases involving family-violence findings — creating express interaction with the DV-protective framework that operates bidirectionally in PA-pattern cases.

Verbatim text (current consolidated, post LO 8/2021)

Art. 92 CC — Guarda y custodia

1. La separación, la nulidad y el divorcio no eximen a los padres de sus obligaciones para con los hijos.

2. El Juez, cuando deba adoptar cualquier medida sobre la custodia, el cuidado y la educación de los hijos menores, velará por el cumplimiento de su derecho a ser oídos, emitirá una resolución motivada en el interés superior del menor y valorará los siguientes aspectos: la edad, las relaciones del menor con sus progenitores y hermanos y, en su caso, las personas que convivan en sus respectivos hogares, los valores en los que el menor desea ser educado y las circunstancias del entorno social donde vive.

3. En la sentencia se acordará la privación de la patria potestad cuando en el proceso se revele causa para ello.

4. Los padres podrán acordar en el convenio regulador o el Juez podrá decidir, en beneficio de los hijos, que la patria potestad sea ejercida total o parcialmente por uno de los cónyuges.

5. Se acordará el ejercicio compartido de la guarda y custodia de los hijos cuando así lo soliciten los padres en la propuesta de convenio regulador o cuando ambos lleguen a este acuerdo en el transcurso del procedimiento. El Juez, al acordar la guarda conjunta y tras fundamentar su resolución, adoptará las cautelas procedentes para el eficaz cumplimiento del régimen de guarda establecido, procurando no separar a los hermanos.

6. En todo caso, antes de acordar el régimen de guarda y custodia, el Juez deberá recabar informe del Ministerio Fiscal, y oír a los menores que tengan suficiente madurez cuando se estime necesario de oficio o a petición del Fiscal, partes o miembros del Equipo Técnico Judicial, o del propio menor, valorar las alegaciones de las partes vertidas en la comparecencia y la prueba practicada en ella, y la relación que los padres mantengan entre sí y con sus hijos para determinar su idoneidad con el régimen de guarda.

7. No procederá la guarda conjunta cuando cualquiera de los padres esté incurso en un proceso penal iniciado por atentar contra la vida, la integridad física, la libertad, la integridad moral o la libertad e indemnidad sexual del otro cónyuge o de los hijos que convivan con ambos. Tampoco procederá cuando el Juez advierta, de las alegaciones de las partes y las pruebas practicadas, la existencia de indicios fundados de violencia doméstica o de género.

8. Excepcionalmente, aun cuando no se den los supuestos del apartado cinco de este artículo, el Juez, a instancia de una de las partes, con informe favorable del Ministerio Fiscal, podrá acordar la guarda y custodia compartida fundamentándola en que sólo de esta forma se protege adecuadamente el interés superior del menor.

Art. 94 CC — Régimen de comunicación, visita y estancia

La autoridad judicial determinará el tiempo, modo y lugar en que el progenitor que no tenga consigo a los hijos menores podrá ejercitar el derecho de visitarlos, comunicar con ellos y tenerlos en su compañía.

Respecto de los hijos con discapacidad mayores de edad o emancipados que precisen apoyo para tomar la decisión, el juez resolverá sobre el régimen de visitas y de comunicaciones para el cuidado de la persona con discapacidad.

La autoridad judicial podrá limitar o suspender los derechos previstos en los párrafos anteriores si se dieran circunstancias relevantes que así lo aconsejen o se incumplieran grave o reiteradamente los deberes impuestos por la resolución judicial.

No procederá el establecimiento de un régimen de visita o estancia, y si existiera se suspenderá, respecto del progenitor que esté incurso en un proceso penal iniciado por atentar contra la vida, la integridad física, la libertad, la integridad moral o la libertad e indemnidad sexual del otro cónyuge o sus hijos. Tampoco procederá cuando la autoridad judicial advierta, de las alegaciones de las partes y las pruebas practicadas, la existencia de indicios fundados de violencia doméstica o de género. No obstante, la autoridad judicial podrá establecer un régimen de visita, comunicación o estancia en resolución motivada en el interés superior del menor o en la voluntad, deseos y preferencias del mayor con discapacidad necesitado de apoyos y previa evaluación de la situación de la relación paternofilial.

Art. 156 CC — Ejercicio de la patria potestad

La patria potestad se ejercerá conjuntamente por ambos progenitores o por uno solo con el consentimiento expreso o tácito del otro. Serán válidos los actos que realice uno de ellos conforme al uso social y a las circunstancias o en situaciones de urgente necesidad.

En caso de desacuerdo, cualquiera de los dos podrán acudir al Juez, quien, después de oír a ambos y al hijo si tuviera suficiente madurez y, en todo caso, si fuera mayor de doce años, atribuirá la facultad de decidir al padre o a la madre. Si los desacuerdos fueran reiterados o concurriera cualquier otra causa que entorpezca gravemente el ejercicio de la patria potestad, podrá atribuirla total o parcialmente a uno de los padres o distribuir entre ellos sus funciones. Esta medida tendrá vigencia durante el plazo que se fije, que no podrá nunca exceder de dos años.

English working translation

Art. 92 CC — Guarda y custodia

1. Separation, nullity, and divorce do not exempt the parents from their obligations toward the children.

2. The Judge, when adopting any measure on the custody, care, and education of minor children, shall ensure compliance with the child's right to be heard, shall issue a reasoned resolution based on the superior interest of the minor, and shall evaluate the following aspects: age, the child's relations with parents and siblings and, where applicable, with persons cohabiting in their respective homes, the values in which the child wishes to be educated, and the circumstances of the social environment where the child lives.

3. The judgment shall provide for deprivation of patria potestad where in the proceedings cause for it is revealed.

4. The parents may agree in the regulating agreement (convenio regulador) or the Judge may decide, for the benefit of the children, that patria potestad be exercised totally or partially by one of the spouses.

5. Shared exercise of guarda y custodia shall be agreed where so requested by the parents in the regulating-agreement proposal or where both reach this agreement in the course of the proceedings. The Judge, in agreeing joint guard and after reasoning the resolution, shall adopt the appropriate precautions for the effective compliance with the established guard regime, seeking not to separate siblings.

6. In any case, before agreeing the guarda y custodia regime, the Judge shall seek a report from the Public Prosecutor (Ministerio Fiscal), and shall hear minors who have sufficient maturity where deemed necessary ex officio or at the request of the Prosecutor, the parties, or members of the Judicial Technical Team, or of the minor himself/herself, evaluate the parties' allegations in the comparecencia and the evidence presented therein, and the relationship the parents maintain with each other and with their children to determine their suitability with the guard regime.

7. Joint guard shall not proceed where either parent is involved in criminal proceedings initiated for attacking the life, physical integrity, liberty, moral integrity, or sexual liberty and indemnity of the other spouse or of children cohabiting with both. Nor shall it proceed where the Judge perceives, from the parties' allegations and evidence presented, the existence of founded indications of domestic or gender-based violence.

8. Exceptionally, even where the conditions of paragraph 5 of this article do not exist, the Judge, at the request of one of the parties, with the favorable report of the Public Prosecutor, may agree shared guarda y custodia grounding it on the basis that only in this way is the superior interest of the minor adequately protected.

Art. 94 CC — Régimen de comunicación, visita y estancia

The judicial authority shall determine the time, manner, and place in which the parent who does not have the minor children with him/her may exercise the right to visit, communicate, and have them in his/her company.

[Subsection on disability omitted from translation focus]

The judicial authority may limit or suspend the rights provided for in the preceding paragraphs if relevant circumstances so advise or if the duties imposed by the judicial resolution are seriously or repeatedly breached.

No regime of visit or stay shall proceed, and if existing shall be suspended, with respect to the parent who is involved in criminal proceedings initiated for attacking the life, physical integrity, liberty, moral integrity, or sexual liberty and indemnity of the other spouse or of the children. Nor shall it proceed where the judicial authority perceives, from the parties' allegations and evidence presented, the existence of founded indications of domestic or gender-based violence. Nonetheless, the judicial authority may establish a regime of visit, communication, or stay by reasoned resolution based on the superior interest of the minor … and prior evaluation of the situation of the paternofilial relationship.

Art. 156 CC — Exercise of patria potestad

Patria potestad shall be exercised jointly by both parents or by one alone with the express or tacit consent of the other. Acts performed by one of them in conformity with social usage and circumstances or in situations of urgent necessity shall be valid.

In case of disagreement, either of the two may turn to the Judge, who, after hearing both and the child if he/she has sufficient maturity and, in any case, if older than twelve years, shall attribute the decision-making faculty to the father or to the mother. Where disagreements are repeated or there exists any other cause that seriously hinders the exercise of patria potestad, the Judge may attribute it totally or partially to one parent or distribute the functions between them. This measure shall be in force during the period fixed, which shall never exceed two years.

Why this matters for PA

  • The non-exemption preserve (art. 92 (1)). La separación, la nulidad y el divorcio no eximen a los padres de sus obligaciones. Separation, nullity, and divorce do not exempt parents from obligations. The structural Spanish starting point — divorce does not displace parental obligations. In PA-pattern cases this means the alienating parent's de facto sole exercise is not a lawful displacement of the targeted parent's obligations.
  • The four-factor welfare evaluation (art. 92 (2)). The judge evaluates:
  • Age
  • Relations with parents and siblings
  • Values in which child wishes to be educated
  • Social environment
  • The relaciones del menor con sus progenitores y hermanos factor is engaged in PA-pattern cases where alienating conduct has disrupted the relationship with the targeted parent.
  • The court's relationship-assessment duty (art. 92 (6) end). La relación que los padres mantengan entre sí y con sus hijos para determinar su idoneidad con el régimen de guarda. The court evaluates the relationship the parents maintain with each other and with their children to determine suitability. This is doctrinally explicit — sustained alienating conduct demonstrates structural unsuitability for joint exercise.
  • The exceptional court-ordered shared guard (art. 92 (8)). Excepcionalmente, aun cuando no se den los supuestos del apartado cinco … el Juez podrá acordar la guarda y custodia compartida fundamentándola en que sólo de esta forma se protege adecuadamente el interés superior del menor. Even without parental agreement, the court may order shared guard where only this protects the superior interest of the minor. The con informe favorable del Ministerio Fiscal (with favorable Prosecutor report) requirement provides procedural rigor. In PA-pattern cases this provides structural pathway for shared guard over alienating-parent opposition where the targeted-parent relationship cannot otherwise be adequately protected.
  • The art. 92 (7) DV-screening structural exception. No procederá la guarda conjunta cuando cualquiera de los padres esté incurso en un proceso penal … o existencia de indicios fundados de violencia doméstica o de género. Joint guard shall not proceed where there is a criminal proceeding or founded indications of DV. This is doctrinally important and operates bidirectionally in PA-pattern cases:
  • Protects targeted parents who are DV victims
  • But also requires the alienating parent's DV allegations to be tested against the indicios fundados standard rather than uncritically accepted
  • The Spanish jurisprudence has developed the indicios fundados standard to require concrete, evidenced indications — not uncorroborated allegations — preventing weaponization of art. 92 (7) by alienating parents.
  • The art. 94 fourth-paragraph contact-suspension framework. Parallel structure to art. 92 (7): no visit/stay regime shall proceed where there is criminal proceeding or indicios fundados. The No obstante (nonetheless) clause permits reasoned-resolution visit regime based on the superior interest of the minor after prior evaluation of the paternofilial relationship situation — providing structural pathway for maintaining contact where the indicios assessment is bidirectionally complex.
  • The art. 94 limitation/suspension trigger for non-compliance. Si … se incumplieran grave o reiteradamente los deberes impuestos por la resolución judicial. The judge may limit/suspend rights where duties imposed by the judicial resolution are seriously or repeatedly breached. In PA-pattern cases this operates against the alienating parent's contact-frustration breaches as well — the rights at risk of suspension include the alienating parent's own custodia/contact arrangements where they breach orders facilitating the targeted parent.
  • The joint-exercise default (art. 156 (1)). La patria potestad se ejercerá conjuntamente por ambos progenitores. The structural default — joint exercise. In PA-pattern cases this provides structural protection against alienating-parent unilateral decision-making on significant matters.
  • The mandatory child hearing above age 12 (art. 156 (2)). Si fuera mayor de doce años. The judge must hear children over age 12 in disagreement-resolution. This is doctrinally distinctive — Spain retains the age-12 mandatory threshold (unlike post-KJSG German capacity-based standard). In PA-pattern cases above age 12 the court engagement with the child's views is structural.
  • The repeated-disagreement attribution mechanism (art. 156 (2) second sentence). Si los desacuerdos fueran reiterados o concurriera cualquier otra causa que entorpezca gravemente el ejercicio de la patria potestad, podrá atribuirla total o parcialmente a uno de los padres. Where disagreements are repeated or seriously hinder exercise, the judge may attribute patria potestad totally or partially to one parent — for max 2 years. In PA-pattern cases this provides structural pathway for transferring patria potestad to the targeted parent where the alienating parent's conduct seriously hinders exercise. The two-year cap creates structural review.

Procedural application

  • The competent court is the Juzgado de Primera Instancia (Family Section) or Juzgado de Familia in specialized jurisdictions; for DV-involved cases the Juzgado de Violencia sobre la Mujer
  • Ministerio Fiscal (Public Prosecutor) participation is structurally mandatory
  • Equipo Técnico Judicial (EAT) / Equipo Psicosocial Judicial provides welfare assessment
  • The child is heard under arts. 92 (6) + 156 (2) — mandatory above age 12 + capacity-based below
  • Mediación familiar is structurally available under Ley 5/2012 and autonomous-community frameworks
  • Appellate review to the Audiencia Provincial + cassation to the Tribunal Supremo via recurso de casación

Use in alienating-conduct cases

  • The Tribunal Supremo has developed the interés superior del menor + custodia compartida framework in PA-pattern cases through the Strumia 2022 line and following authorities — see Strumia 2022 reception entry
  • The TS SAP (Síndrome de Alienación Parental) jurisprudence has developed the framework for treating alienating-conduct findings as engaging welfare assessment — see TS SAP doctrine entry
  • The LO 8/2021 + LOPIVI 2021 reforms reinforced welfare-protective screening — the indicios fundados standard provides structural protection against uncritical DV-allegation use
  • Where alienating conduct is established, Spanish courts can:
  • First-tier: order mediación familiar
  • Second-tier: fix specific régimen de visitas arrangements under art. 94
  • Third-tier: shift custodia under art. 92 — including LO 8/2021 reform's exceptional shared-guard under art. 92 (8)
  • Apex-tier: attribute patria potestad under art. 156 (2) — including total attribution to targeted parent for max 2 years

Cross-reference