The concept of a family evolves, and may comprise different models of relationships between family members.
A legally recognized relationship
The Latvian Civil Law defines a family in a narrow sense – as the relationship between:
- spouses
- spouses and their children, while they are still part of a common household
A family, in a narrow sense, is a legally recognized relationship established through marriage between spouses and between parents and their children based on biological ties or adoption.
important From the legal point of view, relations between an adoptive parent and an adopted child are the same as the family relations between parents and their biological child.
A single parent family
A relationship between two parents and their child forms the traditional family model, whether the relationship between both parents is legally recognized or not. A family may nevertheless also consist of one unmarried or divorced parent living together with his/her child.
example A single mother who is raising her child, even if the child’s father is unknown, will be considered a family.
Partnership
A couple does not necessarily have to be married in order to be considered a family.
In order to protect the de facto relationship of persons who do not wish or cannot marry (for example, same-sex couples), Latvia has introduced the legal regulation of partnerships. A partnership is the legal recognition (registration) of a partnership between two adults.
important The institution of partnership is not the same as marriage. Although a partnership offers a number of rights, it does not include all the rights and guarantees of marriage. As a result, a partnership is not legally equivalent to marriage.