Most of the civil-law work we do for English-speaking clients starts with a document someone was asked to sign in Czech. A contract governed by Czech law is binding in the language it is signed in, and the fact that you did not understand it is not a defence. The two areas where that matters most are contracts and inheritance.
Contracts
- Review before you sign. Leases, employment contracts, purchase agreements, service and loan agreements. We tell you what the clause does, not only what it says — automatic renewal, contractual penalties, unilateral changes of rent, termination notice periods.
- Drafting. Sale and purchase agreements, deeds of gift, leases, service agreements, loan agreements, settlement agreements, and bilingual versions where the counterparty needs one.
- Negotiation. We take over correspondence with the other side in Czech, so you are not negotiating in a second language.
- Disputes. Representation in litigation and in arbitration over performance, defects, damages and unpaid amounts.
Two Czech-law features regularly catch newcomers. A contractual penalty (smluvní pokuta) is enforceable even where no actual loss occurred. And a lease of a flat gives the tenant protection that cannot be contracted away — clauses that waive it are void, whatever the tenant signed.
Inheritance and estates
- Wills drafted to Czech formal requirements, including for foreign nationals holding assets here.
- Probate. Representation before the notary conducting the estate and before the court, including where the heirs live abroad and cannot attend.
- Over-indebted estates. Advice on accepting or renouncing an inheritance, and on the consequences of each.
- Cross-border estates. Which country’s law applies and which court has jurisdiction, under the EU Succession Regulation (650/2012) — the answer usually turns on the deceased’s habitual residence, not on nationality.
Family matters
- Divorce, including where one spouse is not Czech or the couple married abroad
- Arrangements for minor children and maintenance
- Matrimonial property: pre-nuptial agreements and agreements narrowing or dividing the community of property
- Jurisdiction and applicable law in a cross-border separation
Frequently asked
I signed a Czech contract I did not fully understand. Is it binding?
As a rule yes. Not understanding the language does not by itself make a contract invalid. What can help is a defect in the contract itself — an unfair or void clause, a term that was never agreed, or conduct on the other side that misled you. That is a document-by-document question, so send us the contract.
Does a contract have to be in Czech?
No. Parties can contract in any language. A bilingual contract should say which version prevails; if it does not, that becomes the first thing argued about.
Do I need to be in the Czech Republic to run a case?
Usually not. A power of attorney lets us act for you, and most steps are done in writing. Where a hearing requires your presence, we tell you well in advance.
My will was made abroad. Is it valid here?
Often yes, but the form matters and so does which law governs the succession. Have both checked together — a will that is formally valid can still distribute an estate in a way the applicable law overrides.
Why bring this to MACH LEGAL
- We work with you in English. You deal with the lawyer handling your file, not with a translator in between. We also work in German, Czech, Hebrew and Portuguese.
- Czech law, explained in the terms you know. Most of our English-speaking clients come from another legal system. We say where Czech law differs from what you would expect, not only what it says.
- Cross-border matters stay in one place. Our partner Dr. Tomas Mach is an attorney-at-law registered with the Czech Bar Association (13282), the Slovak Bar Association (7581) and the Rechtsanwaltskammer Köln (61058), and a court-appointed expert in the law of the Federal Republic of Germany and the law of the Slovak Republic.
- A written scope and a written fee. We agree what we will do and on what basis we charge before we start. See Legal services and fees.
How we work
- First contact. Send us the documents and a short description of the situation. We tell you whether the matter needs a lawyer at all.
- Assessment. You get our reading of the position, the options and the likely cost of each.
- Instruction. A power of attorney and a written scope of work.
- The work itself. Drafting, negotiating or representing you, with a report at each step that needs your decision.
Contact: Contact page · praha@machlegal.eu · +420 245 008 552