Polish legislation contains a number of legal regulations that declare the protection of marriage and the family. This is mainly expressed in the norm of art. 18 of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland. This protection – based on the principle of state subsidiarity towards the family – imposes obligations on public authorities that oblige to resist external threats to the family, as well as to undertake actions supporting the functioning of marriage and the family and strengthening the bonds connecting the spouses and the family. However, the question arises whether in the era of socio-civilization transformations, modern Polish law – apart from declarations – contains actual mechanisms protecting marriage and the family, or maybe it paradoxically poses a threat to it? The article, by analyzing three aspects of family functioning (upbringing, intimate life and the nature of family ties), tries to answer this question.