When does parents' maintenance obligation towards their children begin and end?
When does parents' maintenance obligation towards their children begin and end?
The maintenance obligation starts from the establishment of parentage between the child and the parent. Even before this determination is established, there is a natural commitment with the sire to provide maintenance for the child.
The maintenance obligation also does not always end when the child comes of age. Three different situations are possible here:
- The child is a minor and has completed his education. If he is then able to provide for his own living expenses, the maintenance obligation will end during his minority (very exceptional).
- The child is a minor and has completed his education, but is unable to support himself. In this case, the maintenance obligation will end upon reaching the age of majority.
- The child is of age and has not yet completed his education. The maintenance obligation will then end on completion of education. This maintenance obligation does not apply to forever students. The child must make some progress in his studies. The child must make sufficient efforts and be sufficiently intellectually gifted. Parents are only bound in paying for an education.
The maintenance obligation will of course also end if the child no longer has legal parents (i.e. the parents have died), or in case of full adoption, regular adoption (subsidiary maintenance obligation of the original parents) or foster custody.
What does the maintenance obligation still mean when the child comes of age?
The parental duty after the age of majority is more limited than during minority. The following rules then apply to the maintenance obligation:
- Studies must follow a normal course;
- When the child obtains a final degree in higher education, the duty lapses;
- The parents may take into account the child's own income. It is possible that the parents will only have to contribute to cover the child's living expenses instead of paying them in full;
- If the child is married, the spouse will have to meet the maintenance obligation first. If this is not sufficient, the parents will have to contribute;
- The parents should not be responsible for additional expenses incurred by the child. These are expenses that have nothing to do with the studies;
- In the case of adult children, the disregard of their duty to respect the parents is not without consequences. Here, this is not merely a moral obligation. Depending on the circumstances, the child's egregious behaviour may invalidate the maintenance obligation.
Everything about the maintenance obligation of parents towards their children
The other parental duties