Maintenance obligation of adult children towards parents

The issue of the maintenance obligation of children towards parents is regulated by Section 66 of Act No. 36/2005 Coll. on the Family and on amendments and supplements to certain acts (hereinafter referred to as the “Family Act”) as follows: „Deti, ktoré sú schopné samy sa živiť, sú povinné zabezpečiť svojim rodičom primeranú výživu, ak to potrebujú.“ (Children who are able to support themselves are obliged to secure reasonable maintenance for their parents if they need it.)

In the cited provision, two basic conditions can be seen that must be met cumulatively in order for the maintenance obligation of children to parents to be implemented. Given the fact that you support yourself, you meet one of the two conditions. Despite that, there exists the condition of the need for help directed from your parents. The answer to your question, therefore, is that in the event that your parents do not need your help, i.e., they have a sufficient source of income, whether from work or a pension, no maintenance obligation towards your parents arises for you up to that moment. The maintenance obligation towards both parents is assessed separately for each of them, given the fact that the needs of both parents are satisfied individually, as it is a separate claim.

Furthermore, the Family Act continues with the provision in Section 67 (1), according to which it applies that: „Each child fulfills the maintenance obligation towards their parents to such an extent that corresponds to the ratio of their abilities, possibilities, and property relations to the abilities, possibilities, and property relations of the other children.“ The answer to your second question is therefore assessed individually. In the event that you have a sibling, the maintenance obligation is addressed separately according to the abilities, possibilities, and property relations of each child, and its amount is determined on the basis of the given criteria, if necessary.

If a situation occurs in the future where you fulfill the maintenance obligation on behalf of your sibling, or vice versa, in the sense of Section 79 (1) of the Family Act, the person who fulfills on behalf of another is entitled to reimbursement of this performance, along with default interest in the sense of the Civil Code.

If your mother is the owner of the apartment, neither your consent nor your brother’s consent is required to sell the apartment. The sale of the apartment is exclusively at the decision of the owner – your mother.

If your mother’s health condition is so poor that she is unable to execute a legal act such as the sale of an apartment, filing a petition to restrict her capacity to execute legal acts comes into consideration. In such a case, the court would appoint a guardian for your mother, who could subsequently represent her in matters of disposing of her property. A legal act such as the sale of the apartment would be subject to court approval, whereby it would be assessed whether it is in her best interest.

The maintenance obligation of children to parents is regulated by Act No. 36/2005 Coll. on the Family and on amendments and supplements to certain acts. According to Section 66: „Children who are able to support themselves are obliged to secure reasonable maintenance for their parents if they need it.“

According to Section 67 (1): „Each child fulfills the maintenance obligation towards parents to such an extent that corresponds to the ratio of their abilities, possibilities, and property relations to the abilities, possibilities, and property relations of the other children.“

In answering your question, we will proceed from the provision of Section 66 of the Family Act: „Children who are able to support themselves are obliged to secure reasonable maintenance for their parents if they need it.“ The maintenance obligation of children towards parents arises upon the fulfillment of two statutory prerequisites:

• The ability of the children to support themselves independently

• The need on the part of the parent

According to professional legal literature: „However, this is primarily a moral obligation of children towards parents, especially with regard to previous care and upbringing. If, however, despite the parents’ need, the maintenance obligation is not fulfilled by the children, the parents are entitled to turn to the relevant court with their petition for the determination of maintenance.“ (M. Košútová, R. Bános: Family Act. Great Commentary, Eurokódex).

Proceedings in matters of determining maintenance for adult persons are regulated in Sections 154–157 of the Civil Non-Dispute Procedure Code (hereinafter referred to as the “CMP”). Only the parent (or potentially both parents) who needs the maintenance and cannot secure it themselves is entitled to file a petition for the determination of maintenance. Section 156 of the CMP defines the parties to these proceedings as follows: „The parties to proceedings in matters of maintenance for adult persons are the person entitled to maintenance and the person who, according to the petition, is obliged to pay maintenance.“

The court assesses the determination of maintenance with regard to the circumstances of the specific case, taking into account in particular: „the property relations of the parents, their ability and possibility to work and find employment, their age and health condition, and it is intended to ensure the satisfaction of all ordinary living needs and other justified needs, such as housing, catering, culture, etc.“ (M. Košútová, R. Bános: Family Act. Great Commentary, Eurokódex).

However, the court also assesses whether imposing a maintenance obligation would be contrary to good morals (in the event that the parent neglected the care of the child).

In contrast to the maintenance obligation of parents towards children, children have an obligation towards parents to secure reasonable maintenance. This means that the child does not have to ensure that the parent enjoys the same standard of living that the child has.

It is important to remember that the court will dismiss a petition for the determination of a maintenance obligation: „if the maintenance obligation of children towards parents is preceded by a maintenance obligation that has priority, namely the maintenance obligation between spouses or the maintenance obligation of a parent as a divorced spouse.“ (M. Košútová, R. Bános: Family Act. Great Commentary, Eurokódex).

The above-mentioned also follows from the provision of Section 67 (2) of the Family Act: „The maintenance obligation between spouses and the provision of a maintenance allowance to a divorced spouse precede the maintenance obligation of children towards parents.“

According to the applicable legislation, each child who is already able to support themselves independently is obliged to contribute to the maintenance of their parents who cannot do so themselves. This obligation is established by Section 66 et seq. of Act No. 36/2005 Coll. on the Family:

„Children who are able to support themselves are obliged to secure reasonable maintenance for their parents if they need it. Each child fulfills the maintenance obligation towards parents to such an extent that corresponds to the ratio of their abilities, possibilities, and property relations to the abilities, possibilities, and property relations of the other children.“

At the same time, we would like to draw attention to the second paragraph of the above-cited provision, according to which a child who has a higher income is obliged to contribute to the maintenance of their parent using higher financial funds.

The amount of maintenance is determined on the basis of Section 75 (1) of the Family Act: „When determining maintenance, the court shall take into account the justified needs of the entitled person, as well as the abilities, possibilities, and property relations of the obliged person. The court shall also take into account the abilities, possibilities, and property relations of the obliged person if the obliged person gives up a more advantageous employment, earning, or property benefit without an important reason; it shall likewise take into account disproportionate property risks that the obliged person takes upon themselves.“