Variation of child maintenance

According to case law, a change in circumstances may concern the parents’ means, their health or the child’s health, relations between the parents and the child, material conditions, the social environment or the people around the child. The court must determine whether the change in any of these factors is lasting rather than temporary or isolated. It must also consider all the circumstances in light of the child’s interests. Taken together, they provide the basis for deciding what contact arrangements should apply between the child and the parent who has not been granted the exercise of parental rights. As explained in Decree of the Plenum of the Supreme Court No. 1/1974, whose guidance remains relevant under the current Family Code, children’s interests encompass their care, upbringing and development, the formation of work habits and discipline, preparation for socially useful work and, more generally, the development of each child as a responsible citizen. The circumstances listed in Article 59(4) of the Family Code and in the cited decree are examples, not an exhaustive list. They are the minimum to be considered when examining the child’s best interests within the meaning of paragraph 1, point 5 of the supplementary provisions of the Child Protection Act.

Under Article 154(1) of the Code of Civil Procedure, the claimant bears the burden of proving that the circumstances affecting the child’s interests have changed in a way that calls for a change in the amount of maintenance awarded.

This article is not a legal opinion or advice on a particular situation or person. The author makes no claim to cover child maintenance exhaustively. For legal assistance in a similar case, consult a family and inheritance lawyer experienced in child maintenance cases.