by Admin2 | Nov 10, 2025 | news-en
ATTENTION – THIS IS AN AUTOMATIC TRANSLATION from Polish
Article 7 point 5 of the Act on Family Benefits (Journal of Laws of 2017, item 1952, as amended, hereinafter: the Act) outlines the conditions that exclude entitlement to the family allowance. According to this provision, the family allowance is not granted to a person raising a child alone if child support has not been established based on an enforceable title issued or approved by a court.
This issue was addressed by the Provincial Administrative Court in Wrocław in its judgment of November 24, 2017 (case no. IV SA/Wr 389/17). The complainant, A.S., sought an additional family allowance due to raising her disabled daughter alone.
The complainant submitted a statement from the child’s father, indicating that he had voluntarily committed to paying child support. However, under Article 7 point 5 of the Act, a mere declaration of voluntary child support is insufficient. The support must be established through an enforceable title originating from or approved by a court.
The court also emphasized that demanding a court order for child support when the father is already paying voluntarily lacks justification. In the court’s view, “This would only lead to conflict between the child and the parent, which would ultimately damage the father-daughter relationship. Such a situation cannot be socially condoned.” This is especially important in the case of a disabled child, who requires support from both parents, and whose relationship with them is crucial in facing the daily challenges of disability.
Consequently, citing the failure to meet formal requirements and the incompatibility of the claim with principles of social coexistence, the court dismissed the complaint and denied the additional family allowance to the complainant.
by Admin2 | Sep 3, 2025 | news-en
ATTENTION – THIS IS AN AUTOMATIC TRANSLATION
In its resolution of 10 January 2025 (case no. III CZP 35/24), the Supreme Court addressed the issue of whether parents who have a maintenance obligation towards their incapacitated child are entitled to remuneration for providing care to such a child (Article 162 § 2 of the Family and Guardianship Code).
The mother of a person who was fully incapacitated applied for public funds to remunerate her for providing care. However, the court held that the mother’s care constituted the fulfilment of her maintenance obligation, and that her personal involvement—despite the sacrifices involved—fell within the scope of socially and legally accepted parental duties.
If the guardian of an incapacitated person is a parent who is subject to a maintenance obligation, they will generally not receive additional remuneration. In exceptional, particularly justified circumstances, there may be grounds for granting remuneration if the scope of care goes far beyond what can be expected of a parent under the principles of social coexistence. Nevertheless, such a decision always requires an individual assessment, and the Court’s evaluation must take into account the specific circumstances of the case and avoid a formulaic approach.
In the cited ruling, the Supreme Court stated that “the assumption and exercise of care by the mother over her incapacitated son constitute an expression of the fulfilment of the guardian’s personal moral duties towards the ward.” The Court further noted that the performance of these duties is reinforced by the statutory maintenance obligation, which encompasses not only financial support but also the personal efforts of the obligated party (Article 133 § 1 of the Family and Guardianship Code).
by Admin2 | Aug 18, 2025 | news-en
ATTENTION – THIS IS AN AUTOMATIC TRANSLATION
Polish law does not specify a fixed age limit after which the obligation to pay child support automatically expires. It is generally accepted that this obligation continues as long as the child is unable to support themselves, for example, if they are continuing their education or are unable to take up gainful employment for health reasons. It is important to note that a child reaching the age of 18 does not automatically terminate the parent's obligation to pay child support.
This was confirmed by the Supreme Court in its judgment of February 27, 1981, ref. no. III CRN 18/81, stating that: “The termination of the parents' maintenance obligation towards their children is not automatically determined by the child reaching a certain age, but by the child's ability and degree of self-sufficiency.”
This ruling also drew attention to the issue of continuing education. If an adult child intends to continue their studies and counts on further support from their parents, they should approach their education in a responsible manner. Studies cannot serve merely as an excuse to avoid work and live at the expense of their parents without any real commitment to education.
However, the mere fact that a person entitled to maintenance is studying does not automatically mean that the court will recognize their inability to perform gainful employment. In the event of a legal dispute, it is therefore incumbent on the person entitled to maintenance to prove that they are unable to take up gainful employment, even to a minimal extent.
by Admin2 | Jul 22, 2025 | news-en
ATTENTION ! Automatic translation from Polish
The Ministry of Justice is working on the introduction of national child support tables. A specially established working group is developing solutions that will determine minimum and maximum child support amounts based on the parent's income and the number of children. The goal is to standardize and simplify the child support determination process, as well as to increase the transparency and understandability of court decisions.
Legislative work is also underway to amend the Family and Guardianship Code by introducing so-called "immediate child support," a simplified procedure for granting child support in cases of urgent financial need. This is a significant improvement, as an application for immediate child support is to be reviewed within 14 days, and the court is to issue a payment order with immediate enforceability.
According to the Ministry of Justice website, the amount of child support will depend on the minimum wage and the number of children in the family, allowing for a precise determination of the benefit. At this stage, no specific draft bill has been published – work on the changes is ongoing at the ministerial level and is of a consultative nature. Nevertheless, the mere announcement of such changes is an important step towards greater transparency and fairness in family law.
by Admin2 | Jun 29, 2025 | news-en
ATTENTION ! automatic translation from Polish
According to art. 27 of the Family and Guardianship Code, both spouses are obliged, each according to their strength and their earning and financial capabilities, to contribute to meeting the needs of the family they have established through their union. Fulfillment of this obligation may also consist, in whole or in part, in personal efforts to raise children and work in a common household.
In its decision of 11 March 2025 (III USK 326/23), the Supreme Court took a position on the doubts expressed as to whether the right to maintenance may be embedded in art. 60 of the Family and Guardianship Code, or also in art. 27 of the Family and Guardianship Code. In the resolution of 13 July 2011, III CZP 39/11 (OSNC 2012 No. 3, item 33), the Supreme Court assumed that the previous obligation to pay maintenance based on Article 27 of the Family and Guardianship Code expires with the divorce decree. In the justification, it was noted that there is a similarity between the obligation established in Article 27 of the Family and Guardianship Code and the obligation to pay maintenance (Article 128 of the Family and Guardianship Code and Article 60 of the Family and Guardianship Code), but there can be no question of the identity of these obligations. At most, one can speak of the "maintenance nature" of the obligation to contribute to meeting the needs of the family. To be more specific, during the marriage there is no obligation to pay maintenance in the strict sense. A direction of legal interpretation consistent with the one described above was presented in the resolutions of the Supreme Court: of 5 October 1982, III CZP 38/82 (OSNCP 1983 No. 23, item 31); of 20 October 2010, III CZP 59/10 (with a comment by M. Iżykowski, Polski Proces Cywilny 2012 No. 3, p. 333) and the judgment of the Supreme Court of 9 March 2011, III UK 84/10 (OSNP 2012 No. 7-8, item 100).
This direction of legal interpretation is also approved by resolution III UZP 2/17 and the position of the Constitutional Tribunal (see resolutions: of 6 March 2012, Ts 134/09, OTK-B 2012 No. 4, item 320; of 24 July 2012, Ts 134/09, OTK-B 2012 No. 4, item 321).
by Admin2 | May 30, 2025 | news-en
According to the judgment of the Supreme Court of 12 December 1979 (IV CR 446/79), efforts to reconcile the legal status with the true origin of the adoptee from his or her natural parents deserve the court's acceptance, especially since the interest of the adopter may be secured by awarding an appropriate annuity or issuing a determination ruling, which only determines the principle of maintaining the maintenance obligation towards the adopter in the future. The fact that, in addition to such motives, the action of the adoptee for termination of adoption also satisfies his or her property interests does not make the claim contrary to the principles of social coexistence.a
