by Admin2 | Apr 29, 2025 | news-en
Many child support debtors wonder if there is a way to have their debt to the Alimony Fund canceled. The latest ruling of the Voivodeship Administrative Court in Gdańsk from March 19, 2025 (II SA/Gd 1219/24) clarifies what conditions must be met.
The court emphasized that the mere fact of low income is not something extraordinary and is not sufficient for debt cancellation. Cancellation of child support debt is only possible when the family and income situation distinguishes the debtor from other child support debtors. The court explicitly excludes situations where the current financial state of the debtor is the result of their own negligence or failure to fulfill obligations.
The court rightly points out that child support debts are not "ordinary" financial obligations-they concern the basic needs of children and should not be canceled lightly. The requirement for an individual, thorough analysis of each debtor's situation is a step in the right direction-it allows for distinguishing those truly in need from those who would simply like to "escape" responsibility.
by Admin2 | Mar 3, 2025 | news-en
According to the current position of case law (in which one of the main decisions was the Resolution of the Supreme Court of 16 December 1987 issued in case III CZP 91/86), children entitled to maintenance "have the right to an equal standard of living with their parents, regardless of whether they live together or separately."
In practice, this means that when assessing the justified needs of the child (which constitute one of the two pillars of determining the amount of maintenance due - in addition to the financial situation and earning capacity of the obligated person) and the cost of satisfying them, the Court should assume that the child should be able to enjoy a standard of living similar to that enjoyed by the parent paying maintenance. This decision is logical and fair - just as it would not be right for a wealthy parent enjoying all the benefits of life to pay alimony that would allow the child to meet only their basic needs, it would be unfair to expect a parent struggling with financial problems to provide their child with luxuries
by Admin2 | Feb 3, 2025 | news-en
According to Article 938 of the Civil Code, only thetestator's witnesses, if they are in poverty and cannot receive the means of maintenance due to them from persons who have a statutory maintenance obligation towards them, may demand from the heir who is not burdened with such an obligation the means of maintenance in relation to their needs and the value of his share of the inheritance. The heir may also satisfy this claim by paying the testator's grandparents a sum of money corresponding to the value of one fourth of his share of the estate.
Therefore, since great-grandparents are not mentioned in the provision in question, they are not entitled to alimony.
by Admin2 | Jan 2, 2025 | news-en
According to the Supreme Court judgment of October 12, 1977 (II CR 390/77) the impossibility of the adoptive parents to have an educational impact on the adolescent adoptive person, her involvement in a criminal environment, prostitution and contracting a venereal disease, alcohol abuse, theft, demoralization of peers in the educational facility, running away from home and from the educational facility, staying in a sobering-up center, which had a negative impact on the health of the adoptive parents, constitutes an important reason for terminating the adoption relationship.
The assessment of the concept of the child's welfare cannot be made in isolation from the age of the adoptive person and the legitimate and legally protected interests of her adoptive parents. It is impossible to expect them to tolerate the humiliation and even damage to health suffered by her current behavior in the name of the abstract good of an adolescent girl to whom they have selflessly devoted over 13 years of personal effort, trouble and expense. These circumstances also speak against maintaining the adoptive parents' obligation to pay maintenance.
by Admin2 | Dec 2, 2024 | news-en
In accordance with the judgment of the Provincial Administrative Court in Kraków of 25 September 2024 (III SA/Kr 583/24) regarding the provisions of the Convention on the Recovery of Maintenance Claims Abroad, drawn up in New York on 20 June 1956 (Journal of Laws of 1961, No. 17, item 87), the application of the entitled person is considered in accordance with the law of the country in which the obligated person is staying, and the transferring body does not settle the matter regarding the recognition and enforcement of the maintenance obligation between the entitled person and the obligated person, but only facilitates the authorized person in settling such a case in another country by transferring it under the Convention to the receiving body.
The District Court, Independent Section for Legal Transactions with Foreign Countries in this case does not act as an enforcement body. Any initiative regarding possible reminder letters to foreign authorities in the event of non-receipt of maintenance payments rests with the applicant.
by Admin2 | Nov 4, 2024 | news-en
The draft act (Print No. 800 of November 6, 2024) assumes an increase in the maximum amount of maintenance fund benefits by 100%, i.e. by PLN 500 per month to PLN 1,000 per month. The justification for the draft states that under the current legal status, maintenance fund benefits are due in the amount of currently established maintenance, but not higher than PLN 500 per month. The above maximum amount of maintenance fund benefits has been unchanged since the beginning of the validity of the Act of September 7, 2007 on assistance to persons entitled to 2 maintenance payments, i.e. since 2008. Since the introduction of maintenance fund benefits, the costs of living have increased significantly, including for persons entitled to maintenance payments, and consequently the amounts of maintenance payments for children from parents determined by the courts (data from the Ministry of Justice)
