ATTENTION! Text translated automatically from the Polish version.
A father who is not the mother’s husband is obligated to contribute, as appropriate to the circumstances, to covering the expenses related to pregnancy and childbirth, and the costs of three months of maintenance for the mother during the period of childbirth. For important reasons, the mother may demand that the father contribute to her maintenance costs for a period longer than three months.
According to the Supreme Court (ref. I C 1261/53), expenses related to pregnancy and childbirth are “all expenses that became necessary as a result of pregnancy or childbirth, which the child’s mother would not have incurred if she had not been pregnant or had not given birth.” For example, such an expense could be the purchase of a pram or costs incurred in connection with adapting a room for the newborn child.
If, as a result of pregnancy or childbirth, the mother incurred other necessary expenses or special property losses, she may demand that the child’s father cover an appropriate part of these expenses or losses. It is worth remembering that these claims are available to the mother even in a situation when the child was born dead. The indicated claims are subject to a three-year statute of limitations from the date of childbirth.
In a situation where the paternity of a man who is not the mother’s husband has been made credible, the mother may demand that he contribute an appropriate sum of money even before the birth of the child, covering three months of maintenance for the mother during childbirth and three months of maintenance for the child after birth.
The Family and Guardianship Code introduces the principle that, in a situation where the paternity of a man who is not the mother’s husband has not been established, it is inadmissible to pursue property claims without simultaneously or previously establishing paternity.