ATTENTION! Text translated automatically from the Polish version.
The maintenance obligation burdens not only relatives in the direct line, i.e. persons descending one from another (both ancestors – parents and grandparents – and descendants, i.e. children and grandchildren), but also siblings. The maintenance obligation, upon fulfillment of additional conditions, may also rest on a stepchild, stepmother and stepfather.
The maintenance obligation burdens in order: a spouse, descendants, ancestors, and lastly siblings. Siblings will be obligated to provide maintenance when there is no other person obligated in a closer order, or when such persons are unable to fulfill their obligation. A person in poverty may demand maintenance benefits from siblings. The obligated sibling may, however, be excused from this obligation if it causes excessive harm to themselves or their immediate family.
With regard to the maintenance obligation resting on a stepmother or stepfather, its arising is only possible when it is consistent with the principles of social coexistence. Moreover, this obligation only arises when the stepchild entitled to the benefit is in poverty.
Similar conditions must be met in the case of the reverse obligation – a stepchild’s obligation to provide maintenance to a stepmother or stepfather. A stepmother and stepfather can demand maintenance from a stepchild only when they contributed to the upbringing and maintenance of the child.