An interesting appeal for legal advice appeared in the Facebook group “Pravna počet”. Namely, the father who pays alimony for his adult son (18 years old), and the son has finished high school and does not want to continue his education at the university and has moved away and lives with his girlfriend, asks what the legal procedure is for the termination of child support payments. According to the current regulations, parents are obliged to support an adult child who no longer goes to school for a maximum of one year after the end of education, if he cannot find a job, and after that the obligation can be judicially canceled by a municipal court judgment based on a lawsuit or a proposal to stop maintenance. The son clearly does not listen to his father, but allegedly continues to spend his money and does not want to go to school. If he wanted to go to school, the alimony would flow…
Some attacked the father for not being able to just stop giving money, but there were also comments like this:
► It is fascinating how many immediately declared this man a piece of trash from a father, and no one questions the personal responsibility of an adult son. The boy is over 18 years old, has finished school, does not want to study, has moved away and lives with a girlfriend.
At what point does an adult begin to bear the consequences of their own decisions and stop expecting a parent to be an ATM for life. The plan cannot be for dad to finance until he is thirty, and tomorrow maybe his son, his girlfriend and their future child. Parental love is not the same as a lifetime ATM; the father did not write that he renounces his son, but asks when his legal obligation to support ends, which is a completely legitimate question. It is easiest to feign generosity with other people’s money and moralize on social networks. If the son is old enough to lead his own life and build a community with the girl, he should also be old enough to participate in her financing. Otherwise, we raise adult children who expect someone else to support them all their lives, instead of responsible people.
► From a legal point of view, one should not simply stop paying because the old judgment is still valid as an enforcement document, so the procedure should be initiated.
► Since the son is of legal age, the lawsuit for termination of maintenance is filed directly against him, and no longer against the mother.
► By law, parents are obliged to support the child for a maximum of one year after finishing school if the child cannot be employed.
► If the son got a job or that year has passed, the conditions for the obligation have ended, but the court must officially cancel it with a verdict.
Some commentators cite their own experiences of working from an early age and believe that today’s children have everything served on a “golden plate”. Several participants emphasize that even after the end of the legal obligation, the father can help out of goodwill, but he is not obliged to finance the independent life of his adult son. There are also very emotional comments that insult the father and question his role as a father because he is even thinking about ending alimony.
