Do you have to help your parents who are in need?

The maintenance obligation is a help brought to a parent or to one step-parent which doesn't come to insure its basic needs (housing, food, care, current expenses...).

It is paid in the form of a child support or in nature (obligation to house, feed and maintain...).

The person claiming maintenance is maintenance creditor. The one who pours it is obligated maintenance or maintenance debtor.

The following people should help their parents in need:

• Children, grandchildren, in respect of their father, mother or others ascendants in need
• Sons-in-law, stepdaughters in respect of their in-laws in need. As a result of the obligations of marriage, a spouse must assist his or her spouse's parent in times of need. This obligation ceases upon the death of the affinity spouse and the children of the union.

Maintenance obligations are reciprocal : this means that the father, mother or others ascendants must also help their children and grandchildren in need. The same applies to in-laws with respect to their son-in-law and daughter-in-law in need.

The child admitted as State ward must not befood to his biological parents.

The maintenance creditor requesting the assistance must demonstrate that he is in need, that is to say that he cannot meet his basic needs (housing, food, care, clothing). Before to ask the judge, he may first make a request out of court.

The amount of the maintenance obligation is set by the judge according to the needs of the creditor of food and debtor resources of food. It doesn't exist no scale.

The judge determines the maintenance obligation taking into account the situation of all the interested parties. That is why the maintenance creditor must prove he's in need and that it does not have sufficient resources to meet its essential expenses.

The judge shall take into account all the income and expenses of the debtor of food.

The income taken into account is as follows:

• Income from work (salary, pension, unemployment benefit, social security allowance, etc.)
• Social assistance (disabled adult allowance, housing allowance, RSA: titleContent...)
• Capital income (interest from a financial investment, rental income, dividend, etc.).

The charges considered are as follows:

• Family expenses (child, spouse or dependent partner, maintenance, compensatory benefit...)
• Daily living expenses (housing, food, taxes, transport costs...)
• Loans, debt ratios, etc.

Once this food contribution has been set, the maintenance debtor must be able to continue to support himself and those of the people living in his household.

As a general rule, the court determines the maintenance obligation in the form of a maintenance paid monthly.

However, it sometimes runs in kind, that is to say, by collecting the creditor of maintenance at home, by feeding and maintaining it. This is the case when the maintenance debtor justifies not being able to pay the maintenance obligation. This is also the case in the specific situation of a father or mother who offers to receive his or her adult child at home rather than pay child support.

The judge may discharge one or more maintenance debtors when they have insufficient resources or too large burdens to help their parent in need.

However, a maintenance debtor may also be exempted from the maintenance obligation for reasons other than his ability to pay: this exemption must be requested or may be automatic.

The parties can do call of the decision of the Jaf: titleContent.

The lawyer is mandatory.

The removal or revision of the maintenance obligation may be requested if the situation of the debtor or the creditor changes.

This is particularly the case in the following situations:

• The income of the maintenance debtor decrease (e.g. unemployment) or its charges increase (e.g. birth of a child)
• The situation of the creditor of food is improving
• The situation family of creditor or debtor of food evolves (marriage, divorce).

The request for revision or deletion shall be made on free paper or using a form:

Application for Maintenance - Referral to the Family Court

The maintenance creditor must seize the court of which depends on its domicile or the court whose depends on the domicile of the maintenance debtor. The maintenance debtor must bring the matter before the court of depends on the domicile of the maintenance creditor.

If child support is not paid or partially paid by the maintenance debtor, the maintenance creditor may initiate one of the following procedures:

• Call on a commissioner of justice who can set up a "direct payment" procedure, a ₪ or a garnishment-sale
• Request a garnishment on salary.

The maintenance obligation shall cease in the event of death of maintenance creditor or debtor.

It may also be terminated by a decision of the Family Court Judge, following an application by a party, in the event of new circumstances. This is the case, for example, after a divorce or in cases of insolvency from whoever owes it.