In principle, parental maintenance obligations end when the child reaches the age of majority. Only under certain conditions do they continue beyond the age of majority. Entitlement to so-called adult maintenance requires that the adult child has not yet completed appropriate initial training.
Appropriate initial education
Whether an education or training programme is considered “appropriate” must be assessed on a case-by-case basis, taking into account the specific circumstances. An education is deemed appropriate if a realistic and planned educational goal is pursued and undertaken seriously. This may include second or additional qualifications, provided they form part of the overall educational plan.
There is now a high level of permeability between vocational training and university studies. A completed apprenticeship alone does not necessarily constitute an appropriate initial education if it merely represents the first stage of a broader educational plan. In such cases, a subsequent university degree may also be regarded as part of the appropriate initial education and may give rise to a maintenance claim until its completion.
However, a key requirement is that the education or training is pursued seriously. A single failed examination or a change in the educational plan does not automatically lead to the loss of the right to maintenance.
Reasonableness
Maintenance for adult children must be reasonable (zumutbar) for the parents. In contrast to maintenance for minors, parents are first entitled to secure their own subsistence minimum under family law before being obligated to pay maintenance to an adult child. This means that maintenance for adult children ranks behind the family law subsistence minimum of the other family members. First, the statutory subsistence minima of the obligated parents and the appropriate maintenance of any minor children must be covered; only then does maintenance for adult children come into consideration.
The adult child, in turn, is only entitled to coverage of their own family law subsistence minimum. Any surplus (i.e. the amount remaining after the subsistence minimum is calculated) is not owed to the adult child. Furthermore, any income earned by the adult child is taken into account. As a rule of court practice, 30% of the net income (e.g. from internships, apprenticeships, part-time jobs, scholarships, etc.) is deducted and credited.
The assessment of reasonableness is not based solely on financial considerations. In certain cases, the quality of the relationship between parent and child is also relevant. A deliberate, wrongful and unjustified severing of contact by the child may result in the maintenance claim being considered unreasonable. In such cases, the parental duty to provide maintenance may lapse entirely.
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