Child support for parents: when children are obliged to maintain elderly parents

Usually two categories of people come with this question: an elderly parent who does not have enough from their pension and care, and an adult son or daughter who has received a claim for maintenance. In both cases, the first step is to understand under what conditions the obligation arises at all and how it is calculated. Many mistakenly believe that payments are due to any parent by the fact of kinship, or, conversely, that they cannot be withheld under any circumstances.

From this article you will learn how child support for a father differs from child support for a mother, how maintenance is recovered for a pensioner and a parent with a disability, and what the court takes into account when determining the amount. We will separately examine an agreement on the payment of child support, release from the obligation, and the consequences of deprivation of parental rights.

Child support for parents: when children have an obligation to maintain

The obligation of children to maintain their parents is enshrined in the Code on Marriage (Matrimony) and Family. Child support is recovered if the parent is incapacitated and in need of assistance, and the children are able to provide it. If even one condition is absent, the court will dismiss the claim.

A parent who has reached pension age, or a person with a disability that prevents them from working and supporting themselves, is incapacitated. Pension age or disability by itself does not give a right to payments: the court checks whether the parent is deprived of sufficient means of subsistence.

Need means a lack of income and property for essential expenses. The court takes into account the pension, other receipts, family composition, health and the cost of treatment, comparing this with the position of each child.

• The parent has reached pension age or has a disability that prevents them from working
• The parent's income and property are insufficient for necessary expenses
• The parent did not evade raising the children and has not been deprived of parental rights
• The adult child is able to work and is capable of providing material assistance

Child support for a father and child support for a mother: there is no difference in approach

Under the Code on Marriage and Family, children are obliged to maintain their incapacitated parents in need. Gender does not matter: child support for a father is recovered in the same way as child support for a mother. The ground is one — the incapacity and need of the parent, not their gender and not cohabitation with any of the children.

Incapacity — pension age or disability. Need — a lack of own income and property for a decent standard of living. Both conditions are checked simultaneously, on the basis of evidence.

The obligation is borne by all adult children able to work. The court takes into account the material and family situation of the parties: income, dependants, health. Child support is set in shares or in a fixed sum of money.

If a parent was deprived of parental rights or evaded maintaining a child, the court may release the children from the obligation, so their past conduct is also examined.

• The degree of kinship does not matter: a son and a daughter are equally liable.
• The parent's incapacity for work: age or disability.
• Need: income and property are insufficient for maintenance.
• The child's capacity for work and majority at the time of application.
• Possible release where the parent's conduct has been unworthy.
• The court takes into account the family and financial situation of both parties.

The criteria are the same for the father and the mother; the difference lies only in the evidence in a particular case.

Maintenance for a pensioner and maintenance for elderly parents

Retirement or advanced age in itself does not give a parent the right to maintenance from their children. The obligation of adult children to support their parents arises where the parent is both unable to work and in need.

Inability to work is determined not by pension status but by state of health and loss of the ability to work. A working pensioner is, as a general rule, not recognised as unable to work. The ground for maintenance on account of old age is a permanent loss of the ability to work, confirmed by medical documents.

Need means that the parent's pension, benefits and other income are insufficient to maintain a minimum necessary standard of living. The court assesses the parent's financial position and each child's financial position separately; where there are several children, it may determine the share of each.

• reaching pension age is not in itself a ground;
• a permanent loss of the ability to work, confirmed by documents, is required;
• need means that the parent's own income is insufficient;
• the court takes into account the financial and family position of each child;
• the form of recovery is a fixed sum of money or a share of earnings;
• the amount of maintenance for elderly parents is determined by the court taking all circumstances into account.

Maintenance for a parent with a disability and maintenance for pensioner parents

The key criterion under Article 145 of the Code on Marriage (Matrimony) and Family is the parent's inability to work and their need for financial assistance. Disability of the first or second group means a permanent loss of the ability to work and is confirmed by a medical and social expert examination report. Therefore, in a claim for maintenance for a parent with a disability, the court proceeds on the basis that inability to work has already been proved by documents and examines only the question of need in addition.

Pensioner status by age does not constitute inability to work: pension age gives the right to payments but does not deprive a person of the ability to support themselves. Maintenance for pensioner parents is recovered where illness, disability or the absence of sufficient income is added to age.

The amount of maintenance for parents: how the court determines the sum

For maintenance for parents, a fixed share of income does not apply: the rule on shares of earnings is established for the support of minor children. Maintenance for the support of parents is recovered in a fixed sum of money, which the court determines on the basis of the financial and family position of both parties. This makes it possible to take into account how much the parent actually needs and what means the child has.

The law does not provide for a single percentage of income: the court sets the amount individually. The fixed sum is tied to the recipient's needs and retains its purchasing power through periodic indexation, so in practice the question of percentages is not resolved by a template.

• the parent's financial position: income, property, need for assistance;
• the parent's family position: the presence of other children, a spouse, other persons liable;
• the financial and family situation of each child: earnings, dependants, credit obligations;
• the parent's state of health and the need for outside care or treatment;
• the presence of other able-bodied adult children obliged to maintain the parent;
• preserving the purchasing power of maintenance through indexation of the fixed sum.

The court looks not at the fact of kinship itself, but at the parent's need and the financial situation of each of the children — without these two conditions the claim will not be satisfied.

Comparison: maintenance for parents and maintenance for a child

Maintenance for parents and for a child are governed by the same code, but differ in nature. The children's debt to an incapacitated parent in need is a reciprocal family-law obligation, while the parent's obligation to a child stems from caring for a minor. For parents, the ground does not arise automatically: proven incapacity and need are required, as is the absence of evasion of parental duties in the past.

The procedure depends on the parties' consent. Maintenance for parents is paid under a notarial agreement or recovered in court, which examines the financial and family situation of the parties, other children and recipients of maintenance. Maintenance for a child is awarded on a share-of-income basis and does not require proof of the recipient's need.

• Ground: the parent's incapacity and need versus kinship with a minor.
• Condition: the absence of evasion by the parent of their duties in the past.
• Procedure: a notarial agreement or court recovery in both cases.
• Form: a fixed sum for parents, shares of income for a child.
• Assessment: the court evaluates the income and family situation of both parties.
• Circle of recipients: a specific parent versus each minor.

The table is indicative only; the specific terms are determined by the case materials.

Recovery of maintenance for parents through the court

Recovery of maintenance for parents begins with an agreement: a parent and an adult able-bodied child may conclude a notarised maintenance agreement specifying the amount, procedure and time limits. If no agreement is reached, the dispute is resolved by the court under the rules of civil proceedings.

The claim requires documents on two circumstances: the parent's incapacity for work and their need — a medical and social expert examination report on disability, information on income and pension, expenses for treatment, utility payments and other evidence of insufficient funds. Documents on the defendant's financial and family situation are also attached: income statements, family composition, dependants.

• a medical and social expert examination report establishing disability and the degree of loss of working capacity
• a statement of the amount of pension and other social payments
• documents on expenses for treatment, medicines, medical devices and care
• information on utility payments and other mandatory expenses
• documents on family composition and the absence of other persons obliged to maintain the parent
• statements of the defendant's income and property, their family composition and existing dependants

A maintenance agreement for parents instead of court

Adult able-bodied children may pay maintenance to parents not only by a court decision but also voluntarily, by concluding a maintenance agreement. Such a document allows the parties to determine the amount of maintenance, the procedure and frequency of payments, and indexation themselves. Notarisation of the agreement gives it the force of an enforcement document, so no court recovery procedure is required.

An agreement on the maintenance of parents is concluded between the payer and the recipient or their representatives with duly executed authority. The terms of payment of maintenance to parents may not worsen the position of an incapacitated parent in need compared with the requirements of the law. If the parent is legally incapable, a guardian acts on their behalf. The document is drawn up in writing and certified by a notary; failure to comply with the form entails invalidity.

• Parties: the payer and the recipient or their legal representatives.
• Form: written, mandatory notarisation.
• Amount and method: a fixed sum, shares, property or another form of maintenance.
• Indexation: the procedure is fixed by the parties in the text of the agreement.
• Non-performance: the document is presented to the court enforcement officer.
• Amendment and termination: by agreement of the parties or by court order.

Maintenance for an adult parent: when a son or daughter is released

Maintenance for parents is recovered from able-bodied adult children, but the obligation is not unconditional. The court checks whether the parent performed their duties and the position of the child. If the parent has been deprived of parental rights, the claim is, as a general rule, not satisfied.

Release or reduction is possible if the parent evaded maintaining the child: did not pay maintenance, did not take part in upbringing, hid income. This is confirmed by court acts and statements of arrears. The court may refuse entirely or reduce the amount of maintenance.

A separate ground is the condition of the child. If the son or daughter is unable to work, is disabled, or has a low income, the court reduces the payment or refuses the claim. Maintenance is not awarded automatically; the case is decided on the materials.

The court assesses the financial and family situation of both parties and other interests deserving attention.

• deprivation of the parent of parental rights;
• evasion by the parent of maintaining and bringing up the child;
• incapacity for work of the son or daughter;
• low income of the child that does not allow them to support themselves;
• the child having other dependants and obligations;
• unworthy behaviour of the parent in the family.

Maintenance where parental rights have been deprived: the obligation remains

Deprivation of parental rights does not terminate the family-law link between parent and child and does not cancel the obligation of adult children to maintain a parent who is unable to work and in need. Maintenance is recovered on the general grounds: the parent is entitled to claim maintenance through the court if they are themselves in need and unable to work. The court takes deprivation of rights into account as a circumstance, but not as an automatic release from maintenance.

A child may be released from maintaining a parent if that parent evaded maintaining the children or did not take part in their upbringing. This does not depend on deprivation of rights. Release does not terminate kinship and does not deprive the parent of other rights, except those lost by law. The court assesses the parent's behaviour and their attitude towards the children.

Recovery of maintenance from a debtor's parents: what is important to know

Recovery of maintenance from a debtor's parents is possible if the child themselves pays maintenance to parents: the parent is in need of maintenance, has recovered it through the court, and the child has outstanding obligations to other claimants.

Maintenance for parents is not replaced by other debts: under the law of the Republic of Kazakhstan it is satisfied first, so where the child's income or property is insufficient, sums for the parent's maintenance are withheld before payments under most other enforcement documents. The order of settlements changes, but the child's obligations under other proceedings remain; the court enforcement officer must take this into account and is not entitled to direct all withholdings to a single claimant where there are priority claims. If the child does not work or hides income, recovery is directed at property, and the arrears accumulate.

• Order of recovery: maintenance for a parent's support is paid as a priority before most other debts of the child.
• Withholding from income: the court enforcement officer directs recovery at earnings and other income, observing the statutory limits on withholdings.
• Recovery against property: where income is insufficient, recovery may be directed at the property of the child-debtor.
• Accumulation of arrears: if the child evades payments, the maintenance debt grows and is recovered subsequently.
• Account of other claimants: the existence of other enforcement proceedings does not cancel the obligation to maintain the parent, but affects the order of payments.
• Court challenge: the parent's need and the child's financial situation may be subject to review in court.