Slovak Financial Law News 2005
The fulfillment of maintenance duty of parents to their children is a legally stipulated duty which is to be observed until children are able to sustain a living on their own. Both parents contribute to the subsistence of their children as their abilities, possibilities and property circumstances allow. The new legal regulation stipulates the minimum scope of alimony of a parent to the child in the amount of 30 per cent of the subsistence minimum for an unattended minor or an unattended child under the Act on Subsistence Minimum. Alimony takes precedence over other expenses of the parents. In the assessment of the abilities, possibilities and property circumstances of an obliged parent, the court will not take into account expenses which the parent does not essentially need to make. In the case that a parent earns income from an activity other than dependant activities subject to income tax, the court will not consider non-essential expenses or the expenses which do not need to
be made within such scope in connection with such activity and assess the abilities and possibilities of the obliged person according to the income which the obliged person would have achieved if it had not made such expenses.
The Act regulates the institute of so-called ``hoarding of alimony''. The court may decide on the obligation to deposit a monetary amount for purposes of alimony which will be due in the future to a specific account established in favour of the minor by the parent who maintains personal care for the child.
Alimony is paid in regular repeated amounts always due for the following month in advance. The right to alimony is not statute-barred. However, it may be acknowledged only as of the day of commencement of a court hearing. Alimony for a minor may be acknowledged for a period of maximum three years backwards from the day of the commencement of the hearing.
The Act further regulates the maintenance obligation of parents towards children, children towards parents, maintenance obligation among other relatives, spouses, contribution to the subsistence of a divorced husband/wife and settlement of certain expenses to a single mother.
© Chechova & Partners (Bratislava)
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