Legal Aspects Regarding Adult Children
In recent years, there have been some cases of adult children who have taken their parents to court to demand alimony payments. There have also been reverse cases of parents who have gone to justice for the same reason: to ask for the extinction of the obligation to pay alimony to their adult children. Let’s explore the legal aspects of adult children together.
These rather extreme situations are the reflection of a new world reality from which Italy is not exempt. It concerns the appearance of the so-called “kept”: adult children who do not work or study. The phenomenon is the result of an economic reality that makes it increasingly difficult for children to leave their parents’ home and become independent.
This type of situation means that parents have to support them financially longer and beyond the age of majority. In this article, we will talk about the legal aspects regarding adult children.
Legal aspects regarding adult children
The Italian Constitution establishes the obligation for parents to provide assistance of all kinds to children generated both within and outside marriage, up to the age of 18 and in other cases established by law.
As regards parental rights, the Italian civil code establishes that non-emancipated minors are subject to the parental authority of their parents. Parental responsibility is understood to mean the responsibility of parents to behave always thinking of the supreme interest of the children.
The same article states that parental authority includes certain rights and duties. Parents, for example, have the obligation to watch over their children, keep them company, feed them, educate them and provide them with comprehensive training.
In the event of a parental separation or divorce, a judge will determine each parent’s contribution to meeting these needs known as alimony.
Parental authority and adult children
When children turn 18, parental authority or parental protection over them ends. That is, the set of rights and duties that parents have over their minor children, in a personal and patrimonial sense, comes to an end.
However, there are exceptions. One of these occurs in the case of legally emancipated children: the parental authority ends at the moment of emancipation, even if the children are still minors. It can also happen that the parental authority extends beyond the age of 18, in the event that the children have been declared disabled.
Until when are alimony compulsory?
The law establishes the age of majority as a limit to the exercise of parental authority but, in practice, parents continue to have many obligations towards their children, even after that age. In reality, the obligation of parents to provide food, care and protection for their children ends when they are able to achieve economic independence.
Currently, young people find it very difficult to become independent and leave their parents’ home, so they continue to live with them much longer. Then the parental obligation extends well beyond the age of 18.
This obligation is protected by law. This means that an adult child who still lives with his parents and has not yet achieved economic independence can claim in court if his parents no longer want to support him.
In which cases can adult children request alimony from their parents?
Legislation states that adult children continue to maintain their right to maintenance if they remain in need. However, there are some elements that should be considered.
On the one hand, this situation of necessity should not be attributable to the adult child. That is, this need should not be the product of the child’s own irresponsible behavior.
If there are disputes that arise before the courts, the judges will consider whether the adult children have actively sought work or are still studying. For a judge to determine that an adult child is still entitled to alimony from his parents, the child must prove that he has done everything possible to overcome his precarious situation.
