Alimony obligations of children towards parents

In accordance with Article 32 of the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus, children are obliged to care for their parents, as well as for persons replacing them, and to provide them with assistance.

The specified legal relations are regulated by Articles 100-103 of the Code of the Republic of Belarus on Marriage and Family.

The maintenance of disabled parents in need of assistance is the duty of their adult able-bodied children. If able-bodied children who have reached the age of majority refuse to provide the necessary material assistance to their disabled parents in need, the latter may seek alimony through court proceedings.

Citizens who have reached retirement age, as well as disabled persons of Group I and II, are considered disabled.

Disabled persons who do not have sufficient means of subsistence, who are unable to meet vital needs for food, clothing, housing, and medical care with the help of assigned pensions, benefits, as well as their property and other income, are recognized as being in need of assistance. The fact of the presence or absence of need is established by the court in each specific case, taking into account all circumstances.

The grounds for releasing children from the obligation to support parents and reimburse care costs are the court-established fact of parents evading the performance of their parental duties; deprivation of parental rights of the said parent.

The amount of alimony collected from each child for the maintenance of their needy disabled parents is determined by the court in a fixed monetary amount or in an amount corresponding to a certain number of base units, payable monthly, based on the material and family situation of the parents and each of the children. When determining this amount, the court takes into account all adult children of the said parent, regardless of whether the claim is made against all children or only against one or more of them.

If the material or family situation of needy disabled parents or adult able-bodied children paying alimony for them changes, the court has the right to

For example, S. filed a lawsuit in court, stating that he was hospitalized with a stroke, underwent prolonged inpatient and outpatient treatment. Subsequently, he was granted disability group I due to the illness, recognized as incapacitated and in need of constant external assistance and care. Currently, his speech and motor skills have not fully recovered, and his sister provides him with care.

His sole source of income is disability pension. This amount is insufficient to cover his needs for food, clothing, medications, and medical services. His sons, A. and K., do not communicate with him and provided no assistance during his treatment. Therefore, he requested that they be ordered to pay him alimony in the amount of five base units monthly each.

During the court proceedings, the sons explained that their father left their mother several years ago and started a new family, after which they ceased communication with him. In their childhood, their father did not properly support them and frequently changed jobs. Currently, they have low incomes and must support their own families. For instance, one son has two minor children, and his wife is on childcare leave until the age of 3; the other son pays child support and has loan obligations.

The court established that A. and K. do not care for their father and do not provide him with assistance. At the same time, the plaintiff has not been deprived of parental rights and requires additional expenses due to his incapacity, including for medications, as confirmed by medical certificates from the polyclinic. The defendants have not provided reliable evidence confirming the father's evasion of parental duties towards A. and K.

Having analyzed the financial situation of the parties, the court concluded that there were grounds for collecting alimony to support the plaintiff and, taking into account the defendants' incomes, ordered payment of one

of the base amount monthly from each of the sons.

Prosecutor of the Department for Supervision
of Compliance with the Law of Judicial
Decisions in Civil Cases
Irina Tavtyn