What should you do if the parent obliged to pay monthly child maintenance hides their real income and tells the court they cannot pay maintenance of the amount the children need?
Maintenance is most often awarded as periodic monthly payments. If the debtor is solvent, this form of maintenance secures fixed monthly sums for the child’s upkeep and so guarantees that the child’s everyday needs (food, clothing, housing, healthcare, education, leisure and so on) are met. This form of maintenance is usually applied where the child’s father or mother has a regular income (salary, pension, benefits and so on). Where the court finds that the parent’s income is insufficient to perform the maintenance obligation properly, it awards maintenance in other forms: a lump sum of money, or immovable or movable property (ruling of the Kaunas Regional Court of 19 April 2022 in civil case No. e2A-452-324/2022).
Awarding maintenance as a specific sum of money (which can be recovered from the debtor’s assets) or as property closes the door on the debtor abusing the process and avoiding maintenance of the proper amount for the children. Naturally, every situation is individual, so the solution should depend on the specific factual circumstances of your own case.
