Lithuanian court says father must support adult healthy daughter

 

 

Get married, have children, husband and state will support your family.

 

State Support & Family Policies: Lithuania has a universal child benefit system for children under 18 (or up to 23 if in education). The state also provides one-time child benefits (€814 in 2026), and, for families with three or more children, low-income families, or those with disabled children, additional monthly support.

Marriage and Support: While the state provides benefits, there is no legal obligation for the "state" to support an adult child simply because they are married or have children. However, the state does provide benefits for the children of that adult child.

 

“A girl who emigrated to the United Kingdom with her mother and is currently studying at the University of London has sued her father – the 20-year-old emigrant stated that she incurs almost 1.6 thousand British pounds sterling (GBP) per month in expenses, therefore she demanded that he contribute to her maintenance.

 

“I need the amount per month – 1,593 GBP (1,847 EUR), – the girl studying in the field of Education Studies, Bachelor of Arts, who filed the claim, stated to the court. – This amount includes housing expenses – 250 GBP, food – 110 GBP, hygiene products – 262 GBP, clothing and footwear – 119 GBP, healthcare – 15 GBP, education – 500 GBP, leisure – 73 GBP, fuel and public transport expenses – 164 GBP, holiday expenses – 100 GBP. Maintenance provided by the mother – 920 GBP.”

 

The girl, who emigrated from Lithuania to the United Kingdom almost 10 years ago, said that she is very busy with her studies, striving for the best possible education, and therefore "has neither the obligation nor the free time to work extra and receive any income to support herself."

 

“I have no property or income of my own and I do not work, my mother covers and agrees to cover part of my needs, but this does not mean that she is obliged to provide maintenance for herself and for my father, therefore it is necessary to award at least 600 euros per month in my favor,” the girl indicated in the lawsuit that her parents have been divorced for a long time, therefore they do not have any joint and several obligations. “After becoming an adult, my needs only increased, because I need more money to purchase adult clothes, shoes, eat better, pay for public transport to the university and for lunch during my stay at the university, contribute to housing rent, pay for driving courses, purchase missing furniture for the room I use, update my computer, etc..”

 

Until she reached adulthood, her father allocated 400 euros per month for her daughter’s maintenance, therefore, as the girl noted, he already recognized that living in the United Kingdom required more money for living than in Lithuania.

 

“On the day of filing the claim, the amount of EUR 400 would have already amounted to EUR 573 due to constant annual indexation – which in turn means that my father recognized that such a maintenance amount was necessary, and moreover, when I started studying at a higher education institution in London, it probably did not decrease, but only increased – after I became a full-time student who had to study well and diligently,” the Lithuanian citizen emphasized.

 

Her father does not currently live in Lithuania, he has also emigrated, only not to the United Kingdom, but to Sweden. Here he has his own business – the company founded by his husband operates in the fields of construction, building construction, real estate renovation, craft assistance, kitchen renovation and related activities.

 

"My father lives in a country with a higher income, where he can earn much more than the minimum income in Lithuania," the girl who filed the lawsuit against her father noted that she lives in an apartment rented by her mother, who has been unable to work for a long time due to a serious injury she suffered, receiving only disability benefits from the UK government.

 

She also emphasized that she has not yet found a job and has not looked for a job because she has to study and "is not required by law to find a job."

 

“My legitimate interest is to complete all the assignments, homework and internships received during my studies extremely well, so that this would become a solid foundation for my future career, and if I were to work while studying, my academic results would significantly deteriorate and there would be a risk of failing the entrance exams altogether,” the emigrant told the court. “This would also lead to the loss of my right to maintenance/support, because I would no longer be able to continue my studies, and only an adult child who is doing well in higher education is guaranteed the right to demand support from her parents or one of them.”

 

At that time, the father of the adult daughter, who was brought as a defendant, indicated that he could not give her as much money as she requested – the husband said that he did not have such opportunities and could pay her 200 GBP (232 EUR) per month, because he earns 2.5 thousand EUR per month and has creditor obligations.

 

The court, which examined the dispute between the daughter and the father regarding maintenance, decided to partially satisfy the claim.

 

According to the court, the Civil Code provides that parents, if they have the opportunity, must support their children who have reached the age of majority, who are studying according to the secondary education program or according to the formal vocational training program for acquiring the first qualification or are studying at a higher education institution according to the full-time study program and are not older than 24 years of age and who need material support, taking into account the financial situation of the children who have reached the age of majority, their income, the possibility of earning an income themselves and other important circumstances. However, parents are not obliged to support children who have reached the age of majority and are not pursuing their first higher education or professional qualification.

 

In addition, the court indicated that the law of equality of parental authority is enshrined in the Constitution, which means that the rights and obligations of parents to children are equal, therefore, parents should support their adult child in equal shares, except in cases where one of the parents is in a worse financial situation than the other.

 

The court in this case found that the father has an obligation to provide support to his daughter who has reached the age of majority, and moreover, he himself acknowledged that he had this obligation - he indicated that he agrees to provide support to her.

 

According to the judges, although the girl's father stated that his property and financial situation is difficult due to debts, he did not provide any evidence to support this.

 

The court, speaking on the amount of support to be awarded to a child who has reached the age of majority, indicated that a reasonable and sufficient amount necessary to live and meet his needs is EUR 300.

 

“Although the applicant is a full-time student, which makes it difficult to find employment, this does not mean that she does not have any opportunities to work part-time or remotely after her studies, and she did not prove that she tried to find work (in the evenings or on weekends),” the judges stated.

 

In their assessment, the demands of an adult to cover the costs of leisure or beauty products should be considered unreasonable and unrelated to the obligation to support adult children in school – the adult should take care of meeting such unnecessary needs himself or herself or should refuse them until he or she is able to finance them independently.

 

“The circumstance indicated by the applicant that the mother provides support of GBP 920 per month is not substantiated by the evidence submitted to the case; the applicant did not provide any bank statements, checks or other data that would allow for a decision on the specific actual amount of the needs (i.e., that it is GBP 1,593),” the decision emphasizes.

 

According to the court, when deciding on the issue of maintenance of an adult child, not only the actual income of the adult child must be assessed, but also the use of reasonable opportunities to obtain it. The mere fact that parents have the financial ability to maintain an adult child does not mean that, if this person does not make an effort to provide for the child's needs on their own, the parents have the same obligation to maintain the child as if the child were a minor.

 

“It is common knowledge that it is difficult for a full-time student to combine studies with work. Every young person has a legitimate interest in pursuing education and has the right to focus on studies, not work. Therefore, the goal of pursuing education must be supported, and this duty falls primarily on parents, who must create conditions for a young person to obtain an education,” the judges emphasized. “Although full-time studies make employment opportunities more difficult, this does not mean that the applicant has no opportunities to work part-time or remotely after graduation.”

 

According to the judges, during the hearing of the case, the emigrant did not even prove that she had tried to find work (in the evenings or on weekends), and the case also did not provide data on the intensity and schedule of her studies, which could confirm the lack of opportunities to find work.

 

“The plaintiff also did not substantiate in any way that she does not have the opportunity to find seasonal work during the holidays and thus contribute to meeting her needs,” the panel chaired by Judge Jorūnė Pukinskienė stated.

 

However, the court emphasized that the girl, who requested support from her father, is not obliged to provide detailed evidence to substantiate her needs: “She should not provide detailed evidence of basic needs related to food and clothing, but being of legal age and making a claim to one of her parents for support, she should provide specific evidence to substantiate the costs of transportation, learning aids and the learning process, as well as the fact and amount of other specific needs.”

 

According to the panel of judges, the student indicated in her claim that her mother provides her with monthly support of GBP 920, but this is not substantiated by the evidence submitted to the case.

 

“Without questioning this fact, the plaintiff did not indicate or prove from what sources she receives the remaining 673 GBP per month, if, as the plaintiff herself indicates, the actual expenses she incurs to meet all necessary needs are 1,593 GBP,” the court ruled that the student did not prove that the amount necessary to meet her actual needs is almost 1.6 thousand GBP.

 

According to the panel of judges, the plaintiff who filed the claim “did not exhaust all reasonable opportunities to provide herself with the necessary funds, did not justify the rejection of such opportunities,” therefore, guided by the principles of justice, fairness and reasonableness, it should be decided that her father will have to provide her with 300 EUR in material support every month until 2026. June 12, while she studies. In addition, the father was ordered to pay arrears of 5.4 thousand EUR.”