the responsibilities of the grandparents in Poland

Hi all,

please, can anyone help with this problem...

I have an English friend who's son had a baby with a Polish woman. The couple have now split up and the child lives with its mother in Poland. The child's mother is trying to take the grandmother to court in England because she says the son does not supply enough child support and she is trying to get my friend, the grandmother, to pay extra money forthe child's welfare. My friend, obviously elderly, is very worried and stressed as she has been threatened with arrest should she not, for instance, turn up ata court hearing (in England).

Can I ask the forum, is it the legal responsibility of the paternal grandparent in Poland to pay money, if requested, for the child's upkeep.

And secondly, can this law in Poland be used in England under some European edict?

Thanks for any answers you can provide!

This is a situation where laws of two countries are involved. This complicates matters as the laws are likely different. Lermme tell you then, how Polish law approaches the issue.

Grandparents have little rights to the children. They are considered favorably when no closer relatives are available to provide care. Normally, they are also under no obligation to provide for the child in the form of alimony if there is someone else who can.

If the father is delinquent but he is an independent adult with little to no income, then tough luck. Grandparents are off the hook. When the father is under financial umbrella of the grandparents then they can be obliged to pay the alimony.

In general the courts is in a position to meander through bloodlines as long as it takes them to find someone who could be reasonably charged with the responsibility. The benefit of the child is a priority then.

No idea how that would work on the EU scale.

thanks z_darius, the most vital point from that was if the son is under the financial umbrella of his parents, then they can be obliged to pay. You see, i'm sure it doesn't happen like that in the UK, so the thing is, as you say, how does one country's laws in the EU affect or impinge on another member state?

Not sure if this helps, but my friend was married to a Greek guy and she couldn't get a red cent off him when they divorced because he was in Greece and she was in the UK, Greece are in the EU.

Hope this helps.