Is there a legal requirement for us to support aging parents in Poland?

this is a strange question I know but i am receiving letters from my father in poland who i have had no contact with for 30 years demanding i send him money and saying that i am legally required to support him. Has anyone ever heard of such a thing or is he lying? thankyou for you advice.

Simple answer, no.

Yes - there is an obligation to do so.

There is a LEGAL obligation to do so? Really?

So someone thinks no, someone else thinks yes - there can only be one answer in law - does anyone know for sure?

It's been mentioned on here elsewhere - there is a provision within Polish law where the children can be held responsible for looking after the parents

pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alimenty

The father, who once tormented the family. The mother, whose parental rights are limited. Now - the old, the sick - they are demanding money from adult children unseen for years. Social welfare and the courts are tough: you have to pay.

Polityka, in Polish:


polityka.pl/spoleczenstwo/artykuly/1518414,1,dzieci-placa-alimenty-rodzicom.read

Interesting question - if the parents have assets (ie, a nice big flat in a city centre location, like many) - can they be made to sell the flat to support themselves?

Delphi is correct, there is such a legal obligation (Kodeks Rodzinny, Art. 128 and Art. 133 § 2). Naturally, if the father wants to enforce it, he will need to go to court. If he was a non-supportive parent, not present in your life, then the court will probably laugh at him.

Yes. There have been some well publicised cases over the years. Including one about a woman living in a small flat with teenage kids who had to send money to her mother who lived in a 300sqm house.

How is this enforceable if the op is in the us?

The usual way - they issue a warrant which means the OP would be arrested should they return. Prior to this there would need to be a court case which might be stressful and perhaps costly for the OP's father and which the OP could contest.

Would you honestly trust the Polish court to actually make the right decision?


Worth pointing out that it would also be enforceable through the SIS - Schengen Information System. So they'd be at risk of arrest when crossing any Schengen frontier, not just the Polish one.

This is scary stuff! Seems fundamentally flawed as no loving, caring parent is likely enforce this on a son / daughter who is in no position to support them financially leaving it as a tool for uncaring / estranged / malicious individuals to extort money and ruin the lives of children they have contributed nothing to.

What is really scary, that there are human beings, who need the court order to take care for theirs parents.

Kondzior, why should i contribute ANYTHING for my father who left my mother when i was 6 months old and NEVER contributed anything to my upbringing? I would fight any court order imposed on me, and if i decided to contribute anything this would only be out of mercy if mercy he would ask for. Call me cruel, but my father saw me ONCE since he left my mother and that was when I was very young so can't even remember. On the other hand I would do anything to support my mom and need no court order for that.

As I say - depends who your parents are. If you were abused and abandoned as a child and if you are now struggling to make a living abroad is it fair or right that a court can force you to hand everything you have worked for to a complete stranger who has contributed absolutely nothing to your welfare or your life?

At the end of the day parents are just people, there are good and bad - naturally the children of good parents are inclined to support them in any way that they can but the children of the bad should not be forced to. IMHO.

He is still your father, nothing changes that. Father is a father, I don't know how to put it in English.

that's a progressive open minded sympathetic and fair view - (don't know how to do sarcasm in english).

You put it clear enough, but my father was never father to me. He was just a male who impregnated my mom by accident. To me that does not make him a father in a moral way.

So he was not the great human being. Does it mean, you have be just like him?

No, but I want to hear "I'm sorry, I messed up. I need you my child". Without this any court order won't do.

Merged:

Laws on children taking care of their parents financially in Poland?

My mother who I haven't seen in over 30 years is going to be taking me to court in Poland for financial support. What are the laws concerning this?

That's the law in Poland, it is your responsibility to take care of your family. I am surprised it has taken this.

Man up ,step up, take care of your mother.

Hmm man up huh. Well since you have no clue about my situation who are you to talk kid. First off my mother has never been in my life and never womened up to take care of mer when I was a kid. I love people like you kid always with the opinions and judgement. Sorry but I take care of my aunt who was a mother to me but Im not going to take care of this women. So take your silly advise and give it to someone who cares.

That has nothing to do with it, she brought you into this world and if you don't thank her for it maybe your wife and kids would, the payments are not a great deal, money wise, you can at least feel good about it even if she is estranged from you.


When you are older and wiser and it's too late, that might come back to haunt you, take it from me (a kid) who has been around a very long time.

Ok so the law states you have a responsibility to take care of your mother in the event of hardship but there are some get outs.

1. If you have been estranged from her for a long period you can claim in court no relationship and it will be upto the judge to decide. I wouldn't hold out much hope here as generally they will find in the parent's favour.

2. In order for the Polish court to make a decision on the amount you wish to pay, they must assess your income and they have no power to collect it in a foriegn country so you can basically just not send any details.

3. If you go down the I don't want to pay route though you will almost certainly forfiet any inheritance due if this is something you want it might be worth making a small payment .

4. The payment has to be shared equally between all siblings based on their ability to pay so if you have some rich brothers and sisters time to talk to them.

That's about it but basically they can't enforce this law in another country. So relax, Just don't move to Poland