Judgment 586/2022 (Child Custody, Support and Visitation)

Our client, the mother of a child who was a minor at the time, brought an action against the father with requests; a) to be entrusted with the custody of the child, b) the hours of contact between the child and the father to be determined, and c) (the father) to pay her monthly support to cover the child's living expenses.

In the case below, handled by our law firm, an unemployed mother, whose marital cohabitation with her husband was ended in 2013, lived in a rented house with her child. The Court entrusted the sole custody of the child to the mother, calculated the child's monthly necessary costs at 550,00€ and ordered the defendant to pay the sum of 300,00€ per month as maintenance for their child until he reached the age of majority, and finally rejected the mother's request for free contact between the father and the child as inadmissible for lack of standing in the act, taking the view that, in the present case, only the father (who does not have custody) is entitled to apply for contact with the child.

Our firm determined the needs of the child to be higher than the above amount, in the amount of approximately 800,00€ per month, as the child attended tutoring classes in order to learn a foreign language and also classes with respect to his preparation for admission into higher education. However, the amount of 550,00€ per month to which the needs of the child were ultimately determined by the Court, was in line with what was to be expected. In addition, the amount of 300,00€ that the father was ordered to pay in court was more than the amount that he had intended to pay.

Family law is amongst the fields of expertise of our firm. We would be happy to assist you in your family affairs and will protect your rights.

[Extract from Court Ruling]

From the above proven facts, it then follows that based on the needs of the child, as they arise from the circumstances of his life, and in particular with respect to his needs for clothing, maintenance, education, medical monitoring, entertainment and general living costs, which are co-defined by the living conditions and the financial power of his parents, the maintenance required for such purposes amounts to 550,00€ per month, starting from the pursuing date of the action. This amount also includes the burden of the operating costs of his mother's residence resulting from his cohabitation with the latter (heating, electric lighting, water supply, telephone use, etc.), as well as the services valued in cash, related to his care - services which he requires for his upbringing and which are provided to him by his mother. On the basis of the financial power of his parents, correlated with each other, which take into account not only their income, but also their property, as well as the value of the personal services that the mother provides for her child, the defendant is to bear a part of the maintenance of the child in the amount of 300,00€, whilst the remaining amount of 250,00€ per month, which is necessary for his maintenance, is already covered by the plaintiff, his mother, by offering mainly her personal services in his upbringing and other benefits in relation to their cohabitation, but also by providing for her child in cash, from the aforementioned income, as having, by law, her child’s maintenance obligation.

FOR THESE REASONS - THE COURT OF JUSTICE

PARTIALLY ACCEPTS the action.

ENTRUSTS the plaintiff exclusively with the exercise of custody of her child ......

ORDERS against the defendant, in case of obstruction of the application of the above provision, personal detention for ten (10) days and a fine of five hundred euros (500,00€) in favor of the plaintiff.

OBLIGES the defendant to pay to the plaintiff, in her capacity as the holder of sole custody of her child ..... and on behalf of the latter, as a contribution for his regular cash maintenance, the amount of three hundred euros (300,00€) per month, from the day following the pursuing of the action and until his coming of age, within the first five days of each month, with the statutory interest from the late payment of each monthly installment and until the payment.