Maintenance obligations towards adult children in the Republic of Slovenia

Suzana Kraljić, Katja Drnovšek

In the Republic of Slovenia, parents have a general obligation to maintain their children until they reach the age of majority (i.e., until they are 18 years old) by providing, in accordance with their capacities, the conditions necessary for the child’s development. This obligation is extended if the child, who has already reached the age of majority, remains enrolled in secondary or higher education, but not indefinitely. The article will examine the conditions under which the maintenance obligation applies even towards adult children and highlight the differences between the new Family Code (applicable since 2019) and previous legislation. Special attention will be paid to the so-called above-standard maintenance payments, which can reach thousands of euros and are usually granted for the benefit of adult children living and studying abroad. With the ever-expanding opportunities for obtaining education all over the world, it is not surprising that such cases, which have been appearing in the recent case law of Slovenian courts, are becoming somewhat controversial and are opening new questions of whether there should be a limit to the needs of adult children that are taken into account in the calculation of maintenance.