Maintenance dispute: student seeks over €1,000 a month, father offers €210

A child's financial needs do not always end at the age of 18. A student took his father to court to seek maintenance payments and submitted a detailed estimate of his everyday living costs.

According to that estimate, the young man's monthly expenses exceed one thousand euros. The father, who works as a car mechanic and is described as well paid, was willing to pay only €210 a month.

Official pay versus real ability to pay

The father officially receives the minimum wage. During the court proceedings, however, it emerged that he had bought a car for €10,000. That fact casts doubt on whether the minimum wage reflects his true financial means. The court looked not only at the family situation but also at the parent's actual ability to pay.

The available information does not state what the court finally decided or what maintenance amount was set.