Support payments in favour of legal age and emancipated children : review of legal regulation,requirements and expiry of legal duty

Abstract

The aim of this essay is to analyze child support payments in favor of legal age and emancipated children, according to the provisions of Article 93, second paragraph of Civil Code –as worded in Law 11/1990 of October 15th, about Civil Code reform implementing non-discrimination because of sex principle–. This reform has tried to give a solution to the problematic issues caused by the previous legal regime, limited to minor children. This paragraph –that hasn’t adapted the Civil Code to non-discrimination because of sex principle–, introduces a procedural regulation that allow to fix child support payments jointly with complementary measures on matrimonial trials. We will study the demanding requirements to claim these payments, going deep in those cases in which the payment is maintained because of the combination of legal requirements, according to jurisprudence in favor of establish a time limit to its validity if certain circumstances occur. We also deepen on Article 146 Civil Code and the amount of payment, having in mind that this amount will be fixed depending on child needs and the proportion in which the liable parties must contribute. We will emphasize the change introduced by the Supreme Court about who has to be part of matrimonial trials, by virtue of which the sole authorized to claim the payment in favor of legal age children is the parent who live with them. Finally, we will consider some of the assumptions in which the expiry of legal age child support payments can occur.