{"id":2068,"date":"2011-02-13T17:26:30","date_gmt":"2011-02-13T17:26:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/rechtsanwaltsblog\/?p=104"},"modified":"2025-10-28T10:24:22","modified_gmt":"2025-10-28T10:24:22","slug":"elternunterhalt-urteil-des-bgh-zur-leistungsfahigkeit-beim-elternunterhalt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/en\/parental-maintenance-judgement-of-the-bgh-on-the-ability-to-pay-parental-maintenance\/","title":{"rendered":"Parental maintenance: judgement of the BGH on the ability to pay parental maintenance"},"content":{"rendered":"

Federal Court of Justice, 28 July 2010, Ref.: XII ZR 140\/07<\/strong><\/p>\n

According to \u00a7 1601 BGB, relatives in a direct line are obliged to support each other. The connecting factor for the children's maintenance obligation towards their parents is therefore the relationship (see Sections 1589 et seq. BGB), meaning that parents-in-law do not have to be supported by their children-in-law.<\/p>\n

If the social welfare provider pays the social benefits, the parents' maintenance claim against the children is transferred to the authority in accordance with \u00a7 94 SGB XII, provided this does not constitute undue hardship in accordance with \u00a7 94 Para. 3 No. 3 SGB XII.<\/p>\n

For the maintenance obligation pursuant to Section 1601 BGB, the parents' need for maintenance and the children's ability to pay must be present at the same time (i.e. \"congruent in time\").<\/p>\n

The neediness of the parents is based on \u00a7 1602 BGB, according to which only those who are unable to support themselves are in need of maintenance. This is the case if the parents have no assets or income. Existing assets and income actually earned must therefore be utilised to a certain extent.<\/p>\n

The children's ability to pay is based on \u00a7 1603 BGB. According to this, the person who is unable to provide maintenance without jeopardising their reasonable maintenance, taking into account their other obligations, is not liable to pay maintenance. As with \u00a7 1602 BGB, the assessment of the children's ability to pay therefore depends on the existence or non-existence of assets and income.<\/p>\n

The ability of children to pay is a recurring subject of legal disputes.<\/p>\n

Assets of the dependent children<\/strong><\/p>\n

In principle, children who are obliged to pay maintenance must primarily draw on the income from assets, but may also have to draw on the assets. However, this is only permissible to the extent that it does not jeopardise the maintenance of the children obliged to pay maintenance. Just as in social welfare law, existing assets are not utilised to a certain extent in maintenance law (protected assets).
\n
\nIncome of dependent children<\/strong><\/p>\n

The children's income that is used for maintenance can be derived from all types of income, e.g. earned income, rental income, investment income, interest, pensions, capital-forming benefits, etc. In this respect, the method of calculating the children's income is also repeatedly the subject of court decisions.<\/p>\n

In the above-mentioned judgement, the BGH had to decide on the ability of a child obliged to pay maintenance in the case of parental maintenance.<\/p>\n

Facts of the Case<\/strong> In the above-mentioned decision, the plaintiff, as the social welfare provider, asserted claims for parental maintenance in the amount of EUR 3,295.10 on the basis of subrogated rights. The defendant's mother, who was in need of care, lived in a senior citizens' centre. As she was only partially able to cover the costs of her stay in the centre from her pension income and the basic security and care insurance benefits, the plaintiff granted her supplementary social assistance. The defendant had been retired for some time and received pension benefits. His wife received pension benefits. The spouses lived in a condominium.<\/p>\n

The defendant considered himself unable to pay because he was still obliged to support a son. In addition, he was of the opinion that the housing advantage attributed to him had not been correctly determined by the plaintiff.<\/p>\n

Federal Court of Justice:<\/strong> The BGH only partially followed the defendant's view. The defendant's ability to pay was determined by his income and half of the housing benefit attributable to him. The expenses for liability and household contents insurance, health and long-term care insurance as well as the additional pension provision were to be deducted. The plaintiff could not successfully argue that the defendant, as a pensioner, no longer needed any additional pension provision and was also sufficiently secured by his condominium. Even with a comparatively good pension, it is permissible to continue to make provision for old age with regard to any increased needs in old age. This was all the more true here as the defendant's wife was still in need of maintenance at the beginning of the relevant period and, taking into account her own income, only had low pension entitlements. In addition, the defendant had not yet reached the age of 65. On the other hand, maintenance payments for the defendant's son were not to be deducted, as he had not been studying since 2001 and was therefore no longer entitled to maintenance. The housing benefit attributable to the defendant and his wife in the amount of \u00bd each was not to be calculated on the basis of the objective market rent achievable when renting to a third party, but on the basis of the rent saved under the given circumstances. The family income was then calculated by including the wife's income, which was also increased by half of the housing advantage.<\/p>\n

Source: Federal Court of Justice<\/p>\n

Important Note: The content of this article has been prepared to the best of our knowledge and belief. However, due to the complexity and constant evolution of the subject matter, we must exclude liability and warranty.<\/b> Important Notice: The content of this article has been created to the best of our knowledge and understanding. However, due to the complexity and constant changes in the subject matter, we must exclude any liability and warranty.<\/p>\n

If you need legal advice, feel free to call us at 0221 \u2013 80187670 or email us at info@mth-partner.de.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bundesgerichtshof, 28.07.2010, Az.: XII ZR 140\/07 Gem. \u00a7 1601 BGB sind Verwandte in gerader Linie verpflichtet, einander Unterhalt zu gew\u00e4hren. Ankn\u00fcpfungspunkt f\u00fcr die Unterhaltspflicht der Kinder gegen\u00fcber ihren Eltern ist somit die Verwandtschaft (vgl. \u00a7\u00a7 1589 ff. BGB), so dass Schwiegereltern von ihren Schwiegerkindern nicht unterst\u00fctzt werden m\u00fcssen. Wenn der Sozialhilfetr\u00e4ger die Sozialleistungen erbringt, geht […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11739,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[2611,2525,1921],"class_list":["post-2068","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-erbrecht-anwalt","tag-53-abs-1-sgb-xii","tag-rechtsanwalt-koeln-sgb","tag-xii-zr-14007"],"yoast_head":"\nElternunterhalt: Urteil des BGH zur Leistungsf\u00e4higkeit beim Elternunterhalt<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Der BGH folgte der Ansicht des Beklagten nur teilweise. 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