Proving the fact of maintenance of an illegitimate child

The issue of proving the fact of keeping an illegitimate child became widely relevant during the full-scale armed aggression of the Russian Federation. This is explained by the fact that during the war, many children became orphans who were deprived of parental care, because their parents died as a result of another shelling of peaceful cities or in connection with the fulfillment of combat duty at the front.

In practice, this leads to the fact that the child does not have close relatives, and therefore citizens who are not directly related by blood, for example, a stepmother, stepfather, aunt or uncle, can take care of him and maintain him.

Therefore, in this informative article, specialists from the Prikhodko and Partners law firm will tell you about the specifics of court cases related to proving the fact of maintaining an illegitimate child.

What the legislation says and what are the difficulties of proving the fact of maintaining an illegitimate child?

First of all, it should be noted that the regulation of legal relations related to the maintenance of children is carried out by the provisions of the Family Code of Ukraine (hereinafter the Family Code).

Yes, Art. 180 of the Civil Code stipulates that biological parents must properly support their own children until they reach the age of 18 (adulthood). This obligation arises precisely from the moment of the child’s birth. At the same time, the distribution of this duty is carried out equally between the parents, since each of them must fully support the child to the best of their abilities.

If the child’s parents are divorced or were divorced deprived of parental rights, or they stopped living together and raising the child, or they were recognized as incapable by the decision of the judicial authorities – all these factors do not terminate their obligation to maintain the child until he comes of age.

Only the fact of the death of the child’s father or mother or their declaration as dead terminates the obligation to support the child (this legal opinion is noted in the decision of the Shevchenkivsky District Court of Lviv dated August 28, 2024 in case No. 466/2844/24).

Thus, the main difficulty in proving the fact of keeping an illegitimate child in practice is precisely the fact that his parents do not take participation in its proper education, development and full maintenance. For this, you should collect the appropriate evidence base that can confirm these facts.

In addition, if an illegitimate child wishes to be adopted by a stepfather or stepmother, then in accordance with Art. 268 of the Civil Code, it is also necessary to prove:

• The child has no other close relatives who are obliged to support him (for example, adult brothers or sisters, grandparents) or due to the existence of good reasons, they are unable to properly support the child;
• The existence of a financial opportunity to support a child, i.e. an adequate level of income for its full development and upbringing.

Therefore, in order to prove the maintenance of an illegitimate child, a combination of certain conditions and circumstances is required, so that a person has legal grounds to apply to the judicial authority of the 1st instance to establish this fact.

Why can a judicial authority refuse to establish the fact of maintenance of an illegitimate child?

As a rule, in practice, courts refuse to establish the fact of maintenance of an illegitimate child due to the applicant’s submission of insufficient evidence in the case.

Thus, in the decision of the Sadhirsky district court of Chernivtsi dated March 21, 2024 in case No. 726/532/24, it is noted that the applicant did not provide the court with evidence confirming that the minor child has no close relatives who are obliged to support him (grandfather, grandmother , adult brothers and sisters), and therefore the court does not see sufficient grounds for establishing a legal fact.

In the decision of the Sykhiv District Court of Lviv dated September 16, 2024, in case No. 464/4731/24, it is indicated that the applicant did not provide the court with any evidence that the biological father of the child does not provide for his proper maintenance (for example, confirmation of arrears in the payment of alimony payments) .

In addition, the case materials also do not contain any evidence that the mother did not support the child. Therefore, the applicant does not have an obligation to support the child pursuant to Art. 268 of the SCU. The person’s application was refused.

Conclusions

Therefore, in order to minimize the risks of proving the fact of the maintenance of an illegitimate child in practice and to obtain a positive court decision on the case, it is necessary to contact the lawyers of the “Prikhodko and Partners” law firm.

Our specialists provide a full range of legal services related to the establishment of legal facts, because they perfectly understand their specifics, as they have practical and many years of work experience in the field of family law of Ukraine.

To receive the necessary legal assistance, fill out the application form below.