{"id":2276,"date":"2024-10-02T15:10:02","date_gmt":"2024-10-02T13:10:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.familylawboschetti.com\/?page_id=2276"},"modified":"2026-07-04T16:35:32","modified_gmt":"2026-07-04T14:35:32","slug":"support-of-parents","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.familylawboschetti.com\/en\/maintenance\/support-of-parents\/","title":{"rendered":"Support of parents"},"content":{"rendered":"

Support of parents in Italy<\/h1>\n
The support of parents living abroad is a legal and moral obligation. Italian laws provide that children economically support parents in difficulty. It is a question that may require the intervention of specific legal instruments.<\/div>\n
\n

The topic of support of parents is a delicate aspect that deserves attention and in-depth analysis just like other topics of family law.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Such obligation is provided for by law and finds in the Codice civile<\/strong> its precise regulation, providing in fact not only that such obligation exists in the parents’ position towards the children, but also the inverse case, namely that the obligation of support of parents in a state of need by the children, including adopted ones, exists.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Should the children be unable to provide economic assistance to the parents, this will become a burden of the grandchildren and gradually of the descendants.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Support, also support of parents abroad, is usually graduated based on the capacity of the individual. In fact, the child can decide to pay the parent a periodic allowance, or to welcome and support them in their own home.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

There arises in the child a real civilistic obligation of assistance with patrimonial content, to which the right of the parent to the assistance benefit is the counterpart.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

In fact, in case of violation of the obligation it is possible to apply to the judicial authority in order to request judicially the payment of support in favour of the entitled party.<\/p>\n

In situations in which it concerns a person residing abroad, the obligation of support of parents by the children can raise complex legal questions, also when the subjects involved are foreigners residing in Italy, or there is a foreign spouse.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Legal advice for the support of parents<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n
\n

As mentioned, Italian law provides for the child certain obligations towards their parents and their family. Among the first duties, first of all there is that of respecting the parents and contributing to the support of the family according to one’s capacities, substances and income.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

The foundation of the support obligation, also in the case of support of children with parents abroad, is traditionally found in the solidarity that must animate the components of the family.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

This means that the child who lives with the parents but also receives their own income, has the duty to contribute to their support, where they are in economic straits.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Usually this duty ends when the child leaves the family home, but their duty to provide minimum sustenance to their parents remains firm where they find themselves in conditions of need.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

When it concerns support towards parents by the children, and the aforementioned ascendants are abroad, it is of fundamental importance to clarify that such obligation persists and is valid regardless of the residence of the parents. Therefore, if a parent resides in a Country different from Italy, the children are nevertheless burdened with the obligation to ensure them sustenance.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

It is useful for this purpose to specify that the maintenance obligations that arise within the family beyond national borders, as in the case of support of parents abroad, are entirely regulated by supranational sources.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

In fact, while in the past there had been an attempt at unification through international conventions, today Regulation CE 4\/2009<\/strong> represents the main source relatively to competence, applicable law, recognition and execution of decisions on matters of maintenance obligations deriving from family, kinship, marriage, affinity relationships.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

From the international private law profile, the regulation of maintenance obligations has been affected by deep changes following the entry into force of the already mentioned Regulation.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

In light of the generic formulation contained in the regulation referred to, in the international and community context support obligations are entirely equated to maintenance ones, although in our internal legal system they are considered distinct.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

The regulation of international family law that provides for the obligation borne by the children to support the parents is regulated by the Hague Convention<\/strong> of 23 November 2007 on “maintenance relationships”.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

This Convention has the purpose of establishing common rules for the determination of the maintenance obligation towards relatives, among which the obligation of support of parents by the children also falls. Specifically:<\/span><\/p>\n