Child support, what changes for the unemployed parent

By law, parents are required to provide maintenance for their children until they reach financial independence or are capable of achieving it, but in any case at least until they reach the age of majority.
Often, when we talk about maintenance we immediately think of separated couples, since normally one of the two parents is required to pay a periodic allowance given that they do not live permanently with their offspring.
In reality, the duty of maintenance is always the same, only that depending on the practical conditions it can be fulfilled in different ways.
The placement parent does not pay any allowance, for example, because living with the children he directly provides for their needs.
This premise is fundamental, because it allows us to clarify in a very simple way many of the doubts related to maintenance.
The most common of these concerns parents (separated or not) of whom at least one is unemployed, who wonder whether they have the same duties as the other with respect to child support or not, given the probable lack of a fixed income.
We have already dealt with the case in which the parent responsible for maintenance loses his job, a hypothesis in which the maintenance allowance has already been established but there has been a change in income.
This is not always the case, it also happens that one of the parents is unemployed at the beginning of the separation or that there is no break-up between the couple.
What happens in these cases? Does the unemployed parent also have to support their children? Here's what the law states.
Unemployed parent and child support Even before the Civil Code, the maintenance obligation of parents towards their children is established by Article 30 of the Constitution which states the following: It is the duty and right of parents to maintain, educate and educate their children, even if born out of wedlock.
In cases of incapacity of parents, the law ensures that their duties are carried out.
An obligation which is then confirmed by article 147 of the Civil Code, which specifies that it falls on both parents without differences.
In fact, everyone is required to contribute to the maximum of their possibilities.
There is therefore no maximum maintenance, which depends on the economic and financial availability of each parent.
At the same time, there are no exemptions from this duty, parents have no right to escape the maintenance obligation as long as they have the capacity.
Only in cases where there is an absolute impossibility can the parent somehow fail in this duty, which consequently falls on the other parent.
The latter must also compensate, within the limits of his possibilities, for the lack of maintenance by the other to guarantee the children the best possible conditions.
Those who do not support their children because they objectively do not have the means are therefore not attributable, but the impossibility cannot be found in mere unemployment, as repeatedly reiterated by the Court of Cassation.
The latter may be due to various reasons and the parent may still be able to support their children even without work at least for a certain period (thanks to savings, income, proceeds from illegal work or similar).
Therefore the unemployed parent must also support the children, directly if he lives with them or otherwise by paying the maintenance allowance established by the judge, taking into account his finances.
read also Are grandparents obliged to support their grandchildren? The law, in fact, requires parents to commit themselves to ensuring that their offspring live in dignified conditions and satisfy their needs.
The unemployed and moneyless parent should at least look for work with great effort, making efforts to obtain employment (taking into account health conditions, training and work experience).
In summary, even the unemployed parent owes maintenance to their children, unless they have no money to pay for it without compromising their livelihood and are absolutely unable to improve their condition.
Otherwise, if he does not pay maintenance he can be accused of the crime of violation of family support obligations.
In any case, regardless of whether the unemployed parent is at fault or not, the other remains required by law to provide maintenance for the children as best he can, also compensating for the other's inability (without prejudice to the possibility of taking action if the lack of maintenance it is negligence on the part of the other parent).
read also Unpaid child support, when it is a crime and what you risk