Management of the income from the child’s assets

Abstract

The gradual increase in the affluence of the Polish society makes it increasingly common for a child to acquire wealth that generates income. The rules of the management of the income from the child’s assets have therefore increased in importance over time. The article contains a detailed analysis of Article 103 of the Polish Family and Guardianship Code, according to which pure income from the child’s property should be primarily used for the maintenance and upbringing of the child and its siblings who are raised together with the child, and as a surplus for other justified needs of the family. This provision has an educational function and strengthens the sense
of family solidarity. However, in families with a high standard of living, it may pose a threat of the actual shifting of the burden of maintenance from parents to a beneficiary child. This would be contrary to the maintenance obligation provided by law under which siblings are the last to be obliged to provide maintenance. This risk can be reduced by an interpretation that gives priority to maintenance obligations over meeting the needs of siblings and the family at the expense of the child's income. It would also be desirable to amend Article 103 of the Family and Guardianship Code by introducing restrictions on the use of the income from the child’s property.