Can you claim child maintenance for a period before the court petition in Poland?

Maintenance is in principle designed to meet ongoing needs – and is awarded from the date the petition is filed. But what about the months or years during which one parent covered all the child’s costs alone, because the other simply did not contribute? Is that money lost forever? Not necessarily. Polish family law provides two separate routes that allow claims to be made for a period before the petition was filed.

Table of contents

1. The general rule – from when does maintenance apply?
2. Retrospective maintenance for unmet needs – Article 137 § 2 of the Family and Guardianship Code
3. The right of recourse – Article 140 § 1 of the Family and Guardianship Code
4. The time limit – how far back can claims be made?
5. Practical guidance
6. FAQ

The general rule – from when does maintenance apply?

A maintenance obligation applies from the date on which it is ordered by the court – and in practice most commonly from the date on which the petition was filed. Maintenance is designed to meet the current needs of the entitled person; it does not automatically function as a settlement for the past.

This does not mean, however, that the period before the petition is legally irrelevant. The Family and Guardianship Code (Kodeks rodzinny i opiekuńczy) provides two exceptions to this principle, both of which can have significant financial consequences.

Retrospective maintenance for unmet needs – Article 137 § 2

The first exception follows directly from Article 137 § 2 of the Family and Guardianship Code, which provides: “The court shall take into account the unmet needs of the entitled person from the period before the maintenance action was brought, by ordering payment of an appropriate lump sum. In justified cases, the court may order the payment to be made in instalments.”

In practice, this means that the court – within the same maintenance proceedings – may award a one-off sum covering needs that were not met before the petition was filed. The provision applies to specific, documented expenditure: rent arrears, unpaid bills, medical costs, essential purchases for the child.

A second situation also falls within this provision: financial obligations incurred by the parent with day-to-day care of the child in order to cover the child’s needs – for example, loans or credit taken out specifically because the other parent was not contributing to the child’s maintenance.

Key practical point: a claim for retrospective maintenance under Article 137 § 2 is most effectively pursued within the ongoing maintenance proceedings – by including the relevant claim in the petition itself or raising it during the case. Pursuing these claims after the proceedings have concluded is considerably more difficult and rarely successful.

The right of recourse – Article 140 § 1

The second route is available to the parent who has been covering all the child’s costs alone and wishes to recover part of those expenditures from the other parent.

Article 140 § 1 of the Family and Guardianship Code provides: “A person who provides another person with means of subsistence or upbringing without being obliged to do so, or while being obliged to do so because obtaining timely maintenance from the person obliged in the closer or the same order would be impossible or connected with excessive difficulties for the entitled person, may claim reimbursement from the person who should have provided those maintenance payments.”

In plain terms: if you have been financing the child’s upbringing alone for months or years – because the other parent was failing to meet their obligation – you can claim reimbursement of those costs from the person who should have been paying.

One important qualification: the right of recourse does not entitle the claimant to recover the full amount of the expenditure. Both parents are obliged to maintain the child in proportion to their respective means and circumstances. The court will order reimbursement only of the share that should have been borne by the other parent – a part of the costs is the responsibility of the parent providing day-to-day care.

In our experience, many people are unaware that this right of recourse exists and simply write off years of expenditure they could legitimately recover. This is particularly worth considering where arrears have accumulated over several years.

The time limit – how far back can claims be made?

Both retrospective maintenance claims under Article 137 § 2 and recourse claims under Article 140 can be pursued for a maximum period of three years. Maintenance claims relating to past periods are subject to a three-year limitation period under Article 137 § 1 of the Family and Guardianship Code.

This means that where the other parent has not been contributing for five years, it is possible to claim for the last three years of that period. Claims relating to the earlier period are time-barred.

Practical guidance

Keep documentation on an ongoing basis. Receipts, invoices, bank transfer confirmations, bank statements, till receipts – all of this can serve as evidence of expenditure on the child. The more detailed the documentation, the stronger the position in proceedings.

Include the retrospective maintenance claim in the petition from the outset – do not wait until the end of the proceedings. The court considers this claim within the same case, which significantly simplifies the procedure.

If pursuing a recourse claim, bear the three-year limitation period firmly in mind – act promptly, especially where arrears extend further back.

FAQ

Can I claim maintenance for a period before the petition was filed? Yes – under Article 137 § 2 of the Family and Guardianship Code, the court may award a lump sum covering the entitled person’s unmet needs from before the petition was filed. This is most effectively claimed within the ongoing maintenance proceedings.

What are “unmet needs” within the meaning of Article 137 § 2? These are specific, documented expenditures that went uncovered because the other parent was not contributing – for example, rent arrears, unpaid utility bills, medical costs, or loans taken out to cover the child’s living costs.

Can I recover money I have already spent on the child? Yes – under Article 140 § 1 of the Family and Guardianship Code, a right of recourse can be pursued against a parent who was failing to meet their maintenance obligation. Reimbursement covers only the portion of the expenditure that should have been borne by the other parent, not the full amount.

How far back can maintenance claims be pursued? A maximum of three years. Maintenance claims relating to past periods are subject to a three-year limitation period under Article 137 § 1 of the Family and Guardianship Code.

When is the best time to raise a retrospective maintenance claim? In the course of the maintenance proceedings – ideally in the petition itself. Pursuing these claims after the case has concluded is considerably more difficult and rarely produces the desired result.

I am a foreign national living in Poland – do these rules apply to my situation? Yes. Where the child is habitually resident in Poland and Polish law applies to the maintenance obligation, the rules described in this article apply regardless of the parties’ nationality. EU Regulation No 4/2009 on maintenance obligations governs jurisdiction and applicable law between EU member states. All documents submitted to a Polish court must be in Polish; documents in other languages require a sworn translation. If the parent against whom the recourse claim is made lives outside Poland, cross-border enforcement questions may arise – these depend on the specific circumstances and the applicable international rules.

What documentation do I need to support a retrospective claim? The stronger the documentary evidence, the better the position in proceedings. Useful documents include bank statements showing payments made, receipts and invoices for expenditure on the child, confirmation of rent payments, medical bills, school fee receipts, and records of any loans or credit taken out to cover the child’s costs. The court must be satisfied that the needs were genuinely unmet and that the expenditure was actually incurred.

 Read more about how to file a maintenance claim in Poland and what documents are required → [link to relevant page]

The other parent has not been paying maintenance for months or years? Want to find out how much you may be able to recover? Call: +48 531 335 713 or email: kancelaria@prawnikodrozwodu.pl

This article is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Every family law case is individual and requires analysis of the specific facts and documents involved. The law firm accepts no liability for actions taken on the basis of the information contained in this article. For advice tailored to your situation, please contact our office.

Kancelaria Prawa Rodzinnego (Family Law Office): Adwokat Michalina Koligot, Adwokat Marta Krzyżanowicz, Adwokat Anna Konrady, Radca prawny Joanna Jędrzejewska ul. Mickiewicza 18a/3, 60-834 Poznań | tel. +48 531 335 713 | kancelaria@prawnikodrozwodu.pl | www.prawnikodrozwodu.pl